Through an ordinance of the Ministry of Health of Italy, the country has recently restricted travel and entry to Italy to people who have stayed or transited through South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, and Eswatini in the last two weeks. Direct flights from these countries to Italian territory will also be banned temporarily.
This way, from 26 November 2021 to 15 December 2021, only Italian nationals and residents who’ve been in these African countries will be allowed to enter the country in order to let them come back home —as long as they don’t have any symptoms associated with COVID-19, the ordinance clears up.
To simplify travel and entry rules, the Italian authorities have created 5 lists of countries:
- List A includes Vatican City and the Republic of San Marino. For this list, all that’s required are a vaccination certificate or a recovery certificate.
- List B includes territories with low epidemiological risk. This list is currently empty.
- List C includes Austria,Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark (including the Faroe Islands and Greenland), Estonia, Finland, France (including Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, Reunion, Mayotte and excluding other territories outside the European mainland), Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands (excluding territories outside the European mainland), Poland, Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira), Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Andorra, and the Principality of Monaco.
People coming to Italy from these territories have free movement rights but they must complete the Digital Passenger Locator Form before arrival and provide an EU Digital COVID Certificate or other equivalent certification evidencing vaccination against COVID-19, recovery from COVID-19, or negative COVID-19 diagnostic test. The certification must be in Italian, English, Spanish, or French.
If the traveler fails to submit this documentation, he or she will be subject to a 5-days long quarantine ending with a COVID-19 diagnostic test.
- List D includes Saudi Arabia, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Jordan, Kosovo, Israel, Kuwait, New Zealand, Qatar, Rwanda, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (including Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Channel Islands and British bases on the island of Cyprus and excluding territories not belonging to the European continent), South Korea, Singapore, United States of America, Ukraine, Uruguay, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.
People coming from these countries can enter Italy with or without a 5-days long period of self-isolation. Travel quarantine is required for unvaccinated travelers that do not present a negative test at the borders. In this case, they must take two tests during the period of isolation (the last one on the fifth day allows them to finish the quarantine).
Travel quarantine can only be skipped if the visitant presents the COVID-19 Green Certificate (or equivalent). This serves as proof of vaccination.
All passengers must complete Passenger Locator Form before entering Italy.
- List E includes all countries and areas not specifically mentioned in other lists. Entry to Italy from these countries is only allowed for reasons of work, health, study, emergency, etc., but tourism is temporarily banned.
Guidance on Required Docs