EU To Ease Travel Rules For The Vaccinated

Charlie Immigration updates 26 January 2022 | Updated On February 17, 2024 | 0

On 25 January 2022, the European Union released a statement that people travelling among its 27 member states who have been vaccinated in the past nine months or recovered from the coronavirus should not face additional restrictions like testing or quarantine.

The change came after the World Health Organisation said that the spread of the omicron variant could change the pandemic from overwhelming to manageable.

Under the new recommendation, EU residents with a COVID digital certificate recording their full course of vaccination, a certificate of recent recovery from the disease or a negative test result not older than 72 hours will be able to move freely across the bloc.

This means that the Covid related travel restrictions will be based on each traveller instead of their country of origin.

The new rule will come into force on 1 February and is aimed to coordinate travel restrictions across the bloc.

Travellers Without EUDCC

Public health measures remain under the responsibility of the national governments of each member state. Individual countries can still impose additional requirements on visitors, such as quarantines or negative test results.

Travellers without an EU Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC) will have to test negative 24 hours before or after arrival, but children under the age of 12 will be exempt from the mandates.

EUDCC Validity

In an attempt to encourage more Europeans to get booster shots, the bloc also said that proof of two-dose vaccinations will expire after nine months.

Individuals who want to renew their digital certificates must get an additional coronavirus vaccine dose. So far, slightly over 40% of the bloc’s residents have received an extra dose.

The nine-month duration period for vaccination certificates following a primary course of vaccines will also come into force on 1 February.

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