Europe welcomes back vaccinated tourists this summer
Europe is to welcome back tourists this summer who have been vaccinated at least two weeks before arrival. This is great news for travellers looking to get away and explore the continent after a year of stay-at-home restrictions. Prior to now, travel from outside the EU into the region was greatly restricted due to local outbreaks of Covid-19. However, with vaccination efforts well underway and summer arriving, the EU and countries across the region have started to reopen for tourism once again.
Here is some information for visitors to Europe in summer 2021, including how they can get ready to travel and how to prove to national authorities that they’ve been vaccinated.
Where can tourists visit?
With the EU-wide restrictions on non-citizen arrivals coming to an end, all 27 countries are once again open to tourism – in theory at least. Whilst the EU’s rules on visitors are ending, individual member states may still impose their own checks and restrictions in the short term. This means nations have the final say on whether tourists from certain countries may enter or not.
At present, countries that have already opened to some or all vaccinated tourists include:
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Croatia
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Cyprus
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Estonia
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France
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Greece
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Iceland
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Italy
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Poland
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Romania
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Spain
It is also important to note that many non-EU citizens can currently enter Europe with just a passport. However, this will change in 2022.
ETIAS, the new EU-wide security system, will launch next year and it will soon be necessary to hold a digital visa waiver to arrive in Europe. To learn more about its requirements check here.
Which vaccinations are accepted by the European Union?
While there are many vaccines available against COVID-19 around the world, only a handful are accepted by the EU as proof of vaccination. These include shots manufactured by the following companies:
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Pfizer
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BioNTech
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Moderna
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AstraZeneca
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Johnson & Johnson
What do travellers need to prove they have been vaccinated?
The EU has introduced a standardised method to assess whether travellers meet the safety criteria necessary, without having to quarantine. The EU Digital COVID Certificate is designed to allow travellers to easily show:
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They have tested negative for COVID-19 following a PCR test
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They have been vaccinated against COVID-19
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They have recovered from COVID-19 where relevant
This allows passengers’ information to be presented as a QR code that can be scanned by the authorities at their destination. It also offers a quick and easy way to pass through border security while proving that they’re protected against Covid-19.
Not all EU countries are yet fully prepared to run this system, although it is gradually being rolled out by member countries. It has currently been implemented by the following destinations:
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Bulgaria
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Croatia
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Czechia
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Denmark
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Greece
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Poland
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Spain
The EU’s current guidelines state that the Digital Certificate will be available EU-wide by 1st July 2021. However, in the case of countries that are unable to launch in time, alternative methods such as paper copies of the certificate will be accepted.
How to get an EU vaccination passport
Getting a digital Covid certificate is free of charge and can be acquired from local health authorities, vaccination test centres and COVID-testing facilities. It can then be printed or uploaded to an app to display on arrival in Europe.
Luckily, in the case of UK travellers, this is relatively easy to do. All that’s needed is a download of the NHS app. Users will need to create an account, if they haven’t already, and then access the “Your Health” tab and click the “Check your COVID vaccine record” box. They will then need to click that tab that says “share your COVID-19 status”, select “continue” and then “travel”. This will generate the QR code needed for presentation on arrival in the EU.
For American visitors to Europe, things aren’t quite as centralised. The White House has mandated that information of a citizen’s vaccination status cannot be stored at a Federal level, therefore there isn’t an app that can be used nationwide to display vaccination status. Whilst there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, travellers can use apps provided by their airline or travel companies to display their Covid vaccination status in many cases. As the world gradually reopens following the pandemic, it’s expected this service will be available for more providers going forward.
Travel to Europe starting again is a major step back to normality. However, it’s still important to have a good idea of what is required by any destination before travelling so that it’s possible to get the most enjoyment from the trip.
The editorial unit
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