Digital certificate and travelling in Europe: everything you need to know, country by country

A journey as simple as QR Code. Coming into force on 1 July, the "EU digital Covid certificate" aims to revive the world of intra-continental tourism by providing travellers with digital proof of their vaccination, test negativity or immunity to the virus. The promise: a seamless process for people who have already been vaccinated and simplified procedures for everyone else.

The harmonised rules between the various member states are based on three pillars people who have completed their vaccination course - BioNtech/Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson/Janssen and Moderna - are exempt from entrance tests in a country, as well as those who have contracted the virus in the last six months. For all others, a negative test is required on entry.

So much for the common core. However, the rules laid down by each country - and which may appear restrictive in the texts - have to contend with the pragmatism of everyday life. This is particularly true when travelling in cross-border areas. In fact, the European Union has each country has the freedom to introduce its own measures.

Countries or regions still subject to certain restrictions due to the circulation of the virus, PCR and/or antigenic tests for non-vaccinated persons, form on entry, variation in the age of children for whom formalities are required : EU country-by-country update and the European Economic Area, on all these big and small differences.

Germany:

Form : No forms are required for visitors from countries not considered to be at risk. For low-risk countries, a registration form is required (www.einreiseanmeldung.de). This may include a test and quarantine. People who have been vaccinated or completely cured are not subject to these last two measures. To find out which areas are considered to be at risk, consult the Robert Koch Institute's list, which is updated every week (www.rki.de/risikogebiete). Please note: stricter rules apply to countries with a high level of circulation of a variant of the virus.

Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.

Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test less than 72 hours old and antigen test less than 48 hours old for travellers. The measure applies from countries classified as low risk. It is possible to take a test up to 48 hours after arrival.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under-11s.
Information website : www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/fileadmin/Dateien/3_Downloads/C/Coronavirus/SMS-Infos/Francais-Franzoesisch.pdf

Austria :

Form : No forms are required for travellers from countries where there is little circulation of the virus.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Other accepted vaccine : Sinopharm.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test less than 72 hours old and antigen test less than 48 hours old.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under 10 years old.
Information website : www.austria.info

Belgium :

Form : Travellers must complete the Passenger Locator Form, unless they are staying in Belgium for less than 48 hours and arriving by a means other than air or sea (travel.info-coronavirus.be). Note that the distinction between business and non-business travel will be abolished from 1 July. In place of the Business Travel Abroad tool, people making a business trip will also have to fill in the Passenger Locator Form.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: no test is required if the traveller comes from a green zone (which is the case for EU countries) or an orange zone.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under 12s.
Information website : www.info-coronavirus.be

Bulgaria :

Form : compulsory travel declaration.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test less than 72 hours old and antigen test less than 48 hours old.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : less than 5 years old.

Croatia :

Form : To speed up border crossing, it is advisable to complete the EnterCroatia form before departure.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Other accepted vaccine : Sputnik V.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test less than 72 hours old and antigen test less than 48 hours old.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under 12s.
Information website : entercroatia.mup.hr

Cyprus :

Form : All passengers must submit all the information and documents required to obtain the CyprusFlightPass (https://cyprusflightpass.gov.cy/en/download-forms) within 24 hours of the start of their journey.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Other vaccines accepted : Sputnik V, Sinopharm.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: France is on the orange list, and the PCR test is less than 72 hours old.
Information website : entercroatia.mup.hr

Denmark :

With the exception of Réunion, rated red, all the countries and regions of Europe are rated green by Denmark.

Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test less than 72 hours old and antigen test less than 48 hours old.
Information website : coronasmitte.dk

Estonia :

Form : No form is required for European travellers.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test less than 72 hours old and antigen test less than 24 hours old.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under 12s.
Information website : www.kriis.ee

Finland :

Form : No form is required for European travellers from countries on list 1. As well as countries on list 2, but only for arrivals by air. Please note that only travellers who have been vaccinated or cured may visit Finland as tourists. Travellers with a negative PCR test are not permitted to visit Finland, except for specific reasons.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate in English.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under-16s.

Information website : valtioneuvosto.fi

Greece :

Random testing of travellers arriving in Greece, whether or not they are from EU countries.

Form : Passenger Locator Form to be completed up to 24 hours before departure.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Other vaccines accepted : Sputnik, Sinovac, Sinopharm, Cansino.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test less than 72 hours old and antigen test less than 48 hours old.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under 12s.
Information website : travel.gov.gr

Hungary :

Hungary has closed its border to all foreign nationals for an indefinite period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can apply for an exemption on the following website ugyintezes.police.hu/en/home.

Iceland :

Form : pre-registration form to be completed before departure.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: A PCR test less than 72 hours old is required to enter Iceland. An isolation phase of five to six days is also required, with a PCR test on arrival and another at the end of the quarantine period.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under-16s.
Information website : www.covid.is. The Rakning C-19 app also provides useful information.

Ireland :

With non-essential travel still banned for a few weeks, Ireland will not be connected to the European digital certificate system until 19 July.

Currently, all travellers arriving in Ireland must complete a Passenger Locator Form and provide proof of a negative PCR test less than 72 hours old.

Information website : www.gov.ie

Italy:

Form : Passenger Locator Form.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR or antigen test less than 48 hours old.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under 12s.
Information website : www.italia.it

Latvia :

Form : an electronic confirmation form must be completed on Covidpass.lv within 48 hours of crossing the Latvian border.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test less than 72 hours old.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under 12s.
Information website : Covidpass.lv

Lithuania :

Form : an electronic confirmation form must be completed on the Lithuanian Public Health Centre website within 48 hours of departure.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR or antigen test less than 48 hours old.

European travellers who have not been fully vaccinated or immunised against Covid, and who are coming from countries or regions classified as red by Lithuania, must adhere to a self-isolation period of 10 days, which can be shortened to one day following a PCR test.

The list of countries or regions is regularly updated. The list effective between 28 June and 4 July included Ireland, Spain (except Tenérife and the Canaries, with the exception of Majorca), Switzerland and two French departments, French Guiana and Reunion.

Information website : nvsc.lrv.lt

Luxembourg :

Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test less than 72 hours old or antigen test less than 48 hours old.
Information website : covid19.public.lu

Malta :

Form : Two forms are required: the Public Health Travel Declaration and the Passenger Locator Form.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test less than 72 hours old.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : less than 5 years old.
Information website : www.visitmalta.com

Netherlands :

Form : health declaration required for travellers arriving by plane.

Whether or not they have been vaccinated, EU nationals arriving from "safe" areas do not need to present a test when entering the country. Since 1 July, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Latvia, Sweden and Switzerland have joined this green list. Only French Guiana is in the red zone, and travel from this department is restricted to essential travel, and is also subject to quarantine.

Information website : www.government.nl

Norway :

Norway will join the European certificate system from 5 July. Fully vaccinated travellers and immunised persons will be free to enter the country. Others will have to declare their trip digitally 72 hours before arrival. These travellers will also have to provide proof of a negative PCR test less than 72 hours old, and undergo a test on arrival at the border. People who have received a first dose of the vaccine within three to fifteen weeks - and children under 18 - will also have to be vaccinated, they will be forced to self-isolate, which may end with a PCR test after three days. For unvaccinated 18-year-olds, quarantine is carried out in a hotel for the first three days, followed by self-isolation for the next four. A PCR test is carried out after seven days.

Information website : www.visitnorway.com

Poland :

Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test or antigen test less than 48 hours old.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under 12s.
Information website : www.poland.travel

Portugal :

Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test or antigenic test.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under 12s.
Information website : www.visitportugal.com

Czech Republic :

Form : No form is required for travellers from countries where the virus does not circulate widely. As of 23 June, France was on the orange list, which means that a Passenger Locator Form has to be completed.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test less than 72 hours old and antigen test less than 48 hours old.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under 6s.
Information website : https://www.mzv.cz/jnp

Romania :

The country is in the process of being connected to the European system.

Slovakia :

Form : Passenger Locator Form to be completed before arrival at korona.gov.sk/ehranica.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test less than 72 hours old and antigen test less than 24 hours old.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under 18s.
Information website : korona.gov.sk/ehranica

Slovenia :

Form : Passenger Locator Form to be completed before arrival at korona.gov.sk/ehranica.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Other vaccines accepted : Sputnik V, Sinovac, Sinopharm.

For travellers from countries classified as green, no test is required. is not required if they can prove that they have spent the last five days in these "green" zone countries. This very detailed list can be consulted at www.gov.si and, as far as France was concerned, only three departments, two of which were overseas: Corsica, Mayotte and Martinique.

For countries in the orange zone - which includes most of France - a PCR or antigen test is required for people who have not been vaccinated.

Finally, travellers arriving from Réunion, which is classified as a red zone, will have to undergo quarantine tests.

Information website : www.gov.si

Sweden :

Form : Passenger Locator Form to be completed before arrival at korona.gov.sk/ehranica.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test or antigen test less than 48 hours old (only residents of Northern European countries do not need to carry out these tests).
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under 18s.
Information website : polisen.se

Switzerland :

Form : entry form to be completed on swissplf.admin.ch for entry into Switzerland by air. This also applies to transit flights.
Fully vaccinated or immunised travellers : proof of certificate.
Tests required for people who have not been vaccinated: PCR test less than 72 hours old and antigen test less than 48 hours old.
Age of children where these formalities are not necessary : under 12s.
Information website : www.bag.admin.ch