Greece Becomes 30th Country To Remove All Entry Requirements

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Last Updated 3 years ago

It's official. Greece is fully reopening for summer 2022.

It was announced on Monday that Greece will become the 30th nation to remove Covid-related entry requirements for all travelers, including those from the US, Canada, and the UK. The new rules are scheduled to go into effect on May 2, 2022, according to local reports released earlier this week.

All External And Internal Restrictions To Be Temporarily Scrapped From May 2, 2022

If you don't have a vaccination certificate, you won't have to worry about any internal restrictions throughout Greece come summer. On top of removing all travel restrictions for international arrivals, Greece will also be scrapping all internal vaccine passport requirements from May 2nd until September.

Just last week, officials in Greece indicated that they would be making it easier for fully vaccinated travelers from the US to visit the Republic this summer, but Monday's announcement takes things one step further.

Current Travel Rules For Greece Will Still Apply Until May 1st

Currently, fully vaccinated travelers to Greece have to show proof of vaccination in order to enter Greece test-free. This will allow them to cross the land or air border as well as travel internally throughout the Republic. The testing requirement for fully vaccinated US and Canadian travelers was removed in February of this year.

Unvaccinated international travelers, they must show either a negative rapid antigen test result taken 24 hours of arrival to Greece or a PCR test 72 hours from arrival. There's also the possibility that some travelers will be required to take a rapid antigen test upon arrival.

As for the internal vaccine passport system, the current rules state that travelers must carry proof of vaccination, proof of full recovery from Covid, or a negative Covid test result in order to enter most public spaces throughout Greece. The Covid test result must be a PCR from 72 hours of entry or an antigen test 48 hours from entry.

According to Greece's official tourism board, this includes all tourist accommodations and most outdoor public spaces including outdoor dining and live events.

For indoor public spaces, the rules are a little more rigid. In order to access services such as restaurants, bars, cafes, and museums, all patrons must show either proof of recovery from Covid (from 6 months or less) or proof of full vaccination.

But as of May 2nd, 2022, these entry requirements will no longer be valid and travelers can visit Greece test-free and Covid passport-free.

Following a number of nations throughout the EU, Greece will become the 30th country to remove all Covid-related entry requirements that were initially put in place in March of 2020.

Travel Requirements To Be Removed In Greece – An Overview

From Greece's vaccine passport to all internal travel restrictions, here's an overview of the entry requirements that will be temporarily removed from May 2nd, 2022:

• No proof of vaccination will be required to enter Greece by land, sea, or air
• No testing requirements for travelers, regardless of vaccination status
• All internal vaccine passport requirements will be scrapped for fully vaccinated as well as unvaccinated travelers. This means that travelers and locals alike will not have to show any negative test result, recovery certificate, or proof of vaccination in order to enter public indoor and outdoor spaces in Greece this summer.

As travel restrictions may change at any time, always check the latest official government guidance if you plan on traveling to Greece this summer. All tourists should also have travel health insurance, especially a policy that covers hospitalization or cancellation due to covid.

Some Restrictions To Be Re-Installed For Unvaccinated Come September

While it looks like traveling to Greece this summer will be fairly easier when it comes to health protocols, officials stated that they do plan on bringing back the Covid rapid test requirements for unvaccinated travelers depending on the country's health status come September.

According to Greece's Health Minister, Thanos Plevris, this will apply for the internal vaccine passport system as well as the antigen or PCR test requirements to enter Greece.

During his announcement on the travel update this week, the minister stated that Greece “is not ignoring the pandemic, but we are entering a new regularity by lifting the restrictions, although we will be ready for the autumn and another vaccination rollout.”

Read More:

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