EU Travel Restrictions: Latest Updates Every Traveler Should Know

EU Travel Restrictions: Latest Updates Every Traveler Should Know

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 in March 2020, the territory and state governments of various nations have been imposing travel restrictions. The nations of the EU are closing in on a new approach to travel in the pandemic within the faction by aiming at the individual health risk of a traveler in spite of their country of departure, three EU diplomats stated on Thursday. Let us learn more about the EU travel restrictions.

If you are wondering will travel to Europe be possible in summer 2022, then this article will help you to find the answers.

New Changes In The EU Travel Restrictions

Under the latest updates on non-binding regulations, travelers who have a covid certificate would not have to face any added quarantine or testing requirements. However, nations could still implement added measures for traveling from portions labeled as “dark red”, which are zones with high risks on the coronavirus map of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. 

The color of the map reflects health issues by calculating new cases, positivity, and the rate of testing. After the alteration, the map would also consider the vaccination rate of a region. One of the EU diplomats stated the proposed alterations to the map were still discussed. The latest method abides by the Commission proposal in November to allows a

“person-based approach” to travel inside the EU, meaning people with a COVID certificate should in principle not be subject to additional travel restrictions, wherever they come from in the European Union.”

Nations have held off on rules updates among the uncertainty about the impact that Omicron variant may levy. The aim is for member nations to adopt the latest recommendations at a General Affairs Council on next Tuesday (25.01.2022). 

The European Union has declared that Australia, Argentina, and Canada should be eliminated from the “Travel Safe List” of nations to and from which it suggests that member countries should permit travel into the EU for non-essential purposes from third party nations.

EU Travel Restrictions: List Of Safe Countries

The list of safe countries is being updated by the EU every two weeks. It has been doing this process since June 30, 2020. As of 17 January 2022, the full list of nations include:

  • Bahrain
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Indonesia
  • Kuwait
  • New Zealand
  • Peru
  • Qatar
  • Rwanda
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Korea
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Uruguay
  • China, subject to confirmation of exchange, which also includes the specific administrative regions of Hong Kong, China, and Macao.

It is on the individual EU member state to make a decision on whether it will follow the guidelines laid by the EU, and these EU travel restrictions: Covid are not at all legally binding decisions. There are many nations that have changed the travel restrictions by countries, the requirement for vaccines and quarantine throughout the pandemic, and most are permitting vaccinated travelers to travel freely, even though it is gradually including the notion of a booster dose being important for being considered as completely vaccinated. 

The EU has voted to make the Covid vaccine certification valid for 9 months, implying that a booster shot will be mandatory to travel freely throughout Europe in 2022. The United States was taken off the safe list of EU at the end of August 2021, after the U.S. shifted above the criteria of over 75 latest Covid-19 cases daily every 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days – the U.S. at that point was recording 507 latest cases every 100,000 inhabitants.

Some Nations With Specified Travel Regulations

To fight against the record breaking covid cases, many nations are planning to make vaccination mandatory as a part of the EU travel restrictions. Among all the nations in the European Union, there are few nations that have prominent regulations. So if you are wondering, when will Schengen borders open, here is the answer. There are Denmark, Austria, Germany, and Spain travel restrictions as well. Let us have a look at them.

Belgium

Belgium is a color-coding nation to evaluate travel restrictions according to the ECDC suggestions and much of the Schengen and EU area are presently red, along with most third-party nations. 

Travelers reaching from orange or green zones do not require to test or quarantine. Anyone reaching from a red zone in the EU or Schengen area or a red zone White List nations, if they are fully vaccinated, they do not require to get tested or self-isolate. Anyone who is unvaccinated will be required to arrive with a negative PCR test result, stay in isolation and test out after a negative test on days 1 or 2.

Croatia

Anyone coming from an EU or Schengen area nation can enter if they can offer one of the following: proof that they have had Covid-19 (between 11 and 365 days before arrival),  proof of vaccination in the last 365 days, or proof of a negative test conducted no more than 48 to 72 hours before arriving at the Croatian border.

France

As of 4 December 2021, anyone coming from the EU or Schengen area will only require to take a test if they are not completely vaccinated. However, everyone must presently test if they make an arrival from outside the EU bloc, even if they are fully vaccinated. These covid tests must be PCR and should be conducted in no more than 48 hours before arrival.

Conclusion

The covid situation does seem to end, and so traveling now is mandatory. Many international borders have been closed for over 2 years now. But many nations have now decided to open their borders for international travelers provided that they meet the requirements of the nations. Similarly, the EU has laid down some requirements that need to be met to enter the countries and travel freely. In this article, we have stated the various EU travel restrictions and regulations that you should look at before you plan to travel to any of the EU blocs.

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Donna Hussain

Everything that makes you lucrative about food and travel is the magic of Donna Hussain who has continued to influence us by her knowledgeable and quirky articles on travel, tour, and food.

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