Ministers to discuss plans, with talks also to determine if they will apply to England only or all UK nations

Plans to significantly open up international travel are expected to be announced on Wednesday, with UK ministers poised to let people who have been fully vaccinated in the US and EU avoid quarantine if arriving from amber list countries.

The move would benefit millions of people by finally letting them be reunited with family and friends based in the UK, as well as businesses in the aviation and tourism sectors that have been hit hard by the pandemic.

Currently, only those who have been inoculated by the NHS are eligible for a “Covid pass” to show upon return that would allow them to skip the self-isolation period of up to 10 days if coming from an amber list country, under the rules of the traffic light system that grades countries according to their case, variant and vaccination rates.

Last week it was confirmed by the vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, that those who had been jabbed abroad but were still registered with a GP in the UK would from August be able to have those doses recognised.

But the move came under criticism from Britons living abroad, who said it benefited a tiny number of people given the NHS is a residency-based system and so British citizens who have moved overseas would still be largely locked out.

US citizens who have a vaccine card proving they have been fully vaccinated and EU citizens who use the bloc’s “green pass” to demonstrate inoculation are also expected to have their documents recognised, as long as the vaccines they received are authorised for use in the UK.

Government sources stressed the change was not guaranteed and subject to a final agreement at the meeting, with conversations also taking place during the day between Whitehall and the devolved administrations about whether it would apply to England only or all four UK nations.