Italy Reopening For Tourism: Latest Information

Despite its major strike of COVID-19 cases, Italy is now recovering well from the pandemic. The country has reopened its borders for tourism on June 3, 2020, starting with 26 European nations to visit without restrictions.

But like most of the countries in Europe, Italy has to impose strict travel restrictions at the start of 2021 when a third wave of the pandemic hit Europe. When cases start declining, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced that the country will be opening its borders again for tourism. In line with this, the country started issuing and accepting EU Covid-19 Passport in June 2021. Currently, Italy is allowing the entry of tourists coming from several countries.

If you’re planning to travel to Italy soon, here’s what you need to know.

Who Is Allowed To Enter Italy?

When implementing Covid-19 travel restrictions, Italian authorities have classified countries into two groups, EU and non-EU countries.

Travelers from most EU countries are allowed entry into Italy as tourists with no restrictions. All they need to present is a Covid-19 Certificate, which proves that they have been vaccinated, recovered from the virus, or tested negative for Covid-19.

These are the countries that belong to these categories:

Austria
Andorra
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Denmark
Estonia
France
Finland
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Iceland
Latvia
Lithuania
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Monaco
Malta
The Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Poland
Czech Republic
Romania
Slovenia
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland

Any traveler who has stayed or transited through the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, including Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Island, will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test result carried within 48 hours before arrival and stay self-isolated for five days.

Travelers coming from some of the non-European countries that are on the country’s “safe list” can also enter Italy with no restrictions. They only need to present any of the following – vaccination certificate, certificate of recovery, or proof of negative Covid-19 result. These countries include the following:

Australia
New Zealand
South Korea
Rwanda
Singapore
Thailand,
Canada
United States

Travelers coming from any other country that is not on the list above are not allowed to enter Italy as tourists. And since overnight stays are also required to be registered, there’s no chance of sneaking into Italy via another country.

“COVID-Tested” Flights to Italy

Travelers coming from the United States are now allowed to enter Italy as tourists. However, they must travel to the country through a “Covid-tested” flight. Covid-tested flights are those flights that have been approved by Italy’s Ministry of Health. Currently, only Alitalia and Delta operate these flights from the United States.

There are also “Covid-tested flights” coming from other countries for which a travel ban is still in place. In order for a person to board these flights, they must provide a negative result of a Covid-19 test taken no older than 48 hours. They must also fill out a self-declaration and passenger locator form before boarding. Upon arrival at the airport in Italy, they will be required to undergo another Covid-19 test.

The other countries in which these “covid-tested flights” operate are Canada, Japan, and United Arb Emirates. Travelers taking these flights must undergo testing thrice. The first test will be carried out 48 hours before boarding, the second one will be done at the airport, and the third test on arrival. If all results are negative, they can skip quarantine. This restriction applies regardless of whether or not the traveler has been vaccinated, except if the traveler came from one of the countries listed above.

Restrictions for Countries With Higher COVID-19 Infection Rates

Travelers arriving from EU countries with higher Covid-19 infection rates are allowed entry. However they must present a negative PCR test performed within 72 hours of their arrival. They are also required to fill in a self-declaration form. Similar rules apply to travelers coming from the UK and Israel.

Travelers who have been to Brazil in the past 14 days or have transited through this country for more than 12 hours should provide a negative test result taken within 48 hours and undergo another testing upon arrival. After this, they should quarantine for 14 days and undergo another test at the end of their quarantine.

Only legal residents can enter Italy if they came from India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka and they must present a negative test result taken in the past 48 hours. Anyone who has been to Bangladesh or India is required to undergo another test upon arrival and quarantine for ten days at a place indicated by the authorities. They must undergo another test on day ten of their quarantine and will only be allowed to leave if they test negative.