As of Friday, July 9th, new travel regulations have come into force unifying the entry restrictions for green and orange groups of countries, and red and dark red groups. From now on, even those arriving from green countries are required to fill in the passenger locator form and undergo a test before or after arrival. Photo Credit: Mzcr.cz.
Czech Rep., June 7 (BD) [Updated July 12. 13pm] – Based on data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the Czech Ministry of Health has updated the country-specific travel regulations valid from Friday, July 9th. In addition, the Ministry of Health has unified the entry restrictions for green and orange groups of countries, and for red and dark red groups.
Image: Rules of entry and return to the Czech Republic for citizens of Czechia and EU+ countries as well as for foreign nationals with residence permit issued by Czechia or any other EU+ country. Credit: Mvcr.cz.
To enter and stay in the Czech Republic, travellers from all groups of countries, including green countries, are required to present a test and fill in the Passenger Locator Form.
Third-country nationals who do not have a residence permit issued by the Czech Republic or long-term residence permit issued by another EU country are not allowed to enter Czech territory. Exemptions are listed at the Ministry of Health website.
Image: Rules of entry and return to the Czech Republic for third-country nationals. Credit: Mvcr.cz.
Exemptions apply for citizens and residents of the Czech Republic. When using private individual transport, they are exempt from the requirement to undergo a test before arrival and can choose to take an antigen test instead of PCR when travelling from countries with a very high or extreme risk.
Certain groups are exempt from the obligation to undergo a test or quarantine after arrival, regardless of the country they are travelling from. This includes those who have had Covid-19 in the last 180 days, those fully vaccinated in EU+ countries, and Czech or EU+ citizens vaccinated in a third country with vaccinations approved by EMA. Travellers in these groups must have a written or digital medical certificate with the necessary information in English.
Green
Low-risk countries currently include Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Lithuania, Macao, Madeira, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and the Vatican City. Travellers from these countries are now required to fill in a Public Health Passenger Locator Form before entry and to undergo an antigen or PCR test before or no later than 5 days after entry.
Orange
Medium-risk countries include Andorra, Ireland, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands and the Azores. Currently the orange group of countries is subject to the same entry restrictions as the green group.
Red
Countries considered ‘high risk’ for the transmission of coronavirus include Portugal, Cyprus and Spain (including the Balearic and Canary Islands).
Those travelling from red countries must complete the electronic Public Health Passenger Locator Form and present either an antigen test taken no more than 48 hours before the start of the trip or a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before entry to the Czech Republic. They are also required to undergo a test after arrival in the Czech Republic, no earlier than the 5th day and no later than the 14th day after arrival, and self-isolate while waiting for the result.
When travelling by private individual transport, passengers are not required to take a test before the start of the trip, but must submit a test no earlier than the 5th day and no later than the 14th day after arrival, and self-isolate while waiting for the result of the test.
Dark Red
All other EU member states and non-EU countries not mentioned above are considered high-risk areas and are subject to the same entry restrictions as red countries.
Extreme Risk
“Extreme risk” countries include Botswana, Brazil, Eswatini (Swaziland), India, South Africa, Colombia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Peru, Tanzania (including Zanzibar and Pemba), Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Paraguay, Russia and Tunisia.
Travel to the Czech Republic from these countries is allowed only for Czech citizens and residents, foreigners with a long-term residence permit, and accredited members of diplomatic missions. They have to undergo a PCR test before arrival and another two once they are in the Czech Republic, the first within 24 hours and the second on the 10th day at the earliest. While waiting for the test results, self-isolation is obligatory.
