Italy Relaxes Entry Requirements On March 1, 2022

Italy is changing entry requirements for third-country nationals (non-EU/EEA) on March 1, 2022.

Visitors to Italy need to have a “Green Pass” (EU Digital Covid Certificate) that confirms vaccination, recent recovery (usually 4 to 6 months), or a negative test. Vaccination is no longer mandatory.

You can access Italy’s page for entry requirements here.

Here’s what Italia’s Health Minister wrote on Tuesday:

Starting from March 1st, for arrivals from all foreign countries the same rules that are already in effect for European countries will be in effect.

One of the conditions of the green pass will be sufficient for entering Italy: vaccination certificate, recovery certificate, or negative test.

Arrivals outside of EU/EEA currently need to be either vaccinated or have a recent recovery certificate + a negative covid test.

However, a negative test alone is not enough to access restaurants, hotels, and many other establishments in the country until March 31, 2022. You need a vaccination or recovery certificate. The Green Pass requirement may be removed on April 1, 2022.

Conclusion

Countries are currently relaxing the entry requirements after tightening them up in late 2021 due to the more contagious omicron variant.

I would assume that many European countries will follow Italy, at least Southern countries, and only need proof of vaccination or recent recovery without doing an antigen or PCR-RT test.

The question remains unclear if vaccination means having a complete set of jabs, including a booster, and exactly how long the recovery certificate is valid for? European countries have had various policies regarding the length of the validity, and it would be preferable if the bloc would adopt one set of clear rules.