Fully vaccinated passengers returning to England, Scotland and Northern Ireland from France will no longer need to quarantine after Sunday.
Under widespread changes to the traffic light system for travel, France is being moved from amber-plus to amber.
It was added to the list last month amid concerns about the Covid Beta variant, which scientists believe may be more resistant to vaccines.
However, the travel industry says the government has not gone far enough.
Germany, Austria and Norway are among seven nations being added to the green list as part of the changes.
Despite prior speculation, Spain will remain on the amber list, enabling travelers who are fully vaccinated to continue to enjoy a quarantine-free return.
However, the Department for Transport has now said that “arrivals from Spain and all its islands are advised to use a PCR test as their pre-departure test wherever possible” instead of the cheaper lateral flow tests.
But in a series of tweets Conservative MP Huw Merriman, chairman of the Commons Transport Select Committee, criticized “expensive” PCR tests for travel as an “unnecessary rip-off” and a “barrier to affordable travel”.
Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have been moved from the red list to the amber list. But Mexico is among four countries now considered to be among the highest risk destinations going on to the red list.
As well as changes to the traffic light list, the cost of staying at a quarantine hotel – which is mandatory if arriving from a red list country – is increasing.
The price for single adult travelers will increase from £1,750 to £2,285 from 12 August, and £1,430 for a second adult.
The government says this better reflects the costs involved. That includes transport to the hotel, security, provision of welfare services and the two PCR tests which must be taken on day two and day eight of the stay.
Children aged 5-12 will still cost £325; it is free for children aged under five.
The UK government sets the red, amber and green lists for England, while the other nations are in charge of their own lists. Scotland and Northern Ireland confirmed they will be adopting the same changes as England.
But the Welsh government criticized the “ad-hoc nature” of the UK government’s travel decisions. It said it will consider whether to follow the latest changes, adding: “We continue to advise against all but essential travel abroad because of the continuing risk of infection.”
The changes from 04:00 BST on 8 August raise the total number of countries or territories on the green list – where all travelers can return from without having to quarantine – from 29 to 36.
But other countries have their own rules about allowing visitors – so being on the UK’s green list does not guarantee travelers can visit there.
There are also no changes to the rules requiring travelers to take tests before and after their return.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “We are committed to opening up international travel safely, taking advantage of the gains we’ve made through our successful vaccination program, helping connect families, friends and businesses around the world.”
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said while the changes moved more countries to the green list, additions to the red list showed there was still a need for caution to “help protect the success of our vaccine rollout”.
