The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works announces that, at its meeting today, the Council of Ministers approved the new Action Plan for the smooth operation of flights and the operation of airports. The new Action Plan comes into force from 1 March 2022.
Specifically, the new Action Plan provides for the following. Categorisation of countries:[/U][/B]
From 1 March 2022, the categorisation of countries according to their epidemiological risk is differentiated and will include three categories with the following colour code: Green, Red and Grey Category. It is clarified that, according to the new Action Plan, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) Green and Orange categories correspond to the Green Category of the Republic of Cyprus, while the Red and Deep Red categories correspond to the Red Category of the Republic of Cyprus.
B. Vaccinated or Recovered Passengers:
1) Vaccinated or Recovered Passengers, irrespective of nationality and country of departure, are exempted from the obligation to meet the requirements of the respective category (e.g.e.g. presentation of a negative laboratory test result, obligation of self-limitation/quarantine, issuance of a special permit, etc.) to which the State from which they are travelling has been categorised. Vaccinated or recovering passengers may enter the Republic of Cyprus provided that they meet one of the following conditions:
i. Possess a valid vaccination certificate from the competent authorities of any third State.
ii.They hold a recovery certificate issued by a third country included in the list of third countries included in the EU Digital Certificate System COVID (EUDCC).
iii.They hold a European or third country equivalent COVID Digital Certificate of Vaccination or Recovery.
iii.They hold a European or third country equivalent COVID Digital Certificate of Vaccination or Recovery.
2) The vaccination or convalescence certificate will be considered acceptable, only if all the following conditions apply:
- It has been issued by the public authorities of the States,
- The vaccine is one of: Johnson&Johnson/Janssen, AstraZeneca, (Vaxzervia, COVISHIELD, SKBio), Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac), Sinopharm (BBIBPCOVID-19), Sinovac (CoronaVac), Covaxin, Sputnik Light (only as booster dose in a basic vaccination regimen) and Novavax Nuvaxovid COVID-19.
- Passengers 18 years and over: For travel purposes, the passenger must have received and the booster 3rd dose in case of a bivalent vaccine or the 2nd dose in case of a single dose of one of the above vaccines. Vaccination certificates of passengers who have received two doses of a two-dose vaccine or one dose of a single dose of a single-dose vaccine shall be accepted only if a period of 9 months has not elapsed since the date of administration of the second dose in the case of a two-dose vaccine or one dose in the case of a single-dose vaccine, respectively.
- Passengers aged 18 years and under: For travel purposes, a passenger is considered to have completed his/her vaccination schedule if he/she has received the 2nd dose in the case of a bivalent vaccine or the single dose in the case of a single dose in the case of a single dose vaccine.
- The time frame for travel purposes specified by the Ministry of Health and posted on the platform CyprusFlightPass, for each vaccine, has elapsed.
- In case of a certificate of recovery, the travel date shall not exceed 180 days from the first positive result.
C. Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate:
1) Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate, regardless of nationality, will be allowed to enter the Republic of Cyprus from any state of departure, only if they meet the conditions (e.g.(b) (u(u)nder the conditions (i.e. presentation of a negative laboratory test result, obligation of self-limitation/quarantine, issuance of a special permit, etc.) of the respective category in which the State from which they are travelling has been categorised.
2) Green Category: Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate, aged 6 years and over, who wish to travel to the Republic of Cyprus from a Green Category country are required to have a PCR laboratory test valid 72 hours prior to departure or a rapid antigen test valid 24 hours prior to departure.
3) Red Category: Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate, aged 6 years and over, who wish to travel to the Republic of Cyprus from a Red Category country are required to:
- have a laboratory PCR test valid 72 hours prior to departure or a rapid antigen test valid 24 hours prior to departure, and
- undergo a diagnostic PCR test upon arrival at airports in the Republic of Cyprus. The cost of the test shall be borne by the passenger.
4) Grey Category (Special Permission): From Grey Category (Special Permission) countries, only the following categories of passengers are allowed to enter the Republic of Cyprus:
- Cypriot citizens and their family members (their foreign spouses and minor children).
- Persons legally resident in the Republic.
- Persons entitled to enter the Republic in accordance with the Vienna Convention.
- European citizens, citizens of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and Switzerland.
- Persons of third country nationality, who are entitled to enter the Republic of Cyprus, after obtaining special permission on the CyprusFlightPass electronic platform (https:/cyprusflightpass.gov.cy/el/special-permission-request) granted by the Republic of Cyprus, as specified in the current Fungicide (Determination of Measures to Prevent the Spread of Corovirus COVID-19) Ordinance.
Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid certificate of vaccination or a valid certificate of recovery, aged 6 years and over, who are permitted to travel to the Republic of Cyprus from a Grey Category country, are required to:
- undergo a 72-hour pre-departure PCR laboratory test or a 24-hour pre-departure rapid antigen test, and
- undergo a PCR diagnostic test upon arrival at airports in the Republic of Cyprus. The cost of the test shall be borne by the passenger, and
- shall remain under compulsory self-limitation for 14 days or 7 days provided that they undergo a PCR test on the 7th day with a negative result at their own expense.
- With regard to passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate and belong to the cases of domestic workers or any other persons who have obtained prior permission to work in the Republic from the competent Ministries and Departments, as well as to the cases of workers in the agricultural/livestock sector, the previous decision of the Council of Ministers regarding the obligation of prepayment and quarantine in tourist accommodation in the Republic of Cyprus shall cease to apply. It is understood, however, that for such passengers the corresponding Grey Category conditions above will also apply.
It is understood that, in the event of a random check on arrival, all passengers without exception must comply.
The option of a laboratory test on arrival in the Republic of Cyprus for Cypriot citizens, including foreign spouses and their minor children, for all persons legally resident in the Republic and for persons entitled to enter the Republic in accordance with the Vienna Convention, shall cease to exist.
Passengers are reminded that all passengers without exception are required to complete the CyprusFlightPass within 48 hours before the start of their journey.
(MCI)
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