Czech travel restrictions tighten for arrivals from Poland, Netherlands and Cyprus

From Poland, the Netherlands and Cyprus, it will be more difficult for people not vaccinated against covid-19 to return to the Czech Republic from Monday. On the so-called traveler’s map, countries move from orange to red, indicating a high risk of coronavirus infection. The Ministry of Health informed about it in today’s press release. There will be changes in other countries as well, but they do not affect the regime upon arrival in the Czech Republic.

Based on data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the Ministry of Health updates the list of countries each week according to the degree of risk of the disease. Areas with a low risk of infection in Europe will include Italy, Malta, Spain, the Vatican and the Canary Islands, and Madeira. From non-European countries, Australia, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Chile, South Korea, Jordan, Canada, Qatar, Kuwait, Macao, New Zealand, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan and Uruguay.

The orange category will include Andorra, Denmark, France, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, the Balearic and Azores.

For countries marked in green and orange, passengers must fill in the arrival form and be tested before entering the Czech Republic or undergo an antigen or PCR test no later than five days after arrival.

However, on October 27, the Municipal Court in Prague abolished the obligation to fill in the arrival form upon return. According to the court, among other things, it interferes with the right to enter the territory of the Czech Republic, which every citizen has. The Ministry of Health may revise the regulation. But it has not yet said how it will react.

Red areas with a high risk of infection will include Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Croatia, Ireland, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Greece and Slovakia. Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania and Slovenia and other third countries outside the EU belong to the dark red category indicating a very high level of risk.

When returning from a country with a high or very high level of risk, the mandatory PCR test in the Czech Republic is no earlier than the fifth, but no later than the 14th day after arrival. Until then, the person must be self-insulating. Before returning, the test is only required if one uses public transport. There is also an obligation to fill in the arrival form before arrival.

The Ministry of Health has not yet reflected the decision of the Municipal Court in Prague, which annulled part of the self-insulation measure on 1 November.

Return conditions do not apply to persons who have completed two weeks of vaccination or who have had covid-19 in the last 180 days. However, the obligation to fill in the arrival form remains.

The Czech Republic recognizes vaccination of third-country nationals who have completed vaccination from a non-EU country with a substance approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or its equivalent vaccine approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use. These persons must have a verifiable certificate issued, which is published in the list of certificates on the Ministry’s website. It can also be a vaccination from countries for which an implementing act has been concluded and they issue a certificate according to a European regulation.