Travellers arriving in the Netherlands from a European Union/Schengen Area country will no longer be forced to adhere to entrance requirements since the Dutch government has decided to discontinue such procedures.
New laws that went into effect today allow EU/Schengen Area visitors to enter the Netherlands without limitation, regardless of vaccination or recovery status. This means that visitors from the EU/Schengen Area will no longer be needed to provide a valid vaccination, recovery, or test certificate upon arrival in the Netherlands.
As per the government, the country has eliminated the pre-arrival exam for qualified passengers entering the Netherlands from outside the EU/Schengen area. However, in order to enter the Netherlands, tourists from most countries, including the United States, must be either vaccinated or have contracted COVID-19 and recovered within the previous six months.
If it has been more than 270 days (approximately 9 months) since the final dose of their first immunisation series, vaccinated tourists must obtain a booster shot in the Netherlands. The easing of admission rules comes on the same day that the Netherlands repealed other coronavirus-related safety precautions, such as the requirement to wear face masks on public transit.
However, masks are still required to be worn in airlines and in airports. Furthermore, EU/Schengen Area visitors arriving in the Netherlands from a third nation will be excluded from the entrance regulations.
“For people travelling to the Netherlands from within the EU/Schengen, the obligation to have a test, recovery, or vaccination certificate will expire from March 23,” the Dutch government said last week.
Such a remark implies that the Netherlands currently imposes admission rules based on a traveller’s country of origin. On the other side, it has been stated that the admission rules for third-country visitors have also been simplified. Persons arriving in the Netherlands from a non-EU country are no longer required to submit a negative COVID-19 test taken before arrival.
Third-country visitors are now just required to present a valid vaccination or recovery certificate while entering the country.
“The EU entry ban applies to you. There are exemptions to the entry ban, for example, for people travelling from a safe country or people with proof of vaccination or proof of recovery. This proof of vaccination or recovery must meet certain requirements,” the statement of the government reads.
A vaccination certificate must show that the holder has completed primary immunisation within the last nine months in order for it to be approved when entering the Netherlands. Concerning the recovery certificate, the authorities have stated that they only recognise recovery passes confirming viral recovery during the last six months.
Third-country visitors arriving in the Netherlands by air or sea must also fill out a health declaration form. Aside from easing entrance requirements for incoming visitors, the Netherlands’ Health Minister, Ernst Kuipers, stated last week that the country’s remaining internal limitations will be lifted beginning today, March 23.
The Minister declared that the obligation to wear a face mask and show proof of vaccination when attending certain public locations and activities would be eliminated.
The relaxation of limitations comes as COVID-19 cases have begun to decline in the Netherlands, where approximately 45,000 new infections are detected each day, according to Reuters. Many other European countries, including Iceland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, have eased or eliminated pandemic-era rules, including the elimination of passenger locator forms and all additional tests after initially dropping its pre-departure test requirement for vaccinated travellers in February.
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