Deputy Minister Akis SKertsos announced on Wednesday the lifting of the ban of inter-regional travel and the preconditions for those traveling to/from the Greek islands from May 14, 2021.
Exempted are travelers to/from the islands of Evia, Lefkada and Salamina that can be reached both by land and the sea.
Travelers to/from the Greek islands will have to have:
either a vaccination confirmation issued 14 days after the full vaccination (2 doses or 1 jab if Johnson&Johnson)
or a negative PCR test carried out 72 hours before departure
or a negative Rapid Test or Self-Test carried out 24 hours before departure
or a Covid-19 infection confirmation, issued 2 months after recovery and up to 9 months
The self-test result will be registered to selftesting-gov.gr.
Travelers will have to show these documents while boarding to staff of shipping and airplane companies who will be in charge of the controls.
Obliged to this precondition are both Greeks and foreign nationals over the age of 5.
The Passenger Location Form is still in force for tourists entering the country.
sources: Live Briefing, amna, healthreport, newsit
Read also: Greece lift lockdown restrictions, ends sms, shortens curfew, allows inter-regional travel.
Interesting choice of wording: “a vaccination confirmation issued 14 days after the full vaccination”. My vaccination certificate clearly shows when both doses were administered, which is well over 14 days ago, BUT it was “issued” only a couple of days after my second dose. Does that make it a valid certificate or do I need to get a new on? The idea of only “issuing” the certificate 14 days later is a relatively new innovation and wasn’t implemented in the early stages of vaccination.
you need one from emvolio.gov.gr or via KEP
So – it will not be possible for foreign tourists to visit the Greek islands this summer?
why not???
Please read the advice again……
If you fly directly to an island from abroad you will need to comply with normal entry requirements for Greece. If you travel to an island from mainland Greece you will need to take a Covid test before to take the ferry. These are widely available in Greece. I presume you can use the same test you had for arrival into Greece if it is still within 72hrs when you travel to the island.
Or vaccination certificate
So, for someone like me who has to travel to Athens and back twice in two weeks for eye operations. I will now have to pay for FOUR tests because the Greek Government still cannot arrange vaccination appointments for ex-pats without AMKA’s and who have been trying to get AMKA’s for over 2 months !!
you’ll need test for the eye operation anyway, so you may use this one I suppose.
When we decided to buy a house in Greece, Evia with its bridge seemed an excellent choice. as, if the boats weren’t running we had an alternative way of travelling to the Airpot. All through this last year it has seemed much less of an advantage as people found ways to travel to and from Athens even if they didn’t have a valid reason. Now, as yet another one those still waiting for the elusive temporary AMKA number and restrictions being lifted it was obviously not such a good move. I feel more vulnerable to becoming infected with Covid than last year when Greece had such low infection rates. Fully vaccinated people are themselves safe however it’s possible for them to pass the infection on. Negative tests are only good for that time, people can still develope and pass on the infection. No one is safe until everyone is fully vaccinated! It is right and proper that Greek Citizens should be vaccinated first, however most of non Greeks who bought houses here but without AMKA are pensioners which means we are in the more vulnerable age group.
I do wonder why the Government waisted time and money passing the Law so that temporary numbers could. be issued if they had no back up plan to actually implicate this legislation !
Ann
What about yachtsmen/liveaboards like me? Are we also obliged to be tested when entering another island of another administrative unit while cruising (which we do permanently)? Would be a reason to leave Greece immediately.
There have been delays but temporary AMKAs are now starting to be issued. I am reading of ever more people who are now receiving texts with their temporary AMKA number and booking appointments through their pharmacist, possibly with another short delay.
PS Yes my vaccination certificate mentioned in a previous post is an official one issued by the Emvolio web site. Back in March they were issuing certificates immediately after the second vaccination. Are they now waiting 14 days to issue one? Or does the statement simply mean that 14 days must have passed since the second vaccination for the certificate to be accepted?
I think Warwick has the cert from the official site. It is the wording that is unclear.
I am EU citizen. Coming to Athens 20.6. stay there 1 night. (have PCR with me). Than go to Milos on 22.6. (PCR test at that day will be more than 72 hour old, cause I will do the test in my country on 18.6.). So I have to do ONE MORE test If I wanna board od ferry?????
Yes
To move between islands once inside the country is also necessary to be tested?
Yes. Every time you get on a ferry you need a test.
Yes, but it can be the cheaper Rapid Test.
If you are a pensioner get an S1 form and register for Greek healthcare the same as I have done. They will then give you a full insurance AMKA.
Yes but lose NHS entitlements
If you live here for 6 months a year or more than you are not entitled to nhs healthcare unless it is through your S1.. It’s called health tourism!
Hi, this rule raise a lot of questions;
Where can foreigners buy those rapid tests and how much do they cost? What kind of proof do we show before entering the ferries? I read that Greek citizens need to register the result from self-tests somewhere. I hope somebody can shed some light…
pharmacies. links in the post.
Any pharmacy and they are 6 euros each.
The information that you need to register the rapid test result in self-testing.gov.gr when traveling to the islands is false as one cannot even enter that site without having an ID from a Greek bank. On the other hand one can fill in a form by hand but even there AMKA is required. So much for Greece opening up for tourists! However the ferry companies have obviously realized this, and for them it is enough to fill in a form where you certify that you have taken the self test and that the result is negative. No AMKA, no nothing, but father’s name, of course.
“ID from a Greek bank” – what is this ????
Try to verify your test result in self-testing.gov.gr. A bank account in a Greek bank is needed and the ID that comes with it. I am a Swede and am used to work with these BankIDs that are needed whatever you wish to do through the net there. But I didn’t even know that that system existed in Greece besides the AMKA, PAMKA, Afimi, Taxisnet code etc. And of course the father’s first name and even the mother’s that in some cases is needed. But as I stated, the ferry companies seem to have solved the problem. So yes, let’s enjoy the islands this summer with or without all these numbers!
maybe you get something wrong? why should they ask for a bank account? they probably ask for “taxisnet” ID which is your tax identification number.
I just tried it, and they give a login through Taxisnet as an alternative to the bank accounts. For that, you need to be registered with the tax authorities and have and account there.
no authority would ask a bank account to login-in.
here is the latest: I check & know what you mean. Forwarded relevant question to authorities – we maybe get an answer sometime … soon or never.