Greece Set to Lift Quarantine for Travel from the US, EU, Britain

Greece is set to ease travel from abroad and lift the quarantine requirement for American, British and EU travelers by next week, provided they are vaccinated or can show a negative test.

The move comes as Greece is gradually relaxing travel restrictions towards the official opening of the tourist season on May 14.

“We will gradually lift the restrictions at the beginning of next week ahead of the opening on May 14,” a senior tourism ministry official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Who can travel to Greece?

The official said citizens from the European Union, the United States, Britain, Serbia, Israel and the United Arab Emirates will be allowed to travel to Greece via the airports of Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Chania, Rhodes, Kos, Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu, and two border crossings.

Passengers from those countries will not be quarantined, as long as they prove that they are fully vaccinated or show a negative PCR test carried out 72 hours prior to their arrival, the official said, adding the tourists would be subject to domestic lockdown restrictions.

Under current rules, all foreigners arriving in Greece must test negative and quarantine for seven days.

For passengers from Britain and the United Arab Emirates, a second mandatory test is also required upon their arrival.

EU agrees on “Green Certificates” for travel

The 27 member states of the European Union agreed Wednesday to the use of “green certificates” to facilitate travel across the bloc.

Each certificate will show its holder’s vaccination status, whether or not they’ve recovered from the virus and have antibodies, or if they have a negative Covid-19 test result.

This certificate, which will be available virtually and in paper form, will allow Europeans to travel across the EU with ease this upcoming summer season.

Both the paper and digital forms will have a QR code that contains necessary key information as well as a digital signature to make sure the certificate is authentic.

The Commission will build a gateway and support member states to develop software that authorities can use to verify all certificate signatures across the EU.

The certificates will be available free of charge and in the official language or languages of the issuing Member State and English.

While the members of the EU all approved the use of the document on Wednesday, the details will be finalized in May.

Israeli travelers

Last month, Greek authorities decided to accept 10,000 vaccinated Israeli tourists per week as part of its “Green Pass” initiative, allowing inoculated individuals into the country as a way to kick off the Greek tourism season this Spring.

All the Israelis who are allowed to visit Greece must show a certificate showing they have received vaccinations, have tested negative, or have antibodies against, the coronavirus.

Passenger Locator Form (PLF) document required

All travelers must complete their PLF until the day before entering Greece and leaving the country, providing detailed information on their point of departure, the duration of previous stays in other countries, and the address of their stay.

In case of multiple stays, they are required to provide the address for the first 24 hours at least. One PLF should be submitted per family.

Travelers will receive a confirmation email upon submission of the PLF.

Travelers will receive the PLF with their unique Quick Response (QR) code on the day of their scheduled arrival in Greece and will be notified via email (the QR code will be provided in a link in the confirmation email).

Travelers boarding or embarking on the previous day of the arrival will be allowed to do so upon showing the confirmation email, since they will receive their QR code during their flight or voyage.

The PLF can also be found on the Visit Greece app and at travel.gov.gr. It is strongly recommended that all visitors download the Visit Greece app (GDPR compliant) for free, prior to their arrival in Greece.