Greece publishes list of countries for which it opens its gates on July 1

The Greek government released a list of countries for which the country’s gates are opening on July 1, 2020, and instructions that travelers to Greece have to follows. The list will be reviewed every fortnight, i.e. every two weeks, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Tuesday evening.

Greece is taking the next step in restoring travel flows, always with the aim of protecting the health of workers in the tourism industry, residents of tourist destinations and its visitors, Petsas stressed.

Following the consultations at European Union level, from 1 July 2020 the following will apply:

Visitors

The possibility of entering Greece for all permanent residents of the EU+ continues normally.

There is also the possibility of entry for those third-country nationals who have a residence permit in Greece, as well as other exceptions for third-country nationals (family members of European citizens, health workers and researchers, caregivers of the elderly, employees of borders, seasonal workers in the agricultural sector, personnel employed in the transport sector – including naval, diplomatic personnel, personnel of international organizations, military personnel, humanitarian aid workers in the exercise of their duties.

Passengers traveling for compulsory family reasons, students, highly skilled workers if their employment is beneficial to the national economy and their work cannot be postponed or carried out remotely.

Greek expatriates who have a Greek passport or Special Greek Identity Card (EDTO) “are always welcome wherever they come from.”

Greece, following the European Union recommendation, extends the possibility of entry into the country for permanent residents of the following third countries (the list will be updated every fortnight):

• Algeria, Australia, Georgia, Japan, Canada, Morocco, Montenegro, New Zealand, South Korea, Rwanda, Serbia, Uruguay, Thailand, Tunisia, China.

In order to prove their place of residence, third-country nationals may present their residence permit, work permit, identity card, as long as it states the place of residence and / or the driver’s license or other documents.

The “EU+ region” includes Schengen countries (including Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania), Schengen countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein), as well as Ireland and the United Kingdom.
It will be considered on the basis of reciprocity.

Flights

From July 1, it is possible to make international flights to all airports in Greece.

Direct flights from the United Kingdom and Sweden are not allowed until July 15, 2020. All other direct flights are permitted.

Land entry points

At the border with Bulgaria, visitors are only allowed to enter the Promachonas border post. Of the other entry points, only crossings are allowed for essential reasons.

At the borders with Albania, Northern Macedonia and Turkey, only crossings are allowed for essential reasons.

Sea entrance gates

The sea gates to Patras and Igoumenitsa are open.

Prevention measures – checks at entry points

All travelers to Greece are required to complete and submit the Passenger Locator Form 48 hours before their trip, which is available on the Visit Greece app and on the travel.gov.gr website. For PLF check also here.

To protect everyone’s health, Greek doctors and engineers have developed a program for the analysis and evaluation of epidemiological data, on the basis of which visitors will be subjected to sampling (Covid-19 test) upon entry.

These visitors should follow the instructions of the General Secretariat for Civil Protection.

Greece, in co-operation with its European Union partners, reserves the right to revise its policy on these issues on the basis of the development of epidemiological data.

For more information about traveling in Greece in summer 2020 check here.

PS Note that U.S, Russia, Brazil and Turkey were left outside the EU List and Greece acts accordingly.