The Netherlands has lifted travel restrictions for several European countries and 7 third countries
The Dutch government has decided to allow entry into the Netherlands for residents of several countries who are currently considered "safe countries" due to the low number of COVID-19 cases registered in their territory in the last week. From 15 May, citizens of five European countries - Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Malta and Portugal - will be eligible to enter the Netherlands for tourism, along with residents of the North Aegean region of Greece and the Spanish Balearic Islands.
At the same time, non-essential travel was allowed for arrivals from the following seven third countries: Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. Arrivals from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau will also be allowed as soon as China lifts entry restrictions for European travel.
Travelers arriving in the Netherlands from any of the countries listed above, as well as from the Caribbean Islands - which is under the authority of the Kingdom of the Netherlands - Aruba, Curaçao, St Maarten, Saba and St Eustatius, will not be required to present a negative result of a PCR test and they will not even have to be quarantined.
The Netherlands has lifted travel restrictions for several countries in the European Union and the Schengen area, but also for seven third countries.
"If you come from a country where the risk of getting COVID-19 is low (a safe country), you do not have to have a negative PCR test result when traveling to the Netherlands. You will also not be required to self-isolate when entering the Netherlands. ", notes the Dutch authorities in a published notice.
At the same time, the government has decided to allow arrivals from countries outside the green list, which have to travel to the Netherlands for critical reasons, such as illness, death or the birth of a relative. Currently, the Netherlands has interrupted all travel to / from India, South Africa and Central and South American countries due to new and more dangerous new variants of COVID-19 spread in these countries.
The ban will remain in effect until June 1 and includes the following: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, India, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, South Africa, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela .
The Netherlands has had strict restrictions on entry into the country since new variants of the COVID-19 virus began to spread around the world.
Due to these restrictions, the tourism sector has suffered the most. Many called on the authorities to further relax the restrictions, while the Netherlands Tourism and Conventions Council (NBTC) presented a proposal to create a travel bubble between the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, which would facilitate travel between these countries. three territories if the introduction COVID-19 vaccination passports will be delayed.
The Netherlands is currently the 21st country in the world with the highest number of coronavirus cases detected to date (1.600.993). 205.658 of them are still active, while another 17.456 infected people have lost their lives due to the virus.