Several Countries Have Eased Restrictions for Arrivals from Bulgaria
Turkey, Germany, Denmark and the Czech Republic have, in various ways, eased their rules for arrivals from Bulgaria, according to statements by the Foreign Ministry in Sofia.
The ministry said that according to the regional governor of Edirne, Bulgarian citizens wishing to visit Turkey will now be able to enter the country through the Kapitan Andreevo-Kapakule border checkpoint, either with a certificate of a negative result of a PCR test for Covid-19 or a vaccination certificate issued by Bulgarian authorities.
The vaccination document must certify that at least 14 days have elapsed since the second dose was given.
Bulgarian citizens who have not been vaccinated due to their age (under 18) will be exempted from testing and quarantine if they travel with their families who have a vaccination certificate, the ministry said.
For May 30, the restrictions for those arriving in Germany from Bulgaria by land are being lifted.
This became possible after Germany decided to no longer identify Bulgaria as a risk country, due to the reduced number of cases of Covid-19 infection.
According to Bulgaria’s embassy in Berlin, those arriving in Germany by road or rail who have spent the past 10 days only in Bulgaria are no longer required to register electronically, submit a negative test, certificate of completed vaccination or certificate of recovery from the disease, or go into quarantine.
For those arriving by air, electronic registration is no longer required, but the obligation to present a negative test, certificate of completed vaccination or certificate of recovery remains in place.
The document must be presented to the airline before departure. No test is required for children under six years of age.
Germany recognises PCR, LAMP, TMA and antigen tests. The sample must have been taken no more than 72 hours before arrival in Germany.
Antibody tests are not recognised. Alternatively, an antigen test no older than 48 hours may be presented. When staying in a region with high morbidity or a region with virus variants, the test should be no older than 24 hours, the ministry said.
As of May 29, Denmark removed Bulgaria from the list of countries classified “orange” and included it in its “yellow” list, the Foreign Ministry in Sofia said.
This change means that the requirement for 10-day self-isolation will not be applied to foreign citizens, including Bulgarian citizens, arriving in Denmark from Bulgaria.
The requirement to provide a negative test for Covid-19, done within 48 hours before and immediately after arrival in Denmark, remains valid for foreigners who do not have permanent residence in Denmark.
As of May 31, Bulgaria is on the Czech list of countries with a medium risk of infection with Covid-19, which means the removal of some of the restrictions on the entry of Bulgarian citizens into the country, the ministry said.
Those arriving from Bulgaria are required to pre-fill and send online a Public Health Passenger Locator Form.
On arrival in the Czech Republic, it is required to present a PCR test done no more than 72 hours before or an antigen test no more than 24 hours before entering the country.
The requirement for an antigen or PCR test does not apply to passengers arriving in individual transport from Bulgaria, but applies to those who arrive by public transport – train, aircraft or bus.
Within five days of arrival in the Czech Republic, those arriving by individual transport should take an antigen or PCR test. There is no obligation for self-isolation until the result of the PCR test performed on Czech territory is available, the Foreign Ministry said.