European Union: European Council amends the list of recommended non-EU countries with which travel can resume as of Aug. 30 /update 19

European Council updates list of recommended non-EU countries with which travel can resume as of Aug. 30. COVID-19 restrictions in place.

Event

The European Council (EC) has amended the list of countries with which it recommends member states relax COVID-19-related entry restrictions. As of Aug. 30, the US, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Israel, Montenegro, and Lebanon have been removed from the list due to the perceived risk of COVID-19.

In its latest guidance, the EC recommends member states ease travel restrictions for the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Canada, Japan, Jordan, Moldova, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Ukraine, and China (provided it implements a reciprocal travel arrangement). The council advises EU member states to restrict nonessential travel from all other countries outside the bloc as part of measures to combat the spread of COVID-19.

All EU Schengen Area member states, non-Schengen EU members (i.e., Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania), and the four non-EU Schengen-associated states (i.e., Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland) are participating in the travel restrictions.

The EC's recommendation is nonbinding; individual member states retain the authority to unilaterally deny travel from countries on the approved list or to permit travel with countries not on the approved list.

Participating countries have also implemented the EC's EU Digital COVID Certificate. The certificate is a digital or physical QR code that acts as proof of whether a traveler has been vaccinated against, recovered from, or recently tested negative for COVID-19. Member states should, in principle, allow individuals possessing the certificate to enter the country without restriction.

Additionally, the EC has advised member states to implement additional COVID-19 measures, including mandatory testing before departure, stricter measures to address virus variants of concern, and a common European passenger locator form. Persons exempted from the recommendations include family members of EU nationals, diplomats, foreigners with legal residency permits, cross-border and healthcare workers, and truck drivers transporting freight. UK citizens are subject to the recommended travel restrictions.

The EC also recommended May 20 that member states begin lifting restrictions for vaccinated travelers from countries outside the bloc; several member states have begun implementing this measure.

Advice

Prospective travelers from countries on the approved list should check for possible additional restrictions imposed by the destination country prior to booking travel. Persons from countries not on the approved list should consider postponing nonessential travel to the countries participating in the controls. Follow all official immigration and health-screening instructions.