Iceland Welcomes the World again!
The Icelandic government has just announced a big change relating to travel restrictions into the country. From March 18th forward, Iceland will be accepting visitors from outside of the Schengen borders who can present a valid vaccination certificate or a valid antibody certificate that proves that the visitor has previously recovered from an infection of COVID-19. Previously, only certificates from countries within the Schengen borders were accepted.
This means that visitors from the U.S, the U.K, Canada and all other countries outside of Schengen who can provide a valid vaccination certificate or an antibody certificate are welcome to visit Iceland and skip the mandatory COVID-19 screening at the border as well as the mandatory 5 day quarantine otherwise required for unvaccinated travelers.
Internationally recognized certificates
Only internationally recognized certificates are accepted so all visitors must make sure that their certificate is the correct one before departure to minimize the risk of any complications at the border. For vaccines requiring two injections, visitors must have finished both injections at the time of entry. For certificates proving a previous recovery of infection they must either be a PCR test with a positive result that is at least 14 days old, or an internationally recognized antibody test. It is important to know that rapid tests are not accepted as proof of prior infection.
EMA approved vaccines
Additionally, only vaccine certificates with vaccines already approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). At the time of writing those vaccines are the ones from Pfizer, Moderna, Astra-Zeneca and Johnson & Johnson. This list of vaccines is set to expand as the EMA evaluates and approves more vaccines as time passes. Currently the EMA is evaluating Sputnik 5, Novavax, Sanofi and a number of other vaccines that could be added to this list of approved vaccines in visitors‘ certificates.
The good news is that Iceland is opening back up to the world, slowly but safely to maintain the excellent progress the country has made against the virus while allowing foreign visitors to also enjoy our success while travelling freely and safely within the country.
Iceland welcomes you back!
