Italy gives up PLF, but keeps the requirement of the COVID-19 green pass when entering the country!

The Italian Ministry of Health has announced that the requirement to complete the PLF for entry into the country has been removed from May 1, while the rest of the existing entry restrictions have been extended until the end of May 2022.

In an ordinance published on April 28 in the Official Gazette of Italy, the Ministry notes that due to the current coronavirus situation in Italy, as well as in other EU and non-EU countries, the entry rules for Coronavirus will be extended until 31 May.

The decision is based on a recommendation from the Directorate General for Health Prevention sent to the Ministry on April 26, 2022, which states that, despite the cessation of the state of emergency in Italy, it is still necessary to combat the spread of the virus.

"The global epidemiological situation still requires precautionary measures, as in some EU and non-EU countries (including Italy) infection rates continue to remain high and, as such, it is necessary to maintain the current regime of entry measures into Italy.".

Thus, travelers from both the EU and non-EU countries will still be required to present one of the following certificates in order to enter Italy: COVID-19 vaccination certificate; Coronavirus Recovery Certificate; Certificate of negative result in COVID-19 tests.

For those who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 and are not recovering from COVID-19 infection, they may have a negative COVID-19 test result. Only PCR tests performed 72 hours before arrival in Italy and rapid antigen tests performed within 48 hours are accepted.

Those who do not hold any of the three certificates listed above will need to be quarantined for a period of five days upon arrival in Italy. They will be able to leave the isolation only after the end of this period and with a negative test for COVID-19.