Covid tests before you come to Scotland
Travellers will need a negative result 3 days before they begin their journey
The Scottish Government says it will be bringing in a new rule meaning people travelling here from abroad will have to test negative for coronavirus before they can enter the country.
From next week passengers arriving by boat, train or plane will have to take a test up to 72 hours before leaving the country of departure.
Failure to comply with the new regulations will lead to an immediate £500 fine.
There will be a limited number of exemptions, including hauliers, children under 11, crews and for those travelling from countries without the infrastructure available to deliver tests.
Arrivals from the Common Travel Area with Ireland will also be exempt.
Scottish Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: "The Scottish Government has been consistently clear about the risks associated with international travel and the importance of public health measures in helping to stop the spread of coronavirus.
"That is why we have been in regular dialogue with the UK Government and the other devolved administrations about what further measures can be put in place, including the introduction of pre-departure testing.''
He added that it would not affect current rules that make non-essential travel to and from Scotland illegal.
Four nation talks
Ministers in London are working closely with the devolved administrations on similar measures for Wales and Northern Ireland.
The move follows the decision to suspend all direct travel from South Africa following the emergence there of a new strain of coronavirus thought potentially to be even more virulent than the mutant variant which has led cases to surge in the UK.
The Transport Secretary at Westminster, Grant Shapps said: "We already have significant measures in place to prevent imported cases of Covid-19, but with new strains of the virus developing internationally, we must take further precautions.
"Taken together with the existing mandatory self-isolation period for passengers returning from high-risk countries, pre-departure tests will provide a further line of defence - helping us control the virus as we roll out the vaccine at pace over the coming weeks.''
Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds backed it as a "necessary step'' but said Labour had been calling for a strategy on testing for international travel since April, but the Government had instead been "lurching from one crisis to another''.
He added: "In that time they have lost control of the virus and risked leaving the nation's doors unlocked against the possibility of different strains of the virus entering the country from across the world.''
Airlines call for return to normality
The announcement comes at a time when the latest lockdown restrictions across the four nations of the UK mean there is very little international travel.
The airline industry - which has been devastated by the pandemic - acknowledged the need for the restrictions but urged ministers to lift them as quickly as possible.
Tim Alderslade, the chief executive of the industry body Airlines UK, said: "We recognise the UK Government's need to act now and support the introduction of pre-departure testing in order to keep the country safe and borders open.
"However, this should be a short-term, emergency measure only and once the rollout of the vaccine accelerates, the focus must be on returning travel to normal as quickly as possible in order to support the UK's economic recovery.
"This includes removing the need to quarantine or test as the UK population is vaccinated and the virus is brought under control at home and abroad.''
Under the new rules, passengers will need to present proof of a negative test result to their carrier on departure and may be denied boarding if they fail to do so.
All passengers arriving from countries not on the Government's travel corridor list will still be required to self-isolate for 10 days, regardless of their test result.