EU countries can now allow entry to visitors from outside the bloc

Ambassadors from the 27 European Union (EU) member states on Wednesday 19 May reached an agreement on reopening borders for fully vaccinated travellers and visitors from countries with low COVID-19 infection rates.

EU OPENS TO VACCINATED VISITORS

Visitors must have been vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved for use by the EU or World Health Organisation (WHO). The approved vaccines include :

• Pfizer-BioNTech
• Moderna
• Johnson & Johnson
• AstraZeneca
• Sinopharm

It is not yet known what documentation will be accepted as proof of vaccination for vaccinated travellers. The European Union will release info on acceptable documentation which will serve as evidence of having been vaccinated.

EU’S LIST OF SAFE COUNTRIES

Visitors from countries deemed safe for entry will be able to enter the EU without vaccinations. The European Union is drawing up a list of countries it considers to be safe, in terms of allowing eased entry restrictions for travellers. 

Visitors from “safe countries” who are not vaccinated will need to present a COVID-19 PCR test result before being allowed entry. These are said to be nations with 75 or fewer COVID-19 cases per 100 000 people in the previous 14 days. The European Union is expected to release this list on Friday or early next week.

There is little chance that South Africa will appear on the EU’s list of safe countries. South Africa is currently reporting high infection rates as the country enters the third wave of Covid-19 infections. However, South Africans who have been vaccinated may receive good news when the EU releases further information.  

NO UNIFORMITY IN ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Loyalty Lobby reports that there may not be uniformity in the entry requirements of the various states in the EU. This is because individual countries may decide whether they accept or reject proof of vaccination from visitors.

Decision-making has been left to individual countries regarding who they will allow entry to. Loyalty Lobby states that individual EU countries may still require PCR-RT tests, impose quarantine requirements, or have other entry requirements in place though they should not have a separate set of requirements for EU citizens and third-country nationals.

A number of countries that are dependent on tourism including Portugal, Greece and Italy have already opened their borders to visitors ahead of the traditional summer peak.