# UK FCDO Foreign Travel Advice Scraper (`automation-lab/uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper`) Actor Scrape official GOV.UK/FCDO country travel advice, warnings, entry rules, health and safety sections, update timestamps, and email signup links. - **URL**: https://apify.com/automation-lab/uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Stas Persiianenko](https://apify.com/automation-lab) (community) - **Categories:** Travel - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per event This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## UK FCDO Foreign Travel Advice Scraper Scrape official GOV.UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) travel advice into clean Apify dataset records. Use it to monitor country warnings, entry requirements, safety and security notes, health guidance, latest update text, timestamps, and GOV.UK email signup links. ### What does UK FCDO Foreign Travel Advice Scraper do? This actor reads the public GOV.UK Content API for Foreign Travel Advice. It creates one dataset item per country or territory. Each item includes the official GOV.UK page URL, Content API URL, country slug, update timestamps, change description, warning summary, and selected advice sections. You can scrape a few named countries or the whole FCDO index. No browser automation is used. No login is required. No proxy is required. ### Who is it for? - 🌍 Travel-risk and duty-of-care teams monitoring destinations for employees. - 🧳 Travel agencies building country-advice dashboards. - 🛡️ Corporate security teams watching warnings and change descriptions. - 🏥 Insurers checking health and entry-requirement guidance. - 📊 Compliance teams storing official public-source evidence. - 🔔 Developers building change monitors, alerts, and internal travel portals. ### Why use this scraper? GOV.UK pages are easy to read manually but harder to consume at scale. This actor turns the official Content API into a consistent dataset. You can schedule it daily, compare update timestamps, and send alerts when a country changes. It keeps the official source URL with every record. It can include clean text for analysis and raw HTML for teams that need GOV.UK links and formatting. ### Data you can extract | Field | Description | | --- | --- | | `country` | Country or territory name from GOV.UK. | | `slug` | GOV.UK country slug. | | `url` | Public GOV.UK travel advice page. | | `publicUpdatedAt` | Public update timestamp. | | `reviewedAt` | GOV.UK reviewed timestamp when available. | | `changeDescription` | Latest change summary from FCDO. | | `warningsSummary` | Short text summary from the warnings section. | | `emailSignupUrl` | GOV.UK update notification signup URL. | | `sections` | Selected advice sections with title, slug, text, and optional HTML. | | `contentId` | GOV.UK content ID. | ### How much does it cost to scrape UK FCDO travel advice? This actor uses pay-per-event pricing. There is a small start charge per run. There is also a per-country charge for each advice record saved. The default input is intentionally small enough for a quick first run. For full-country monitoring, set `allCountries` to true and `maxItems` to 250. ### How to use it 1. Open the actor on Apify. 2. Enter one or more country slugs such as `france`, `spain`, or `turkey`. 3. Or leave countries empty and enable all countries. 4. Choose whether to include clean text, raw HTML, or both. 5. Run the actor. 6. Export the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, or via the API. ### Input options #### `countries` Country slugs or full GOV.UK Foreign Travel Advice URLs. Examples: - `france` - `spain` - `turkey` - `https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/japan` #### `allCountries` When enabled and no countries are supplied, the actor loads all country pages from the GOV.UK index. #### `maxItems` Maximum country records to save. The GOV.UK index normally contains about 225 countries and territories. #### `sections` Optional section filter. Useful values include: - `warnings-and-insurance` - `entry-requirements` - `safety-and-security` - `health` - `getting-help` #### `includeText` Adds readable text converted from GOV.UK HTML. #### `includeHtml` Adds the original section HTML. Use this when you need embedded GOV.UK links and formatting. ### Example input: selected countries ```json { "countries": ["france", "spain", "turkey"], "allCountries": false, "maxItems": 3, "includeText": true, "includeHtml": false } ```` ### Example input: all countries ```json { "countries": [], "allCountries": true, "maxItems": 250, "includeText": true, "includeHtml": false } ``` ### Example input: entry requirements only ```json { "countries": ["france", "germany", "italy"], "allCountries": false, "sections": ["entry-requirements"], "includeText": true, "includeHtml": true } ``` ### Output example ```json { "country": "France", "slug": "france", "title": "France travel advice", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/france", "publicUpdatedAt": "2026-06-23T14:42:30+01:00", "changeDescription": "Latest FCDO change summary", "warningsSummary": "Before you travel...", "emailSignupUrl": "https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/france/email-signup", "sectionTitles": ["Warnings and insurance", "Entry requirements"] } ``` ### Scheduling and monitoring Run the actor daily or hourly to watch official travel advice updates. Store previous runs in your own database. Compare `publicUpdatedAt`, `sourceUpdatedAt`, and `changeDescription`. Trigger alerts when a country changes. ### Integrations - Send update records to Slack or Microsoft Teams. - Load country advice into a duty-of-care dashboard. - Feed insurer underwriting workflows. - Save CSV exports for travel consultants. - Store JSON in a risk intelligence data lake. - Combine with other automation-lab travel and government-data actors. ### API usage with Node.js ```js import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN }); const run = await client.actor('automation-lab/uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper').call({ countries: ['france', 'spain'], allCountries: false, includeText: true }); console.log(run.defaultDatasetId); ``` ### API usage with Python ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient client = ApifyClient('MY-APIFY-TOKEN') run = client.actor('automation-lab/uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper').call(run_input={ 'countries': ['france', 'spain'], 'allCountries': False, 'includeText': True, }) print(run['defaultDatasetId']) ``` ### API usage with cURL ```bash curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automation-lab~uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"countries":["france","spain"],"allCountries":false,"includeText":true}' ``` ### MCP usage Use this actor through Apify MCP tools in Claude Code or Claude Desktop. MCP URL: `https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper` Claude Code setup: ```bash claude mcp add apify-fcdo-travel-advice https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper ``` Claude Desktop JSON config: ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify-fcdo-travel-advice": { "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper" } } } ``` Example prompts: - "Run the UK FCDO travel advice scraper for France and Spain and summarize recent changes." - "Fetch all FCDO country advice and list records updated this week." - "Extract only entry requirements for Japan, Canada, and Australia." ### Tips for best results Use slugs from GOV.UK URLs for the most reliable country targeting. Keep `includeHtml` disabled unless you need the source formatting. Use `sections` to reduce output size for focused dashboards. Schedule full-index runs when you need monitoring coverage. Use `emailSignupUrl` to subscribe human owners to GOV.UK notifications. ### Troubleshooting If a country is skipped, check that the slug exists on GOV.UK. If output is large, disable `includeHtml` and filter sections. If you only get a few rows, increase `maxItems` or remove the explicit `countries` list. If you need exact source wording, enable `includeHtml`. ### Data source The source is the official GOV.UK Content API. Index endpoint: `https://www.gov.uk/api/content/foreign-travel-advice` Country endpoint pattern: `https://www.gov.uk/api/content/foreign-travel-advice/{country-slug}` ### Legality and ethical use This actor reads public GOV.UK content. Respect GOV.UK terms and attribution expectations. Do not present scraped data as legal, immigration, health, or security advice without checking the official page. Always keep links to the original GOV.UK source. ### Related scrapers Explore related automation-lab actors on Apify: - https://apify.com/automation-lab/us-travel-advisories-scraper - https://apify.com/automation-lab/website-contact-finder - https://apify.com/automation-lab/google-news-scraper ### FAQ #### Can I scrape every country? Yes. Leave `countries` empty, keep `allCountries` enabled, and set `maxItems` high enough. #### Does this actor need a proxy? No. It uses the public GOV.UK Content API. #### Does it use Playwright? No. It is HTTP/API-only for speed and low cost. #### Can I monitor only entry requirements? Yes. Set `sections` to `["entry-requirements"]`. #### Can I keep original GOV.UK links inside section content? Yes. Enable `includeHtml`. #### Is the data official? The actor extracts from official GOV.UK Content API responses, but users should always verify critical decisions on the linked GOV.UK page. ### Changelog - 0.1.0: Initial actor for GOV.UK/FCDO Foreign Travel Advice API extraction. ### Support Open an Apify issue if you need more fields, custom section parsing, or integration guidance. # Actor input Schema ## `countries` (type: `array`): Optional country slugs or full GOV.UK Foreign Travel Advice URLs. Examples: france, turkey, https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain. Leave empty and enable all countries to scrape the index. ## `allCountries` (type: `boolean`): When enabled and no specific countries are supplied, the actor loads all available countries from https://www.gov.uk/api/content/foreign-travel-advice. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Upper limit of country advice records to save. The GOV.UK index currently contains about 225 countries/territories. ## `sections` (type: `array`): Optional section slugs or titles to keep, such as warnings-and-insurance, entry-requirements, safety-and-security, health, or getting-help. Leave empty for all sections. ## `includeText` (type: `boolean`): Convert GOV.UK section HTML into readable text for dashboards, alerts, and exports. ## `includeHtml` (type: `boolean`): Keep the original GOV.UK HTML for teams that need links and formatting. Disable for smaller datasets. ## Actor input object example ```json { "countries": [ "france", "spain", "turkey" ], "allCountries": true, "maxItems": 10, "sections": [], "includeText": true, "includeHtml": false } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `overview` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "countries": [ "france", "spain", "turkey" ], "allCountries": true, "maxItems": 10, "sections": [], "includeText": true, "includeHtml": false }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("automation-lab/uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "countries": [ "france", "spain", "turkey", ], "allCountries": True, "maxItems": 10, "sections": [], "includeText": True, "includeHtml": False, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("automation-lab/uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "countries": [ "france", "spain", "turkey" ], "allCountries": true, "maxItems": 10, "sections": [], "includeText": true, "includeHtml": false }' | apify call automation-lab/uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=automation-lab/uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "UK FCDO Foreign Travel Advice Scraper", "description": "Scrape official GOV.UK/FCDO country travel advice, warnings, entry rules, health and safety sections, update timestamps, and email signup links.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "eMWmf1NhnkiHjJ3Pf" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/automation-lab~uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-automation-lab-uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/automation-lab~uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-automation-lab-uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/automation-lab~uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-automation-lab-uk-fcdo-foreign-travel-advice-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "countries": { "title": "Country slugs or GOV.UK URLs", "type": "array", "description": "Optional country slugs or full GOV.UK Foreign Travel Advice URLs. Examples: france, turkey, https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain. Leave empty and enable all countries to scrape the index.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "allCountries": { "title": "Scrape all countries from the FCDO index", "type": "boolean", "description": "When enabled and no specific countries are supplied, the actor loads all available countries from https://www.gov.uk/api/content/foreign-travel-advice.", "default": true }, "maxItems": { "title": "Maximum country records", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 250, "type": "integer", "description": "Upper limit of country advice records to save. The GOV.UK index currently contains about 225 countries/territories.", "default": 10 }, "sections": { "title": "Only include these advice sections", "type": "array", "description": "Optional section slugs or titles to keep, such as warnings-and-insurance, entry-requirements, safety-and-security, health, or getting-help. Leave empty for all sections.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "includeText": { "title": "Include clean section text", "type": "boolean", "description": "Convert GOV.UK section HTML into readable text for dashboards, alerts, and exports.", "default": true }, "includeHtml": { "title": "Include raw GOV.UK section HTML", "type": "boolean", "description": "Keep the original GOV.UK HTML for teams that need links and formatting. Disable for smaller datasets.", "default": false } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```