Italy Enforces Entry Restrictions On U.S Tourists

Last Updated 3 years ago

Italy has become one of the first EU countries to take the European Union’s advice and increase travel restrictions on U.S tourists entering Italy.

The European Union made the controversial decision to advise EU nations to place restrictions on U.S travelers because of rising cases of the Delta variant after the EU removed the U.S from its safe list of countries.

In turn, Italy has been quick to enforce new restrictions on American visitors.

The New Entry Restrictions

Any traveler that has entered the United States in the previous two weeks will need to present evidence of a negative PCR test taken 72 hours before arriving in Italy. That’s regardless of a travelers vaccination status.
Any unvaccinated U.S travelers will have to quarantine for five days upon arrival and will have to take another test after five days even if their original test was negative. The U.S embassy states that PCR tests in Italy cost an average of $75 and antigen tests cost around $25.
U.S travelers will have to fill out a passenger locator form, which enables contact tracers to find clusters of COVID-19 if a breakout happens.

In addition, the new Italian entry restrictions will also apply to travelers coming from Canada, Japan, and Isreal. The Italian government will enforce these restrictions until October 25th at the latest according to the government.

However, other EU member states haven’t announced any new restrictions on United States travelers. Although some nations, including Germany and Belgium, already had stricter entry requirements for U.S travelers before the EU’s announcement, following the rise in cases coming from the West.

Although most of the restrictions will apply to unvaccinated U.S travelers, vaccinated U.S travelers will still need to face tightened testing requirements.

Children under the age of 6 won’t have to present evidence of a negative PCR test upon arrival, but they must comply with self-isolation restrictions if required
People under the age of 18 are exempt from self-isolation if they are with an adult in possession of a COVID green pass

The Current Restrictions Inside Italy

Some Western countries have dropped all COVID-19 restrictions, but Italy isn’t one of them. Travelers will need a digital green pass to enter many attractions, and these include the following:

Bars
Restaurants
Cafes
Public events
Historical sites
Museums
Festivals
Gyms and fitness centers
Gaming halls
Planes
Trains
Ships
Ferry’s
Buses

Italy is allowing paper copies of proof of vaccine for foreigners who cannot obtain the EU's Digital Green Pass for the time being.

Realistically, if you’re unvaccinated at the moment, Italy is definitely not the best destination to visit.

The COVID-19 Situation In Italy

Italy is currently going through a small wave of COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant, but cases are starting to flatline.

The current 7-day average in Italy is 6,448 cases per day, and Italy has currently fully vaccinated around 60.8 percent of its entire population. The nation has given one vaccination dose to over 77 million citizens.

The New EU Recommendations For U.S Travelers

The European Union recommend on Monday that Americans should be banned from the EU member states due to rising COVID-19 cases. Nevertheless, almost all EU countries haven’t banned U.S tourists, but some have already added restrictions.

Cases in the United States have grown sharply in the previous two weeks. The EU’s safe travel list requires nations to have fewer than 75 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people. The U.S has a far higher number than that.

However, many travel companies in Europe were disappointed at the news after U.S travelers started to come back to the EU this summer.

Although many U.S travelers will still come to Europe in the coming months, the new restrictions make it far more tricky.

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Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

Friday 10th of September 2021

PCR test is not required.

The main website is

(link)

There you will see reference to their newest rule regarding the kind of test you have to have.

Which is contained in the August 28 ordinance.

You can link to the August 28 ordinance from the above website. For your convenience I have included it below.

The August 28 ordinance Article 2 says the test that you need is:

TRANSLATED VERSION:

Persons who have stayed or transited, in the previous fourteen days, in Canada, Japan and the United States of America, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 4, paragraph 3, of the order of the Minister of Health of 29 July 2021, for the purpose of entry into the national territory is also obliged to present to the carrier at the time of boarding and to anyone who is responsible for carrying out the checks, the certification of having submitted, in the seventy-two hours prior to entry into the national territory, to a molecular or antigenic test, carried out by means of a swab and a negative result."

ORIGINAL ITALIAN VERSION:

“. Alle persone che hanno soggiornato o transitato, nei quattordici giorni antecedenti, in Canada, Giappone e Stati Uniti d’America, fermo restando quanto previsto dall’articolo 4, comma 3, dell’ordinanza del Ministro della salute 29 luglio 2021, ai fini dell’ingresso nel territorio nazionale è fatto obbligo, altresì, di presentare al vettore all’atto dell’imbarco e a chiunque è deputato a effettuare i controlli, della certificazione di essersi sottoposto, nelle settantadue ore antecedenti all’ingresso nel territorio nazionale, a un test molecolare o antigenico, effettuato per mezzo di tampone e risultato negativo.”

This is in keeping with the English newsletter that I read called local IT which states the same.

Definitions: Antigen and Molecular Tests Diagnostic tests are used to detect current, active infections of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Diagnostic tests can be antigen based (“rapid antigen” tests), which look for protein markers on the outside of the virus, or they can be molecular based (including PCR, LAMP, CRISPR), which look for viral genomic material specific to SARS-CoV-2. Molecular based tests that amplify genetic material are also called nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT).

Stephen White

Wednesday 8th of September 2021

My wife and I just came home Monday from a trip to Italy. It was very easy for us, we are both vaccinated and had no troubles anywhere. Italian bars and restaurants require the so-called Green Pass only for eating and drinking INSIDE. Sitting outside, it isn't required. Fortunately, since we had our CDC vaccination cards, we were fine anyway. We also showed our cards when traveling by train, because a new law came into effect while we were there, on September 1, requiring the Green Pass (or equivalent) for some trains. We filled out the Passenger Locator Form for Italy before arriving and had NO issues whatsoever. We had a fantastic time, BTW.

Renee

Friday 3rd of September 2021

By the way where Unvaccinated US travelers will be staying 5 quarantine days? Italian "camps for unvaccinated"? Seriously!

Fritz

Saturday 4th of September 2021

@Renee, Right?!

How soon before travel to Italy need to submit EU location form?

Kashlee Kucheran

They just say before leaving on your flight to have it completed

Anna Carbone

Thursday 2nd of September 2021

How are children younger than 12, but older than 6 affected by Italy’s new restrictions on Americans? The Adults are vaccinated, but the 8 year old is not.

I believe they will require a negative test for entry