The world has well and truly opened up since the vaccine rollout that started early in 2021. Many countries have lifted - or are in the process of lifting - their restrictions. To a certain extent at least, there are still regulations and rules surrounding a positive COVID test and internal rules on how to navigate large crowds and public spaces. Generally speaking though, visa websites such as our Fast Track Visa services are able to allocate visas for many countries across the globe, and the nations within the European Union are just a selection of them.
The EU block, as it’s often called, is made up of 27 countries and so navigating the mainland continent of Europe can get very tricky indeed without some strategising. That is why the EU as a whole has implemented or is in the process of implementing a range of travel regulations that will encompass the entirety of the member nations. This blog will outline the main strategy that the EU, as of an update on 14th of June 2021, are approaching travel across and from beyond its borders.
Common Passenger Locator Forms
For those who are travelling between EU countries, contact tracing is important even now that infection rates are beginning to lower. To make life for travellers that little bit easier in the post-pandemic world, the EU Member States have established the Common Passenger Locator Form, which when filled out by an international traveller can be shared between different EU nations as the traveller moves between borders. This makes it easier to trace contacts or communicate with the traveller if they have potentially been exposed to the coronavirus because for member states of the EU, all Passenger Locator Forms will be the same, and each will work for other countries too.
Digital Passenger Locator Forms are also available, making it easier to collect health data on travellers and tourists in each country and so that tourists can present it upon arrival in a new country. In essence, the Common Passenger Locator Form is a one size fits all document. Through Fast Track Visa, you can obtain a Passenger Locator Form in much the same way as you would apply for a tourist visa online.
Travellers From Outside The EU
The gradual reopening of international travel might vary from region to region depending on infection rates, but generally speaking, the red, amber and green list has been implemented by the entirety of the European Union to ascertain the risk from each country. All countries on the “green list” whose citizens have been full vaccinated should be able to travel without having to self isolate or produce evidence of a negative COVID test.
It’s worth noting that if you are travelling from a green list country and have been fully vaccinated, you might still be required to test and self-isolate if you test positive for the virus. The vaccine reduces symptoms and makes the virus harder to spread, but it doesn’t stop you from testing positive for COVID.
Every two weeks, member states of the European Union will review the countries that can freely travel to the block. This means that many of the countries on the list of nations from which any and all travel should be possible can change every fortnight.
AdminPUBLISHED ON 06 Oct 2021
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