COVID-19 Vaccinated Third-Country Citizens Can Now Enter Iceland
Travellers from countries outside the Schengen Zone, including those from the United Kingdom and the United States, can now enter Iceland, as the government has opened its doors for them since April 6. However, they will be obliged to follow certain conditions.
According to Iceland’s authorities announcement, all persons outside the Schengen Zone and those in the UK and the US can enter Iceland if they show a vaccination certificate or proof that they had been previously infected with the virus but have recovered since then, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
The decision was planned to take effect on March 26. Still, it was postponed until April 6, as according to the country’s authorities, more time is needed to permit scope for careful review of the procedures for estimating and accepting documentation.
But Iceland will not be a transit point for foreign travellers, the country’s authorities have announced.
Iceland’s flag carrier airline Icelandair has warned all travellers from the United States that they will not be permitted to fly with the airline to other European countries from Iceland, even though the latter is a member of the borderless area of Schengen.
“Iceland is welcoming vaccinated visitors from outside the Schengen zone, but further travel from Iceland to the rest of Europe is currently not permitted for non-Schengen residents,” Icelandair’s website has clarified through an announcement.
Amid the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak, Europe remains almost closed to all Americans; therefore, passengers who wish to enter Iceland to visit other countries in Europe will not be permitted to do so.
Earlier this month, Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health changed some rules for entering the territory regarding testing and quarantine requirements.
The country’s government previously announced that it removed Spain from its list of countries profoundly affected by the virus after taking into account that the latter registered fewer cases of COVID-19 infections.
Persons who wish to enter Iceland from territories where a 14-day Coronavirus case notification rate surpasses 500 per 100,000 are required to stay in a government quarantine facility or undergo isolation due to the virus.
Such a measure is applied to all zones considered by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control as high-risk zones. This includes the red, dark, and grey categories of countries.
The Coronavirus pandemic pushed Iceland’s government to temporarily freeze its plans of permitting nationals who have taken the vaccine against the virus to enter their territory.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Iceland has managed to maintain the Coronavirus situation under control.
Up to this point, the country reported 6,251 cases of COVID-19 infection and 29 deaths. These figures, provided by Worldometrs, show that Iceland currently is among European countries with meagre infection rates.
Iceland is the 158th most affected country worldwide by the Coronavirus.
