Covid Vaccine: Essential For Austrian Travel?

If you are planning a trip to Austria, you might be wondering whether or not you need to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Here is what you need to know:

As of July 4, 2022, the Austria Pre-Travel Clearance is no longer needed to enter the country. However, travellers coming from China must present a negative PCR test within 48 hours before arrival.

Currently, there is no mandatory vaccine for entering Austria. However, there are some recommended ones, such as Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Rabies.

If you are not vaccinated, you must return a negative test, fill out a clearance form, and isolate for ten days. From November 22, 2021, only PCR tests will be accepted for unvaccinated travellers.

If you are fully vaccinated, you can enter Austria without restrictions and do not need to fill in any forms, isolate, or take a COVID-19 test upon entry. Your second jab must not have been longer than 270 days ago, and a booster jab is valid for 270 days.

Austria's accepted vaccines

The following vaccines are recognised as valid proof of vaccination in Austria:

• BioNTech/Pfizer (Comirnaty)
• AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria)
• Johnson & Johnson (Janssen)
• AstraZeneca – Serum Institute of India (Covishield)
• Moderna
• Sinovac
• Sinopharm

The vaccine doses mentioned above are recognised even if they are mixed. Travellers are considered fully vaccinated in Austria even if they have taken doses from different companies.

However, travellers who have been vaccinated with the Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccine are not permitted access to hotels, restaurants, and other services while in Austria.

Austria's entry requirements

As of July 4th, 2022, the Austria Pre-Travel Clearance is no longer needed to enter the country. However, travellers from China must present a negative PCR test within 48 hours before arrival.

If you are planning to visit Austria, you might wonder about the vaccination requirements. Fortunately, there is no mandatory vaccine yet. However, there are some recommended ones such as Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Rabies.

If you already know the vaccination requirements, you are ready to apply for the Austria Pre-Travel Clearance. You will need to follow the next list of items to apply:

• A negative COVID-19 PCR Test result. It must be issued three days before your arrival.
• A valid passport with six months of validity.
• A debit/credit card or PayPal account.
• Your email address and a contact number.

Please note that travellers coming from China must show PCR test results within 48 hours before arrival.

COVID-19 Rules in Austria

The entire COVID-19 entry regulation does not apply to persons entering the country to maintain the movement of goods and persons. Truck driving bans will not be relaxed this time.

From June 15th, measures in Austria have been relaxed. People now only need to wear a mask on public transport and in the health sector, such as in pharmacies, hospitals, etc.

As of June 16th, the following applies:

• People entering Austria from the Schengen area and from the European non-Schengen countries (Andorra, Bulgaria, Ireland, Croatia, Monaco, Romania, San Marino, Vatican, United Kingdom and Cyprus) must provide a medical certificate, in German or English, proving that they have a negative COVID-PCR test result. The certificate must not be older than 4 days at the time of entry.
• As an alternative, a 14-day self-monitored home quarantine or quarantine in a suitable accommodation must be undertaken.

The regulation does not apply to people who enter Austria from the 32 European countries listed in Annex A and (cumulatively) have their residence or usual habitation in Austria or in one of these countries.

Latest News

• Austria is entering lockdown this week.
• Cases in Austria are thought to have reached 990 per 100,000 people.
• Munich has cancelled its world-famous Christmas market over fear about rising numbers of coronavirus cases, as Germany reportedly considers following its neighbour.

Austria's quarantine rules

For vaccinated travellers:

• Travellers who have been vaccinated with the BioNTech/Pfizer (Comirnaty), AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Johnson & Johnson (Janssen), or AstraZeneca – Serum Institute of India (Covishield) vaccines are permitted entry to Austria.
• Travellers are considered fully vaccinated if 22 days have passed since the first dose was taken. The first vaccine dose is valid for 90 days from the date of vaccination. After the traveller gets the second dose, the validity of the vaccine gets extended for another 270 days.
• Travellers who have received a single-dose vaccine are considered fully vaccinated from the 22nd day after getting the jab, and the vaccine is valid for 270 days from the vaccination date.
• Travellers who have had COVID-19 before receiving only one dose of any of the vaccines are subject to the same rules as those who have received a single dose.
• Travellers who have been vaccinated do not need to fill in any forms, isolate, or take a COVID test upon entry.

For unvaccinated travellers:

• Unvaccinated travellers to Austria must return a negative test, fill out a clearance form, and isolate for ten days. From November 22, 2021, only PCR tests are accepted for this.
• Travellers who have not been vaccinated are subject to Austria's lockdown rules once in the country.

Austria's testing requirements

Testing Requirements for Entry into Austria:

• Passengers arriving from or who have been in the following countries in the past 10 days are not allowed to enter: Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, or Zimbabwe. This does not apply to nationals of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland; residents of Austria; and more exemptions that can be found on the official website.
• Passengers arriving from or who have been in the countries listed above in the past 10 days must have a negative COVID-19 LAMP, PCR, or TMA test result issued no more than 72 hours before arrival and are subject to quarantine for 10 days. This does not apply to passengers younger than 12 years if accompanied by an adult.
• Passengers must present a completed "Pre-Travel-Clearance" upon arrival. The form can be found on the official Austrian travel portal.
• Passengers could be subject to self-quarantine for 10 days. Exemptions can be found on the official website.

Testing Requirements for Internal Movement within Austria:

• A negative COVID-19 test result, proof of vaccination, or proof of recovery from COVID-19 is required to access public spaces, including cultural, leisure, and sports facilities, tourist accommodations, and bars and restaurants. Austria's regions may implement specific territorial regulations. Consult the official travel portal for further details.
• FFP2 masks or equivalent must be worn in taxis and similar services; public transportation, including stations; and places that offer essential services/goods (supermarkets, banks, post offices, pharmacies, drug stores, petrol stations, public authorities, places of worship, etc.).
• For events of more than 500 persons, the organizer must formulate an appropriate COVID-19 prevention concept, so that for larger gatherings (such as concerts) some restrictions may apply.

Austria's mask requirements

As of March 23, 2022, Austria has reinstated the requirement to wear FFP2 protective face masks in indoor public areas. This comes after the country lifted its mask mandate on March 5, 2022. The Austrian government's decision to reinstate mask requirements is due to a rise in Covid-19 cases, with the average number of new reported cases per day increasing from 29,000 to 45,000 within a fortnight.

FFP2 masks are European standard respirators that are supposed to filter out at least 94% of particles in the air. The Austrian government has also indicated that it will revise the rules for the isolation of infected people to ease the pressure on hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities.

Frequently asked questions