QCOSTARICA – Costa Ricans can now enter the Netherlands carrying a vaccination certificate (complete scheme) or a negative result of a detection test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus (antigens or PCR) as of this July 30, and they will not have to mandatory quarantine in the Dutch territory or complete the quarantine form before traveling.
The changes were announced in a statement from the Dutch Foreign Ministry as that government decided to transfer Costa Rica from its list of countries considered “very high risk” by Covid-19 to the list of “lower risk”, always under the category of code orange.
Costa Rica’s Minister of Tourism, Gustavo J. Segura, welcomed the news and pointed out that it is the result of the efforts of the Government to accelerate vaccination; the commitment of the private sector and citizens to health protocols; the measures implemented by the Ministry of Health in agreement with different economic sectors and the joint work between the ICT and the Foreign Ministry to inform our main markets about the management of the pandemic in Costa Rica.
“Let us continue to take care of ourselves, respect the maximum protocols and apply distancing to achieve more positive news that adds to the gradual recovery of our economy, citizens and the tourism industry,” added the Minister.
The ICT said the negative test allowed in the Netherlands (Países Bajos in Spanish) can be PCR type, carried out 48 hours before departure, or an antigen test, in this case carried out 24 hours before departure.
The ICT also warned that in the Netherlands, certificates of recovery from covid-19 will only be accepted if the positive PCR test was carried out in the European Union.
The Netherlands joins France, which also opened the border to fully vaccinated Costa Ricans as of July 22.
Details about the new measure and requirements can be found in the Checklist for entering or returning to the Netherlands from outside the EU / Schengen area | Coronavirus COVID-19 | Government.nl.
Costa Rica has a direct flight to the Netherlands by way KLM airlines, which resumed operations of the route Amsterdam-San José-Liberia-Amsterdam on June 29, with three weekly flights: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
The airline advanced its resuming flights to Costa Rica, originally it had announced it would be doing so in October 2021.
