Italy is ready to open its borders. Italy's squares, beaches, forest trails, lakes, rivers and seas are waiting for you. And above all, the Italians can't wait to welcome you back to experience a dream holiday in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Some destinations are already covid free.
"Our mountains, our beaches, our cities are reopening, some sectors are set to shrink, others to grow, and I do not doubt that tourism will re-emerge stronger than before...The time has come to book your holidays in Italy; we can't wait to welcome you back."
This was Prime Minister Mario Draghi's message introducing the G20 press conference devoted to tourism. A statement of great hope and positivity that makes Italy open to the world.
In particular, from 16 May 2021, Minister Speranza and the Prime Minister are working on this new solution: the National Green Pass - at the moment an Italian authentic experience - will be also valid for foreign tourists. It will be possible to travel to Italy with one of the following requirements:
- the certificate of vaccination, with both doses and only with vaccines authorised by Ema (2 doses in the case of Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca, one in the case of Johnson&Johnson)
- a certificate of recovery (six months validity)
- a negative swab carried out within the previous 48 hours.
Any one of these three requirements will allow you to obtain the "National Green Pass", which is not a digital certificate but corresponds to the paper document proving vaccination, recovery from the covid or the swab. This paper document will then be replaced by the Digital Green Certificate, the European digital certificate from June.
From the 16th of May, the new measure will remove the quarantine requirement for those coming from the European Union and the United States and Israel, where vaccinations are well ahead of other countries. Restrictions will remain for countries on the blacklist, such as India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. However, we will have to wait for the measure that will arrive soon for a definitive and reliable list.
You can visit this page for further info.
DRAGHI'S SPEECH, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER
ITALIAN GREEN PASS AND EUROPEAN DIGITAL GREEN CERTIFICATE
The provision of the National Green Pass or Certificato Verde Nazionale (in Italian) is already final. Italians will also be able to travel for holidays in this way and the pass will basically be used to travel inside the country without the need for quarantine. Travel will also be possible between orange or red regions for those in possession of the National green pass or National green certificate. The requirements are still the same as those already mentioned: certificate of vaccination, certificate of recovery from covid or negative tampon.
The Italian choice is to finally kick-start the country's tourist revival: Italy is ready to welcome tourists from all over the world. The pandemic and the various lockdowns have intensified the value of the Italians' "welcome".
During the same G20 press conference at Palazzo Chigi, Prime Minister Mario Draghi also confirms these measures in this passage: "We hope the European certificate will come as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Italian government has introduced a national pass that will allow people to move freely between the regions. It will take effect from the second half of May so that tourists will have the Italian Green Pass instead of waiting for the European one in the second half of June".
To understand the difference between the Italian National Green Pass and the European Green Certificate, you can read this page of the Ministry of Health website.
WHAT WILL BE CHANGED SINCE 16th MAY COMPARED TO TODAY
Currently, to enter Italy from an EU Country and only until 15 May, the following requirements are necessary:- an antigenic or molecular swab with a negative result within 48 hours before embarkation - a 5-day quarantine and a second swab at the end of the five-day isolation period. This ordinance also provides for the compilation of a self-certification form that must be handed in to the competent local health authorities by both tourists and Italians returning home. This is only valid until 15 May.
From 15 May, these requirements will no longer have to be met and the National Green Pass will be enough to travel. We are just waiting for the final list of countries from which it will be possible to travel. Unfortunately, Italians will have to wait for the Digital Green Certificate to travel in Europe while the Europeans can come to Italy. For travelling by car, boat, train and plane, the changes are imminent. It is worthwhile to follow the official websites of the ministries with the latest news before leaving.
FURTHER INFO ON ENAC ❯
