Will Schengen countries require COVID-19 vaccine passports?

As European countries continue their efforts to vaccinate residents against COVID-19, travelers look yearningly toward a future in which they can visit the continent without having to undergo mandatory quarantine and testing requirements. At the moment, Schengen area entry requirements for 2021 do not require that travelers present vaccination certificates indicating that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to enter Schengen visa areas. However, this could change going forward, as alluded to by the EU’s recently proposed “Green Pass” initiative (what many are calling an EU vaccine passport). If you are planning an upcoming trip to the Schengen area, you may be concerned about EU countries asking for vaccination certificates going forward, as a condition of entry for travelers from outside the Schengen visa areas. Today’s blog will therefore address the current and upcoming Schengen area entry requirements 2021 in the context of the current vaccine passport system, including whether you will need a COVID-19 vaccine passport in order to travel to Europe.

What is a COVID-19 Vaccine Passport?

• The COVID-19 vaccine passport is, at the moment, a purely theoretical concept, in which individuals who have been vaccinated against the disease would present evidence of their complete vaccination, and thereby gain access to countries that limit entry exclusively to vaccinated travelers. 
• Under this vaccine passport system, countries would limit the spread of the coronavirus and keep their own populations safe by refusing the entry of foreigners who are not yet vaccinated. 
• While COVID passports are not yet in circulation among any states or organizations of states, there are indications that certain countries or entities (such as the EU, which is already developing a kind of EU vaccine passport known as the Green Pass) will attempt to create such a vaccine passport system going forward. 
• Because they do not yet exist, COVID passports could ultimately assume the form of digital IDs or physical documents, which would be scanned or presented at country borders or prior to boarding international flights.   

The Green Pass

• Since the pandemic began, efforts to contain it have included both collective EU action (such as restricting/banning the entry of people from certain non-EU countries) to national initiatives affecting individual countries and their respective residents (domestic curfews, mandatory testing and quarantine requirements for newly arrived travelers, etc).
• The pandemic has tested the “freedom of movement” of EU citizens and residents; the principle upon which the EU is based. While EU residents have been able to move around the zone since the pandemic, the Schengen area has struggled to both manage the pandemic and uphold the rights of residents to move fluidly throughout the zone. 
• The Digital Green Certificate (also known as the Green Pass) represents the European Commission’s ongoing attempt to reconcile these two principles. 
• Announced in March 2021, the Green Pass should become available to EU citizens and residents in the summer of this year. A digital, scannable ID rather than a physical card, the Green Pass will ultimately allow EU residents to display their individualized COVID-related information, including evidence of one of the following:
  • A negative COVID test
  • A COVID vaccine
  • Having previously been infected with COVID 
• While the Green Pass is being called an EU vaccine passport, this is a misnomer. Going forward, EU citizens/residents (including third-country EU residents) will be able to travel throughout the EU with or without the Green Pass, which will not be required for entry into any EU country. 
• However, individuals who possess a Green Pass will theoretically be exempt from the post-entry quarantine and testing requirements that non-holders will be subject to.   

EU countries asking for vaccination certificates

• While the Green Pass is meant to target EU residents, once operational, it will also be offered to foreigners who seek to travel to certain EU countries. For example, if you are from the United States and you wish to travel to France, you may ultimately be able to request a Green Pass from France, which will serve as evidence that you have either been fully vaccinated, tested negative from COVID, or previously been infected with the disease (provided you truly have been).
• At the moment, however, essentially no European countries require travelers to present evidence of having been vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for entry, nor are there requirements that you show evidence of having previously been infected with the disease. (There are some exceptions to this general rule, such as Iceland, which will be discussed below). 
• However, while you do not yet need COVID passports to enter the Schengen area, at the moment, most Schengen countries still require those who have already received a COVID vaccine submit to coronavirus testing pre-flight and post-arrival. What this means is that if you are flying into the Schengen area and you fail to present a negative COVID test (or test positive for COVID at the airport) you will not be allowed to board your flight, even if you have proof of being vaccinated against the disease.  
• A few countries, however, are exempting individuals who have been vaccinated from the pre-flight testing and post-arrival COVID-related restrictions. 
• If you are planning a flight into the Schengen area, please make sure to check the specific entry requirements for the country you intend to enter well in advance of departure. 

Schengen area entry requirements 2021

• Many Schengen countries currently require travelers into the area to test negative for COVID in order to enter, and all subject travelers to mandatory quarantines and/or testing post-arrival.
• Keep in mind that different Schengen countries have different requirements in terms of the specifics of the COVID-test they require, such as what type of test they will accept (PCR vs. antibody, for example) or the number of hours prior to departure you should take the test (24 hrs before vs. 48 hrs before, for example). These rules can also vary depending on what country you are arriving from, and your reason for travel.  
• For example, in order to enter Denmark today, all travelers, including Danish citizens, must show evidence of having tested negative for COVID at least 24 hours prior to departure. 
• In contrast, Estonia, which has banned all but essential travel for non-citizens/residents,  does not require travelers to present a negative COVID test in order to enter the country. However, after entering Estonia, all travelers are subject to a mandatory 10-day quarantine period, unless they agree to take (and pass) a COVID test taken within 72 hrs after their arrival. 
• At the moment, certain Schengen countries are currently allowing travelers to present valid vaccination certificates as a way to avoid being subject to mandatory quarantine periods post-arrival. 
• Estonia, for example, exempts all travelers who have been vaccinated against COVID,  (regardless of their departure destination) from the otherwise mandatory 10-day quarantine period post-arrival (the same exemption also applies to those who provide proof of having previously recovered from a COVID-19 infection). This means that travelers to Estonia who present evidence of either having been vaccinated or previously infected with COVID do not have to quarantine upon arrival in the country, or provide evidence of a negative COVID test after 72 hours of entering. 
• Another example: Beginning April 6, Iceland will start to allow the entry of all foreigners, including those from outside the Schengen area, on the condition that they present proof of vaccination (or proof of having previously been infected with COVID). Iceland is therefore one of the few Schengen countries which makes evidence of vaccination (or evidence of previous infection) a condition for entry for certain categories of travelers. Please note, however, this this requirement only affects travelers from certain non-EU countries, such as Canada and the US, who are not allowed to enter without evidence of a vaccine/previous infection, even if they are willing to submit to testing before/after arrival, in addition to quarantine.  
• Once vaccination regimes become more widespread, and better mechanisms for proving results are implemented, the list of countries allowing vaccinated travels to avoid testing/quarantine requirements will likely grow.
• However, domestic resistance to mandatory vaccination regimes (in places like France, for example, where over half the country has expressed a disinclination to pursue vaccination) may present a barrier to the expansion of vaccine passport initiatives going forward.