New Vaccination Rules for who plan to visit the European Union and Schengen Area countries

Key Highlights

• Overview
• EU Commission Announcement
• Vaccine Expiry Date

Vaccinated travellers to Schengen and EU countries will have to check whether their vaccination is eligible to travel to these, based on the date of getting the second vaccination dose.

EU Commission Announcement

Starting February 1 this year, all the Schengen and EU countries will set a date of expiry of a maximum of nine months for most Covid-19 vaccination certificates, which can be extended by taking booster shots.

This action comes as an aftermath of a decision by the European Union Commission to implement new rules on the EU Vaccination Certificate, which was revealed on December 21, last year.

According to the announcement by the EU Commission, a uniform method of accepting vaccination certificates would guarantee that there would be a continuity of cooperation between the member countries on travel measures due to the pandemic.

The Commission released a press release on the same, saying that “The new rules will ensure restrictions are based on the best available scientific evidence as well as objective criteria. Continued coordination is essential for the functioning of the Single Market, and it will provide clarity for EU citizens in the exercise of their right to free movement.”

Vaccine Expiry Date

According to the new measures, the vaccination certificate expires after either 270 days of the second dose of a two-dose vaccination or 270 days after being administered a single-step vaccine.

While the Commission has recommended the nine-month validity period, some EU and Schengen countries have gone a step ahead and further reduced the validity.