Press Releases

Following a decision of the Council of Ministers, as of 21^st February 2022 the new Action Plan for the smooth operation of flights and the operation of airports entered into force. The Epidemiological Monitoring Unit of the Ministry of Health has made a re-evaluation of the epidemiological situation in various countries as regards COVID-19.

The categorisation of countries shall apply for travel purposes to non-vaccinated passengers or passengers who do not hold a valid certificate of vaccination or recovery from COVID-19, and includes three risk area categories using the following colour code: green, red and grey. The countries that are not included in the list below are considered to belong in the Grey Category (Special Permission).

For the countries of the European Union and the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) as well as Switzerland, the categorisation is based upon the categorisation of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). It is noted that the ECDC’s Green and Orange categories correspond to the Green Category below, and the ECDC’s Red and Deep Red categories correspond to the Red Category below.

With regard to third countries (Egypt, Armenia, Georgia, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, United Kingdom, Jordan, Israel, Canada, Qatar, Kuwait, Belarus, Lebanon, Bahrain, Oman, Ukraine, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia), as well as those countries included in the updated list of the European Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/89 for the gradual lifting of temporary restrictions for non-essential travel within the EU, these are evaluated epidemiologically by the Ministry of Health and are categorised into the Green and Red categories.

The following categorisation of countries, based on the epidemiological risk assessment, is extremely dynamic and may be modified at any moment as the pandemic evolves and the epidemiological data changes. For this reason, new data will be announced and the list of countries will be updated frequently.

Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid certificate of vaccination or a valid certificate of recovery from COVID-19, regardless of nationality, may travel and enter the Republic of Cyprus from any country of departure provided that they meet the requirements of the corresponding category in which their country of departure is categorised, for example obligation for laboratory test or for self-isolation/quarantine or for issuance of a special permit. Further information regarding the requirements of the corresponding category can be found at the following link:

https://cyprusflightpass.gov.cy/en/passengers-without-certificate

Vaccinated passengers or passengers who have recovered from COVID-19, regardless of nationality, may travel and enter the Republic of Cyprus from any country of departure, without the obligation to meet the requirements of the corresponding category in which their country of departure is categorised, for example obligation for laboratory test or for self-isolation/quarantine or for issuance of a special permit, provided that they fulfill the requirements listed at the link below:

https://cyprusflightpass.gov.cy/en/vaccinated-passengers

Green Category Countries – Low risk countries at current stage

• Third Countries: United Arab Emirates, Qatar, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Rwanda, Saudi Arabia

Red Category Countries – High risk countries compared to the Green Gategory countries

• European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Czech Republic, Finland
• Small states: Andorra, Monaco, Vatican City, San Marino
• Schengen members: Switzerland, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway
• Third countries: Egypt, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Georgia, United States of America, United Kingdom, Japan, Indonesia, Jordan, Israel, Canada, Colombia, Kuwait, Belarus, Lebanon, Bahrain, New Zealand, South Korea, Oman, Ukraine, Uruguay, Peru, Russia, Serbia, Chile

It is noted that the abovementioned categorisation of countries shall apply from March 17, 2022.

It is also stressed that all passengers, regardless of the country’s category, including those holding a valid certificate of vaccination, are obliged to apply for the CyprusFlightPass within 48 hours before the departure of their flight. Moreover, for the protection of public health and the monitoring of the epidemiological situation, passengers of selected flights (including passengers holding a vaccination certificate) may undergo a random laboratory molecular testing carried out by the Ministry of Health.

(AP)