People travelling to the UK by air, sea and train will be able to use the Dutch government’s official test, Britain’s transport department has confirmed to DutchNews.nl.

The official UK guidance states that the test certificate must include ‘the name of the test provider and their contact details’, but this information is not included in the Dutch holiday tests.

Hundreds of passengers were refused boarding on Eurostar trains in the first days after the tests were brought in, but transport operators and the UK government have now agreed to recognise them as valid for travel.

Anyone travelling from the Netherlands to the UK before the end of August can book a PCR or antigen test free of charge at testenvoorjereis.nl. This includes UK residents who need a negative test result before returning home.

The free PCR tests organised by the GGD local health board network via coronatest.nl are not valid for travel – these are for Dutch residents who have coronavirus symptoms or who have been in contact with an infected person.

A spokesman for the Department of Transport told DutchNews.nl: ‘We have worked with key partners, including UK Border Force and the British Embassy, to enable the free pre-departure tests offered in the Netherlands to be accepted at the border.

‘This has been communicated to carriers and representative bodies across all modes,’ the spokesman said.