Europe Lifts Travel Restrictions for American Travelers
Americans are now once again able to visit the European Union, vaccinated or not. The European Council has updated its list of countries whose citizens and residents should be allowed to travel freely within its borders. United States is one of the countries that was added.
Some European countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain have already opened up to American visitors with proof of a vaccine, but now the European Union has decided to add the United States to its safe travel list. That means that non-essential travel will be allowed to the 27 member states. Non-essential travel from the United States and other countries had been banned in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, you still need to pay attention to what rules and regulation your specific destination has. The updated list published Friday is a recommendation on who may be granted entry based on their home country’s health situation. But each EU government still makes its own border decisions. This includes what nationalities to admit, whether to require PCR or rapid antigen coronavirus tests upon arrival, and whether quarantine is mandatory. The latter could still be a big barrier for tourists.
EU governments may also take reciprocity into account when deciding whether to grant access to American travelers. “We have received reassurances that this is a high-priority issue for the U.S. administration,” European Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz said.
Apart from the US, the EU has lifted restrictions on non-essential travel from 13 other countries including Albania, Australia, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Republic of North Macedonia, Rwanda, Singapore, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, and China (subject to confirmation of reciprocity).
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