Romania, Poland join exclusive green travel list

Romania, Poland join Malta as the only European Union states on Cyprus’ safer COVID-19 green category, while Spain and Croatia turn red after the Health Ministry revised its travel list. The changes came into effect from Thursday.

Under the newly introduced colour-coded system, there is no mandatory quarantine for tourists entering Cyprus.

The number of EU states on the green list is now three, making up the 10 countries in this category.

In addition to Poland and Romania being upgraded from orange to green, Japan will move out of the red to orange.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, Spain and Croatia have fallen from orange into the more dangerous red zone.

There are now 19 countries in the orange zone, including the UK and Norway, where a negative PCR test is required.

Cyprus has brought the virus under control through an aggressive vaccination program, ranking it third in the bloc for COVID-19 jabs per population.

On Sunday, it reported a mere 33 cases with a positivity rate of 0.08%. Cyprus has opened its doors to vaccinated tourists, regardless of their country of origin, to boost arrivals that plunged 84.1% last year.

Vaccinated tourists allowed unconditional entry must have taken a COVID-19 vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Janssen.

Russia’s SputnikV and China’s Sinopharm were added to the list of accepted vaccines by Cyprus.

Fully vaccinated Cypriots or residents are allowed entry without having to undergo COVID-19 tests or self-isolate.

GREEN

Under the new COVID assessment scheme, low-risk countries currently classified in the green category are:

EU members: 1)Malta, 2) Poland, 3) Romania

EEA: Iceland

Third countries: 1) Australia, 2) New Zealand, 3) Singapore, 4) Saudi Arabia, 5) South Korea, 6) Israel

Passengers arriving from these countries do not require to self-isolate or carry a negative coronavirus test.

ORANGE

Orange countries are those of higher risk than green. Passengers must have undergone a PCR laboratory test within 72 hours before departure and have a certificate proving they tested negative for the virus.

EU member states 1) Portugal, 2) Finland, 3) Ireland, 4) Bulgaria 5) Czech Republic 6) Hungary 7) Italy 8) Italy 9) Germany 10) Slovakia 11) Luxembourg

Schengen Area: 1) Norway

Third countries: 1) China (including Hong Kong and Macau), 2) UK 3) USA, 4) Japan

Passengers from these countries can undergo the coronavirus test upon arrival at their own expense and remain in self-isolation pending the results if they are Cypriot citizens or residents.

RED

This category includes countries of higher risk than orange.

Passengers coming from red category countries are required: a) to prove a negative PCR test carried out under 72 hours before departure, and b) undergo another PCR test upon arrival in Cyprus. The cost of the test is charged to the individual.

European Union: 1) Belgium 2) France 3) Greece 4) Netherlands 5) Denmark 6) Slovenia 7) Estonia 8) Latvia, 9) Lithuania, 10) Sweden, 11) Croatia 12) Spain

Small states: 1) Andorra, 2) Monaco, 3) Vatican City, 4) San Marino

Schengen Area: 1) Switzerland, 2) Liechtenstein

Third Countries: 1) Rwanda, 2) Russia, 3) United Arab Emirates, 4) Ukraine, 5) Jordan, 6) Lebanon, 7) Egypt, 8) Belarus, 9) Qatar, 10) Serbia, 11) Thailand, 12) Armenia, 13) Georgia, 14) Bahrain 15) Canada 16) Kuwait

GREY

Arrivals are allowed entry after acquiring special permission, and only if they are Cypriot citizens or entitled to enter, such as people with a work permit.

Passengers must undergo a coronavirus test under 72 hours before their trip and have a certificate they tested negative for Covid-19. Grey category passengers must remain in self-isolation for 14 days or 10 if they choose to carry out another coronavirus PCR test with a negative result.