This will be effective from Friday 29 January at 1pm and any exemptions usually in place will not apply, including for business travel.

British, Irish and third country nationals with residence rights in the UK will be allowed to enter. From 4am on Friday morning all arrivals who have, in the 10 days before their arrival in the UK, been in these destinations, along with their households, will have to self-isolate at home immediately, and will not be eligible to use test to release.

There will also be a flight ban on direct passenger flights from the UAE.

The decision to ban travel from these destinations follows the discovery of a new coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa, that may have spread to other countries.

British nationals currently in the UAE should make use of the commercial options available if they wish to return to the UK. Indirect commercial routes that will enable British and Irish nationals and residents to return to the UK continue to operate.

British nationals should check Foreign Office (FCDO) travel advice and follow local guidance, it said.

“The FCDO will continue to offer tailored consular assistance to British nationals in country in need of advice on a 24/7 basis.”