European Union: European Union amends travel suspension with several African countries Jan. 11 /update 25

European Union agrees to end travel suspension with several southern African countries Jan. 11.

Event

The European Union has agreed to end a travel suspension imposed on several southern African countries Jan. 11; the travel ban was imposed Nov. 26 due to concerns regarding the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The impacted countries are Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

The European Council (EC) is maintaining the list of countries with which it recommends member states relax COVID-19 related entry restrictions. As of Jan. 11, the list consists of Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, Kuwait, New Zealand, Peru, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan, UAE, Uruguay, 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 (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. The EC also previously recommended that member states begin lifting restrictions for vaccinated travelers from countries outside the bloc; several member states are implementing this measure.

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.

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.