As European countries have started to open for tourists all over the world, most of them have decided to impose vaccination requirements in order to facilitate travel as well as protect public health.
Even though each country decides itself regarding vaccination requirements, a total of 29 EU and EEA countries recognise all the vaccines that have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as valid proof of immunisation.
This means that all travellers who have completed their vaccination with Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson jabs are considered as fully vaccinated when entering these countries:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
In most cases, all those who have been vaccinated with an EMA-approved jab are permitted restriction-free entry to the countries mentioned above.
However, some countries still keep in place minor restrictions against travellers, while others permit entry even to those immunised with a vaccine other than the ones mentioned above, .
This means that except for the vaccines that EMA has approved, several EU countries also recognise the vaccines that are part of World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use Listing.
According to a new tool developed by VisaGuide.World, which helps travellers to find out whether the country they plan on visiting accepts their COVID-19 vaccine as valid proof, it has been revealed that the three vaccines that are most recognised in EU countries after the EMA ones are Covishield, Sinopharm, and Sinovac.
Of the three vaccines mentioned above, the Indian-manufactured Covishield vaccine is most widely recognised within the EU.
As such, all of the countries listed below recognise the Covishield vaccine as valid proof of immunity against the COVID-19 disease:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Latvia
- Netherlands
- Romania
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
As per the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, while nine countries recognise the first, a total of ten recognise the second. Check below which are these countries:
>> Travel: List of EU Countries Accepting Sinovac Vaccine as Proof of Immunity for Entry
>> These Are the EU Countries That Permit Entry for Those Vaccinated With Sinopharm
NOTE: This article was originally published on August 11. However, it has been updated on September 11 in accordance with the most recent changes imposed by the EU countries.