This tourist season may have been mesmerizing for many Americans who chose European countries in order to spend some holidays after a year in lockdown.
Yet, those who postponed their trip to Europe for the end of summer and beyond may have to wait a little bit longer, in particular, if they haven’t been vaccinated yet as some European countries have started to ban non-essential travel for arrivals from the United States after the latter reported a surge in the number of COVID-19 infections.
Besides being profoundly affected by the Delta variant, the new COVID-19 variant known as Mu has been detected in 49 US States up to this point.
Therefore authorities in some European countries have decided to implement additional preventive measures in order to stop another COVID-19 epidemic wave.
EU Council Has Already Recommended to the Member States to Tighten Entry REstrictions for Americans
All travellers from the United States welcomed the Council of the European Union decision of June 18 when the US was included in the list of countries considered safe based on the rate of COVId-19 infections.
From June 18, travellers from the US were permitted to enter the majority of EU countries, restriction-free, even for non-essential purposes such as tourism.
However, last week, on August 30, the Council removed the United States together with five other countries from the safe list, urging its Member States to impose stricter entry rules for Americans and ban non-essential travel. Soon after the Council made its recommendation public, European countries started to make their position clear regarding the EU advice.
While some of them followed the Council’s advice, some other states clarified that they would not take such a step as the recommendation is not legally binding.
Before travelling to Europe, American travellers must know whether European countries implemented the EU Council recommendation or not.
Which EU Countries Have Applied the EU Recommendation & Which Have Refused to Do So?
Italy became the first country in the European Union that decided to follow the EU advice and tighten the rules for Americans.
On September 1, Bulgaria included the United States in its red list that consists of countries highly affected by the virus. Thus, regardless of their vaccination status, US travellers are banned from entering Bulgaria unless for specific exceptional cases.
Encouraged by the EU advice, authorities in Denmark also prohibited the entry for arrivals from the US as of September 6. However, authorities in Denmark emphasized that US travellers wishing to enter Denmark for essential purposes would be allowed to do so.
In an effort to stop the further spread of the virus, the Swedish government announced stringent entry requirements for Americans. However, authorities in Sweden announced that travellers wishing to enter the Scandinavian country for essential purposes would not be affected by the recent changes.
Regardless of their vaccination status, travellers from the US are also banned from entering Norway. As for the Netherlands, since September 6, Americans are required to present a recent negative result of the Coronavirus test and follow a ten-day self-isolation requirement upon their arrival in the Netherlands.
SchengenVisaInfo.com yesterday reported that Spain banned the entry of non-vaccinated travellers from the US, unless for emergency purposes, upon the recommendation of the Council of the EU to make such a step. The decision was confirmed by the Spanish Ministry of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare.
Due to the Coronavirus situation in the United States, Belgium and Germany imposed stricter entry rules for US arrivals before the Council recommendation.
However, other European countries, such as Greece, Croatia, Iceland, Portugal and Ireland, refused to impose stricter entry rules for arrivals from the US, despite the latter being profoundly affected by the virus, especially from the Delta variant.
“EU recommendation is non-binding, and the Member States retain control over their own border restrictions,” the Irish government stressed through a statement.
Authorities in Greece, Croatia, Iceland, Ireland, and Portugal refused to impose stricter entry rules for arrivals from the United States, despite the latter being profoundly affected by the virus, especially from the Delta variant.
Travelling to Europe As a Vaccinated US Citizen
Vaccinated travellers from the US are permitted to enter most of the European countries provided they have been fully vaccinated, except Bulgaria and Norway that have banned the entry even for vaccinated Americans.
Most European countries accept as valid proof of immunity vaccines that are approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), such as:
- Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty)
- AstraZeneca EU (Vaxzevria)
- Moderna (Spikevax)
- Johnson & Johnson (Janssen)
However, European countries are permitted to individually decide whether they want to accept other vaccines that are not approved by EMA or not.
Are Vaccinated US Residents Obliged to Present Negative Result of COVID-19 Test
Despite being vaccinated against the Coronavirus, travellers from the US must prove that they have recently tested negative for the virus in several EU countries. For example, authorities in Germany, Iceland and Italy, oblige US arrivals to present a negative result of the COVID-19 test, not older than 72 hours, upon arrival.
Are Americans Obligated to Quarantine Anywhere in Europe
The Netherlands imposes among the strictest restrictions for Americans. While the country permits only fully vaccinated US travellers, they must also follow the compulsory quarantine requirement.
As per non-vaccinated travellers, they are permitted to in many EU countries; however, they must follow strict entry rules. For example, unvaccinated US travellers planning to head to the Czech Republic, Ireland, Iceland, Estonia, Slovakia, Italy, and Romania must follow mandatory self-isolation requirements.
Health Insurance Remains a Must Even for American Travellers to EU
Travellers from the US planning to travel to Europe any time soon are urged to purchase travel insurance in order to be protected during their trip.
Travel insurance can help them save most of the money if the trip gets cancelled due to the COVID-19 situation or other similar reasons. Besides, if passengers get sick or suffer an accident during their trip, travel insurance will cover all the medical treatment costs.
Passengers can purchase reasonably priced travel insurance in European countries from AXA Assistance, MondialCare, or Europ Assistance.
What Is Open for Visitors in Europe
Despite the upsurge in the number of COVID-19 infections, vaccinated travellers from the United States can pack their suitcase and head to some of Europe’s most famous places, even for tourism, including countries like Ireland, Iceland, Croatia, Portugal, and France, provided they follow carefully the requirements imposed by local authorities due to the COVID-19 situation.
Current COVID-19 situation in the US & the US Travel Ban on Europe
Even though WHO’s figures show that the US has a marked total of 39,893,580 cases according to data provided by the New York Times, the number of COVID-19 infections in the United States has already surpassed 40 million cases.
Whereas so far, 53 per cent of the American population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
