NHS Covid Travel Pass for Children

Thursday 21st July 2022 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)]

As part of our continued commitment to support travel for the school holidays, on 21 July the Government are launching an NHS covid pass service for parents or guardians of children aged 5 to 15 years old to request a digital travel pass on behalf of their child. This will include a record of all covid-19 vaccinations received and proof of prior infection (recovery status). Children aged 5 to 11 can currently only access an NHS covid pass letter. Children aged 12 to 15 can currently only access a digital NHS covid pass using their own NHS login; this new service means that parents can also request a pass on their behalf.

Launching this new service, and thereby extending a digital solution to children aged 5 to 11, alongside giving the parents of children aged 12 to 15 the ability to request a pass on their child's behalf, will make it quicker, simpler and save families the cost of testing in countries where this is required for foreign travel. The UK has no covid certification requirements, this is to support outbound travel to a variety of countries that still have requirements.

A parent or guardian will be able to request a PDF version of the travel NHS covid pass via the NHS website. The digital pass will only be sent if they enter a mobile number which matches the number on the child’s GP record and if they correctly enter a one-time password sent to this number, or if they enter an email address that matches the email address on the child’s GP record.

This service will be available for children aged 5 to 15 resident in England or the Isle of Man. For those registered with a GP in Wales, parents or guardians should check the gov.wales “Get your NHS covid pass” website for information on their service. In Scotland, under 16s can request a copy by phoning the covid status helpline on 0808 196 8565. In Northern Ireland, parents or guardians of children aged 5 to 11 years can request a digital or printed covid certificate on behalf of a dependent. Those under 16 can upload the certificate—requested on their behalf—to display on the COVIDCert NI app.

[HCWS273]