The Latest Entry Requirements For The Top 9 European Destinations Due To Omicron

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Last Updated 3 years ago

With so many changes happening with travel entry requirements lately due to Omicron, it can get a little confusing for travelers. Here’s a review of the latest entry requirements for the top 10 destinations in Europe for U.S., Canadian and UK travelers.

France

Vaccinated persons can currently visit France for non-essential purposes. A PCR or antigen test taken within 48 hours of departure is required for travelers ages 12 and above. However, the testing window depends on your departure country. If coming from the U.S., it’s 48 hours before travel. From Canada, travelers can show a test taken 24 hours prior to departure. 

Passengers may be subject to testing on arrival.

Travelers to France who’ve recovered from Covid are currently not required to show proof of a negative pre-departure test. Instead, those travelers can show a positive test result (antigen or PCR) from at least 11 days prior to departure and no later than 180 days from the departure day.

At this time, travelers from the UK can’t visit France for non-essential reasons. You can read the latest guidance here. 

A number of European countries are currently on the CDC's Level 4 ‘high-risk' list for travel, including France.

Italy

Travelers coming from the U.S., UK and Canada are considered from ‘List D' countries according to the latest government travel guidance in Italy. 

Any travelers coming from List D countries in the 14 days before travel to Italy must do the following: 

• Fill out the official Passenger Locator Form before entry. 
• Show proof of a negative PCR test taken no later than 72 hours prior to entry to Italy, or a rapid antigen test from 24 hours prior to entry.
• For those coming from the UK, a PCR test must be taken no later than 48 hours before entry. All pre-departure testing requirements for Italy apply to travelers ages 6 and older. 
• Show a ‘Green Certificate' or any equivalent certificate showing proof of full vaccination (paper or digital is okay). In lieu of proof of vaccination, an official recovery certificate is currently accepted for those coming from Canada or the United States.  
• Unvaccinated travelers to Italy must self-isolate for 5 days upon arrival and take a molecular or antigen swab test on Day 5. 

Please note that for showing Covid tests for travel, some of the guidance differs when it comes to the testing window. For some destinations, the time limit is before entry into the country, and in other cases you’ll only have to show the test before departure. 

To make the travel process as simple as possible, always check with your airlines and the latest guidance for your destination about five days leading up to your trip, and remember to factor in the travel time when thinking about your testing window. 

UK

Fully vaccinated travelers ages five and up from the U.S. and Canada visiting the UK at this time must present a negative PCR or LFD test at departure, taken no later than 48 hours prior to travel.

All travelers must also schedule a PCR test to take after arriving in the UK, which can be taken on the day of arrival or on Day 2. Those that test positive from the arrival test will have to immediately self-quarantine for 10 days. 

All travelers to the UK must also fill out and complete the Passenger locator form 48 hours before travel.

The entry requirements above apply to unvaccinated travelers, on top of a few additional requirements. Unvaccinated travelers to the UK must purchase a ‘Covid Testing Package’ before travel, which will have tests to take during the travelers self-quarantine on Day 2 and Day 8 of arrival to the UK. You can see the details here. 

Greece

Officials in Greece updated the entry requirements for foreign travelers last month. Here are the latest travel restrictions for Greece if you’re traveling from the U.S., Canada or the UK.

• All travelers ages 5 and up must present a negative PCR test result from 72 hours of arrival or a rapid antigen test from 24 hours of arrival to Greece.
• Travelers must fill out the Passenger Locator Form 24 hours prior to departure (if you’re traveling as a group/family, only one form needs to be filled out for the whole group). 
• Passengers might be subject to random testing upon arrival to Greece. Any positive test results will result in a mandatory quarantine (10 days for unvaccinated travelers and 7 days for vaccinated travelers) and the hotel quarantine costs will be covered by the Greek government. 
• Travelers can show proof of full vaccination or recovery from Covid to be considered a fully vaccinated traveler.

Spain

If you’re traveling for leisure/non-essential reasons to Spain, then you must be fully vaccinated. You can see which vaccines are approved for travel here. 

Travelers showing any symptoms of Covid may have to undergo a PCR test upon arrival to Spain. There are no other testing requirements to travel to Spain at this time.

All visitors will have to complete this FCS form 48 before departure and show the QR code upon arrival to Spain.

Portugal

All visitors to Portugal must show a negative Covid test result for travel, regardless of vaccination status. The test can either be a RT-PCR (or NAAT) test from no later than 72 hours of departure or a rapid antigen test from 48 hours prior to departure for Portugal. Travelers with a EU Digital Covid Certificate or another proof of recovery from Covid won’t have to show a negative test result at departure. 

Portugal’s testing requirement doesn’t apply to those under 12 years of age. All passengers will have to fill out and complete the Passenger Locator Form after check-in and before departure. 

Germany

Germany tightened travel restrictions over the past few months, and only vaccinated travelers are allowed to visit the country at this time. 

According to the latest travel guidance, any traveler who’s visited what’s deemed a ‘virus variant area’ within 10 days of scheduled travel to Germany will be denied entry. You can see the list of countries here. 

There are no additional entry requirements for fully vaccinated travelers, other than having to fill out the online registration form before departure in order to get the Digital registration on entry PDF. 

Austria

Fully vaccinated travelers are permitted to visit Austria for leisure travel. Those travelers who’ve recently received their vaccine booster, or who’ve recovered from Covid and have received the booster won’t have to show any other documents for travel to Austria. All boosters are valid for travel the day they are administered. 

All travelers to Austria must also show proof of a negative PCR test taken within the previous 72 hours of arrival. The test certificate must be in English or German. 

Passengers should also fill out the ‘pre-travel clearance’ form 72 hours prior to departure. Those vaccinated or recovered travelers with vaccine boosters aren’t required to complete the form to show upon arrival.

Iceland

Only fully vaccinated travelers can visit Iceland at this time for non-essential purposes. Those who provide proof of recovery from Covid over the past 180 days won’t have to show proof of vaccination for travel.

On top of proof of vaccination or recovery, travelers must show proof of a negative Covid test result (PCR or rapid antigen) from within 72 hours of departure for Iceland. Travelers who show proof of recovery won’t have to provide a pre-departure test, and can show a positive PCR test taken between 14-180 days before travel. 

Travelers should also fill out the official pre-registration form before departure for Iceland. 

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