EU inbound travel: people, not places

EU entry rules are to move from country of origin to the individual situation of tourists. Medical travellers in possession of a valid EU digital COVID certificate should not be subject to additional restrictions to free movement.

The European Council has adopted a recommendation on a coordinated approach to facilitate safe, free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is in response to the significant increase in vaccine uptake and  rapid rollout of the EU digital COVID certificate.

It will come into force on 1 February 2022, on the same day as a delegated act amending the digital COVID-19 certificate regulation and providing for an acceptance period of 270 days for vaccination certificates.

Under the new recommendation, COVID-19 measures should be applied taking into account the status of the person instead of the situation at regional level, with the exception of areas where the virus is circulating at very high levels. This means that a traveller’s COVID-19 vaccination, test or recovery status, as evidenced by a valid EU digital COVID certificate, should be the key determinant.

The Council believes a person-based approach will substantially simplify the applicable rules and will provide additional clarity and predictability to travellers.

A valid EU digital COVID certificate includes:

• A vaccination certificate for a vaccine approved at European level if at least 14 days and no more than 270 days have passed since the last dose of the primary vaccination series or if the person has received a booster dose. Member states could also accept vaccination certificates for vaccines approved by national authorities or the WHO.
• A negative PCR test result obtained no more than 72 hours before travel or a negative rapid antigen test obtained no more than 24 hours before travel.
• A certificate of recovery indicating that no more than 180 days have passed since the date of the first positive test result.

People who are not in possession of an EU digital COVID certificate could be required to undergo a test prior to or no later than 24 hours after arrival. Travellers with an essential function or need; cross-border commuters and children under 12 should be exempt from this requirement.  This leaves a potential loophole for medical tourists but it is up to each country, not the EU as a whole.

The Council recommends that the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control should continue to publish a map of member states’ regions indicating the potential risk of infection according to a traffic light system (green, orange, red, dark red). The map should be based on the 14-day case notification rate, vaccine uptake and testing rate.

Based on this map, member states should apply measures regarding travel to and from dark red areas, where the virus is circulating at very high levels. They should in particular discourage all non-essential travel and require persons arriving from those areas who are not in possession of a vaccination or recovery certificate to undergo a test prior to departure and to quarantine after arrival.

The recommendation is not a legally binding instrument. The authorities of the member states remain responsible for implementing the content of the recommendation.