EU: Travel restrictions for passengers from Argentina, Australia and Canada continue

The Council removes Argentina, Australia and Canada from the list of countries for which travel restrictions must be lifted.

In particular, following a review under the Recommendation on the gradual lifting of temporary restrictions on unnecessary travel to the EU, the Council updated the list of countries, special administrative areas and other entities and territorial authorities for which travel restrictions should be lifted.

As set out in the Council Recommendation, this list will continue to be reviewed every two weeks and, as appropriate, updated.

Based on the criteria and conditions set out in the Recommendation, from 17 January 2022, Member States should gradually lift travel restrictions at the external borders for residents of the following third countries:

Bahrain

Chile

Colombia

Indonesia

Kuwait

New Zealand

Peru

Qatar

Rwanda

Saudi Arabia

South Korea

United Arab Emirates

Uruguay

China, subject to confirmation of reciprocity

Travel restrictions should also be phased out for China’s special administrative districts of Hong Kong and Macao.

In the category of entities and territorial authorities not recognized as states by at least one Member State, travel restrictions for Taiwan should also be phased out.

Residents of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican should be considered EU residents for the purposes of this Recommendation.

The criteria for identifying third countries for which the current travel restriction should be lifted were updated on 20 May 2021. They cover the epidemiological situation and overall response to COVID-19, as well as the reliability of available information and data sources. Reciprocity should also be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The associated Schengen countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) also participate in this recommendation.

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ