The Ministry of Health has announced that foreigners are prohibited from entering the Czech Republic for non-essential travel. The measure has been in force since last Saturday and does not apply to Czech citizens or residents. Photo Credit: Freepik / Illustrative Photo.
Czech Rep., Feb 1 (BD) – Last week, the Czech government approved updates to the measures against the spread of coronavirus, including a ban on non-essential travel to the Czech Republic by foreigners.
According to the Ministry, entry into the Czech Republic is prohibited as of January 30th 2021 except for essential purposes. This rule applies regardless of the country of origin, whether the traveller is arriving from a country in the red, orange or green category of the travel semaphore system. Czech citizens are exempt from this restriction.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded on Twitter that this measure is “nothing new”, and that exceptions include commuting to work, travel to medical and social service facilities, occupational reasons, educational purposes, necessary family visits, business arrangements or reasons related to marriage.
V praxi jde jen o potvrzení stávajícího stavu. Nejde o žádnou novinku. Mezi výjimky nadále patří cesty do práce, výkon povolání, nezbytné cesty za rodinou, kvůli vyřízení nezbytných záležitostí nebo cesty na svatbu ‼️ https://t.co/0CquEqw8Bo
— Ministerstvo zahraničních věcí (@mzvcr) January 29, 2021
The Ministry of Health has stipulated the conditions which must be met when arriving from countries, according to the travel semaphore. As of the latest update on January 22nd, no country is listed as green, allowing free movement. Most countries are marked red, meaning travellers must complete a passenger locator form and undergo a PCR test on arrival.
Countries and territories listed as orange include Iceland, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Greece, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, the Canary Islands, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the Vatican City. Travellers from these countries can arrive without completing a form, but they must present a negative PCR test before entering their place of work or education. This applies only to foreigners.
On January 14th, Austria closed 42 border crossings with the Czech Republic. Several crossings remain open, further information can be found here.
