The Netherlands requires testing for vaccinated citizens traveling from Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Sweden

By Cristina Last updated Aug 30, 2021

The Dutch government is imposing additional requirements on those arriving in the country from four European Union countries as of August 27, following an increase in the number of Coronavirus cases on their territory. The four countries were moved to the yellow list for the same reasons.

The decision was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and affects travel from Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Sweden. As of Friday, August 27, those traveling from the four countries must present the EU COVID Digital Certificate proving that:

have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with one of the vaccines approved by the Netherlands as proof of immunity for travel,
have recovered from COVID-19 infection in the last 180 days or so
present the negative result of a PCR test performed before arriving in the Netherlands

Travelers arriving in the Netherlands from these countries are advised to test upon arrival in the Netherlands, even if they are vaccinated.

Data provided by the World Health Organization show that only in Austria, which hosts 8.859.000 residents, a total of 1.329 cases have been detected in the last 24 hours, bringing the number of cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic to 677.276. Sweden, on the other hand, has registered 1.122.139 cases since the outbreak of the pandemic, of which 1.519 in the last 24 hours, and more than 10 million people live in Sweden.

Croatia and Slovenia, with 4.076.000 million inhabitants and 2.081.000 million inhabitants, respectively, have registered a higher number of COVID-19 cases in recent days. In the last 24 hours, Croatia reported 596 cases, while in Slovenia, 509 new cases were registered.

Travel from third countries remains possible for holders of a valid vaccination certificate that meets the requirements set by the Dutch authorities and if the 14-day period has elapsed since the recall.

"A vaccination certificate is not enough if you are traveling from a country that has been designated as an area with a high epidemiological risk. There is also a need for a negative PCR test to be performed before entering the Netherlands, ”said the Government's statement.