India said on Thursday it is hopeful of finding a solution to a vaccine certification row with the UK that has resulted in British nationals facing a 10-day mandatory quarantine on arrival even if they are fully vaccinated.

“Discussions are ongoing and we remain hopeful that some solution may emerge,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

He described Britain’s travel restrictions on Indian nationals with valid vaccine certificates as “clearly discriminatory” and said measures imposed by the UK from October 4 were “not right”.

He added, “We took up the issue with the UK at various levels but without success.”

Once the British travel rules came into force on October 4, India imposed “reciprocal measures” that apply only to UK nationals arriving in India from Britain.

The reciprocal measures put in place by India marked an escalation in the vaccine certification row between the two sides. The measures kicked in as the UK government didn’t make a call on accepting India’s vaccine certification more than 10 days after the conclusion of technical discussions between the two sides.

The row erupted because Indians travelling to the UK have to undergo 10-day quarantine under new British rules. The British government’s failure to recognise Covishield, an Indian version of the Britain’s AstraZeneca jab, had also given rise to allegations of vaccine racism.

The UK subsequently included Covishield in its list of approved vaccines, but the process for accepting India’s vaccine certification is expected to take longer.

The mandatory quarantine by UK nationals has to be done at home or at the destination address.

All UK nationals travelling to India will also have to undergo a pre-departure Covid-19 RT-PCR test within 72 hours before travel, another RT-PCR test on arrival at the airport, and a third RT-PCR test on the eighth day after arrival.

People familiar with developments said the British side is considering the issue and a resolution is expected soon.

The British high commission spokesperson has said the UK is continuing to work on expanding its travel policy to countries and territories in a phased approach. “We are continuing to engage with the government of India on technical cooperation to expand UK recognition of vaccine certification to people vaccinated by a relevant public health body in India,” the spokesperson said.

Britain’s decisions on vaccine recognition are made by ministers after taking into account public health factors. The UK is looking at ways for people who have been fully vaccinated elsewhere to enter the country. Visa applications from all categories of Indian travellers continue to be processed and they don’t need to be vaccinated to travel to the UK.