Looking for your next holiday destination? We might just have the spot for you, as Cyprus is set to allow vaccinated travellers to visit without tests or quarantining from Monday May 10.
The Mediterranean island will be welcoming tourists from EU member states, those in the European Economic Area as well as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the UK, among others.
While unvaccinated visitors from certain countries are expected to provide a negative PCR test 72 hours before departure, and take a second test upon arrival, those who have had their jab(s) will be able to visit the country test and quarantine free.
The exception to quarantine rules only applies to those who have been fully vaccinated with jabs approved by the European Medicines Agency – Moderna, Oxford/Astrazeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech and Janssen – or Sputnik V.
For those injected with Moderna or Janssen, 14 days must have elapsed since the second or only dose, while those who have received the AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines must wait seven days after the second jab to be considered fully vaccinated.
We’re buying our sunscreen already.
Before you start searching for the best beaches and tourist sites, you’ll still need to obtain approval on cyprusflightpass.gov.cy.
You’ll need to submit your personal information, flight details, and make legal declarations about not having coronavirus symptoms and consenting to random testing.
Planning on bringing along your unvaccinated pals? Entry rules are country-dependent, and are based on a traffic light system that is updated weekly.
You can find the up-to-date list by heading over to cyprusflightpass.gov.cy.
As of Tuesday April 27, there are just six countries in the green list, while Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are both on the red list.
Arrivals from red list destinations will be expected to provide a negative PCR test from up to 72 hours before travel, and to take a second, paid-for test upon landing at the airport.
The test will set you back €30 (Dhs133/QR131) at Larnaka Airport and €32 (Dhs142/QR141) at Paphos Airport.
You can find out full details about the rules for vaccinated travellers by clicking here, or by heading to the Cyprus Tourism website on tourism.gov.cy.
