Q TRAVEL – Europe opened the doors to tourism. While worldwide vaccination against covid-19 advances above the levels of each country, the restrictions are becoming less and less.
In this way, economic reactivation begins to be the main purpose of each territory and the governments are putting all their efforts into it. Thus, they have established new measures for the activation of countries, without neglecting the preservation of life.
In the case of Europe, there are some rules that the European Union (EU) established but that are not unified in the treatment of covid-19. In that sense, it is important that, if you plan to travel to any of the countries that make it up, you know what rules apply in each one and not get any unpleasant surprises.
Even this Wednesday, EU legislators approved the joint digital travel certificate for vaccinated people. It also includes those who have had a recent diagnostic test or who have passed COVID-19.
It is a free certificate that contains a QR code that will allow tourists to move freely through Europe without the need to comply with quarantines. For their part, Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, Greece, Poland, and the Czech Republic are some of the countries that have already started using this system.
On the other hand, countries such as Spain, Greece, France, and Italy require the vaccination certificate with the two doses to allow entry to the territory. However, in Italy, a 10-day quarantine must be complied with. While the negative PCR test is required in all countries.
Read also: Simple to request certification of vaccines against covid-19 applied in Costa Rica and abroad
The most current information on entry requirements around the world visit https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/international-travel-document-news/1580226297.htm
Here’s a look at current entry rules* in some popular European tourist destinations.
FRANCE
If you’re vaccinated, come to France. But only if you got one of the four EU-approved vaccines: Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson. That works for Americans — as long as they can produce official proof of vaccination — but not for large swaths of the world like China and Russia where other vaccines are used.
France’s borders officially reopened Wednesday. Vaccinated visitors from outside Europe and a few “green” countries will still be asked for a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours, or a negative antigen test of no more than 48 hours. Unvaccinated children will be allowed in with vaccinated adults but will have to show a negative test from age 11.
Tourists are banned from 16 countries wrestling with virus surges and worrisome variants that are on a red list that includes India, South Africa and Brazil.
Non-vaccinated visitors from “orange list” countries — including the U.S. and Britain — can’t come for tourism either, only for specific, imperative reasons.
Check visa requirements for travel from Venezuela to France.
ITALY
Americans — the second-biggest group of foreign tourists to Italy — have been welcome since mid-May. However, they need to self-isolate upon arrival for 10 days unless they arrive on so-called “COVID-tested flights.” That means passengers are tested before and after the flight and must fill out documents about their whereabouts to facilitate contact tracing if required.
“COVID-tested” flights from the US started in December and have also been operating since May from Canada, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.
Italy also started allowing tourists from Britain and Israel last month, meaning they no longer need an “essential” reason to visit and don’t have to self-isolate, providing they present proof of a negative COVID test taken no more than 48 hours prior to arrival.
The same rules apply to travelers from EU countries and those on “COVID-tested” flights from the U.S., Canada, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.
GREECE
Tourism-reliant Greece started opening to American travelers back in April, and now visitors from China, Britain and 20 other countries are also allowed to visit for nonessential travel.
All must provide a vaccination certificate or a negative PCR test and fill in a passenger locator form on their plans in Greece. This directive expires on June 14, but could be extended.
Athens long pressed for a common EU approach but didn’t wait for one to materialize. On June 1, Greece, Germany and five other bloc members introduced a COVID certificate system for travelers, weeks ahead of the July 1 rollout of the program across the 27-nation bloc.
SPAIN
Spain kicked off its summer tourism season Monday by welcoming vaccinated visitors from the U.S. and most countries, as well as European visitors who can prove they are not infected.
Americans and most other non-Europeans need an official vaccine certificate by a US health authority, in English. Spain accepts those who were inoculated with the four EU-approved vaccines as well two Chinese vaccines authorized by the World Health Organisation — as long as visitors are fully vaccinated at least two weeks before the trip.
Arrivals from Brazil, South Africa and India are banned at the moment because of high infection rates there, and non-vaccinated Americans and many other non-EU nationalities cannot come to Spain for tourism for now.
But there are exemptions for countries considered at low risk, such as citizens from Britain, who can arrive without any health documents at all. EU citizens need to provide proof of vaccination, a certificate showing they recently recovered from COVID-19, or a negative antigen or PCR test taken within 48 hours of arrival.
BRITAIN
There are few, if any, American tourists in the US at present. Britain has a traffic-light system for assessing countries by risk, and the US along with most European nations is on the “amber” list, meaning everyone arriving has to self-isolate at home or in the place they are staying for 10 days.
UK and US airlines and airport operators are pushing for a travel corridor to allow tourism to resume, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to raise the issue when he meets President Joe Biden at a G-7 summit in England this week.
Meanwhile, anyone traveling between Britain and continental Europe, be warned: In addition to the isolation requirement for those arriving or returning to U.K. shores, rising concern about the delta variant of the virus has prompted some other countries to introduce special restrictions for those arriving from Britain.
* Current entry rules have been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text
