Switzerland travel rules: Country scraps Covid entry restrictions from 2 May

Trips to this Alpine country are about to get much easier

Wildflowers in the Swiss Alps (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

On Monday 2 May, Switzerland will become the latest destination to drop all Covid-related entry requirements for tourists.

The latest update on the country’s State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) reads: “The entry restrictions currently in place will be lifted from 2 May. As of that date, the usual rules for entering Switzerland will apply. You will find information about visas, travel documents etc here.”

Until then, only vaccinated travellers are permitted to enter the country, although they no longer need to test, quarantine or even fill in an online health form.

From Monday, travellers can visit Switzerland regardless of vaccination status - with double-jabbed visitors no longer required to show proof of vaccination to enter.

On 21 April, the SEM tweeted: “On May 2, 2022, the current entry restrictions will be lifted. From that date, entry into Switzerland will again be subject to ordinary conditions,” as well as posting documents with the new rules.

Britons will only need to show a passport, though they must ensure it meets the post-Brexit validity requirements.

Brits’ passports must have been issued in the last 10 years and have at least three months left before expiry from the date they depart the EU.

UK passports must also now be stamped on entry and exit to EU countries, and British travellers can only stay in an EU country for 90 days out of any 180-day period.

Switzerland joins a group of more than 15 countries, mostly European, that have now dropped all Covid rules for travellers.

Ireland scrapped its remaining Covid-related rules for international visitors in early March, including eliminating its passenger locator form.

Sweden and the Czech Republic are two of the most recent countries to have eliminated their remaining Covid-related entry restrictions.

At the other end of the scale, some 15 major holiday destinations - mostly long-haul - have retained the requirement for a pre-travel test, including the US (which requires one within 24 hours before travel), Barbados, Morocco, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Greece announced yesterday that it would end all entry restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers, eliminating the need to show a Covid Pass at the border. However, officials have not clarified if the PCR test currently required of unvaccinated visitors will remain.