New Covid Entry Regulation as of July 1

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As of July 1, the day the European Green Passport comes into force, a new entry regulation will also apply to Austria. Persons entering from countries with a low epidemiological risk must provide credible evidence that they have stayed there exclusively within the last ten days. If this evidence is not available, a Covid test must be performed within 24 hours, according to the regulation, which was published late Friday night.

Entry from virus variant areas such as the United Kingdom, Brazil, India or South Africa is generally prohibited. However, Austrians, EU and EEA citizens, among others, are exempt here. Upon entry from the risk countries, they must present a negative Covid test, register and immediately enter a ten-day quarantine. They cannot end the quarantine until the fifth day at the earliest with a negative test. The quarantine obligation is waived for travel for professional purposes and for travel in the overriding interest of Austria, especially in the field of culture and sports, e.g. for supervisors and coaches.

The Ministry of Health currently lists the following as low-risk countries:

Albania, Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Principality of Liechtenstein, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Monaco, New Zealand, Netherlands, Northern Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Czech Republic, Hungary, Vatican City, United States of America, Vietnam and Cyprus.

For all other countries, proof of vaccination, PCR, antigen or antibody testing, or confirmation of infection, and registration and quarantine are required. Exceptions apply for regular commuters, cross-border school and study visits, for family purposes or to visit life partners. The registration and quarantine obligation is also waived for persons who are fully immunized 14 days after the last vaccination dose required for this purpose. Likewise, this applies to minors 12 years of age and older if they enter the country accompanied by a fully vaccinated adult.

New in the regulation is that carriers must inform their customers about the requirements for entry and about the consequences of violations. If the person is only passing through Austria, the regulation does not apply.