Traveling to Europe during COVID
Note: this post will be periodically updated with changing information.
I was supposed to go to Lausanne, Switzerland, for work.
That didn’t happen due to family matters, but in the process, we got all ready to go, and learned a ton about traveling to Europe during COVID.
Bottom Line
If you can, start the process of getting COVID certified 30 days before travel.
Check the US Embassy website for the most up-to-date local rules and regulations. The Embassy site is unbelievably helpful.
If you can get a COVID certificate, do it. It’ll make your life easier in the event you lose your CDC card.
Get a notarized form from your healthcare provider detailing that you got the vaccine, including the signature of a physician or the director of medical records. Scan it into your phone so you have it in case you lose your CDC card.
Ensure you know your testing requirements before entering a country, upon entry, and upon departure back to the USA. The CDC has at-home COVID tests approved for travel that you can use in place of finding a testing center.
Bring at-home rapid tests with you so you can test yourself before your actual test. It’s optimal to know what the result will be before it’s the last minute.
Do not get tested at the airport, even if it’s free. If you test positive, you’ll be immediately quarantined using their accommodations. If you must quarantine, you want it to be on your terms, not theirs.
Both the USA and the EU require vaccines to travel
I don’t make the rules.
The COVID requirements vary based off the country
I’ve spoken to USA citizens who traveled to Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, and Switzerland. The rules varied. In Spain and Portugal, for example, the reports were that your CDC card works to get you into restaurants and bars. In Switzerland, you need the COVID certificate app. In France, you need a COVID certificate, but you can also get a rapid test and that serves as your certificate for 2 days.
Start by checking the US Embassy website for the most up-to-date information for Americans
The Embassy webpages are unbelievably helpful and the most up-to-date. I could have saved myself approximately 1,000 Google searches had I just gone straight to the Embassy.
The EU uses COVID certificates to prove that you actually got vaccinated
The certificate is a QR code that is scanned upon entry, most often to indoor facilities where you take your mask off (read: restaurants and bars) and large gatherings (concerts, sporting events). The EU has one overarching COVID certificate, and countries can have their own. For example, France has their own COVID certificate app (called TousAntiCovid). Switzerland has their own COVID certificate app (called Swiss Covid Cert). If you want to travel to Switzerland, you need their COVID certificate app. The EU one and the France one, for example, don’t work there.
Each country also has other COVID certificates (Italy has a “Green Card,” for example) and the rules change, honestly, by the week. Best to check the Embassy websites.
Americans can’t get EU COVID certificates
Americans are not eligible to get EU COVID certificates. We are eligible, however, for French COVID certificates and Swiss COVID certificates, assuming you go to France or Switzerland, respectively. The Swiss certificate works in the EU27, for example.
Some countries allow for frequent testing in place of certificates, some do not.
Depends on the country and the mood of the local health department at the time. Check the Embassy site.
Some countries (Switzerland is one) don’t necessarily accept CDC cards as proof of vaccination.
My CDC card was approved. My girlfriend’s was not. We got our vaccines at the same time from the same nurse. It’s a toss-up.
What was required (and approved) as a notarized letter from your healthcare provider (or the provider that distributed the vaccine) explaining the following items:
That you got the vaccine
The brand of vaccine you got, all shots, the dates of the shots, and the lot #s of the shots
An official stamp
Signatures from the physician or director of medical records, and a notarized signature.
If the form would be admissible in court, it’ll work overseas.
Testing
Each country’s testing requirements change on a frequent basis. The Embassy website will tell you everything you need to know, but here’s what it won’t tell you.
Do not get tested in an airport. If you do and you test positive, they quarantine you on their terms, not yours. You want to be quarantined on your terms.
Bring at-home rapid tests with you. It’s best to know the outcome of the test before you go in.
Make sure you follow the testing requirements before departure, after arrival, and before departure back to the USA.
Get CDC at-home approved travel tests if you don’t want the hassle of finding a testing facility.