The worldwide travel warning that Austria implemented 15 months ago in response to the pandemic has now been lifted.
Transport State Secretary Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) announced the news at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) on Thursday, July 1st.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that EU states and three Western Balkan states – Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania – are now classified as green.
This means people can enter Austria from these countries for tourism, as long as they have a negative test, are vaccinated or have recovered from coronavirus.
Schallenberg did not rule out that restrictions could be tightened again and added that they are watching the situation in Portugal.
The green travel list
Other non-European countries on the green list include the USA, Saudi Arabia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
Brunner said there are already more international flights operating at Vienna International Airport and added that flight bans will expire at some point.
However, each individual country has its own travel rules and regulations, so the lifting of the worldwide travel warning in Austria doesn’t mean the same applies elsewhere.
An overview of the situation in other countries can be found at the link below.
Entry, masks and nightclubs: What are the rules in some of Austria’s favourite holiday destinations?
The orange travel list
Most non-European countries have been switched from red to orange, with full immunisation required for entry to Austria from a country classified as orange. There is no quarantine for arrivals from these countries.
Full immunisation is acquired 14 days after the second dose of vaccines like Pfizer and AstraZeneca, or after the one and only shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Alternatively, recovery from coronavirus plus one dose of a vaccine is also valid for entry from a country on the orange list.
The red travel list
Only a handful of countries remain on the red list, including Brazil, South Africa, India and the United Kingdom, due to the high number of cases of coronavirus variants in the community.
This means only Austrian citizens or residents travelling from these countries can enter Austria with a negative PCR test, even for people that are fully vaccinated or have recovered from coronavirus, and all arrivals must undergo a quarantine.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned against travelling to “red” listed countries.
READ MORE: EU Covid certificate: What are the different entry rules in place around Europe?
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