Greece Updates Entry Rules for Air Travelers from Abroad

by GTP editing team 22 May 2021

written by GTP editing team 22 May 2021 19 comments

Greece has extended its aviation directives (NOTAMs) that concern the entry requirements and rules for travelers from abroad.

According to the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA), the following will be in force until May 31 at 6am:

Who is allowed entry to Greece

Travelers from the following countries* are allowed to enter Greece – provided they have the required documentation – without the requirement for subsequent self-isolation: EU & Schengen Area countries, Australia, Northern Macedonia, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, United Kingdom, Israel, Canada, Belarus, Bahrain, New Zealand, South Korea, Qatar, China, Kuwait, Ukraine, Rwanda, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore and Thailand.

* Regulations concerning countries on the admission list are subject to change by the Greek authorities, when renewed assessments are made based on epidemiological data from country of origin.

Entry requirements

Greece will allow entrance to travelers that have filled out the Passenger Locator Form (PLF) one day before travel. The PLF is mandatory and must be filled out by all travelers, regardless of their nationality.

In addition, passengers from abroad must have one of the following:

– a vaccination certificate, stating that 14 days have passed since full vaccination for Covid-19. Vaccination certificates must be issued by a public authority and in one of the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish or Russian. The name on the vaccination certificate must match the name on the passport and also include, the type of vaccine administered, the number of doses and the dates they were administered. Acceptable vaccines are: Pfizer BioNtech, Moderna, Astra Zeneca/Oxford, Novavax, Johnson + Johnson/Janssen, Sinovac Biotech, Gamaleya (Sputnik), Cansino Biologics, Sinopharm.

– a negative PCR test (in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish or Russian) performed less than 72 hours. (The rule is in force for children over the age of 5.)

– a recovery certificate (in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish or Russian) stating that one has recovered from the coronavirus in the past 9 months. This can be proven through a certificate of recovery issued by a public authority or a certified laboratory. (The rule is in force for children over the age of 5.)

Non-EU citizens are strongly advised to choose direct flights to Greece. In any other case, travelers should abide by the stop-over country requirements.

Rapid testing on arrival

Every traveler who arrives in Greece, regardless of the certificate in their possession, may undergo a random health screening (depending on the data provided on the PLF forms). If a passenger is selected for a rapid test and is positive for the coronavirus then he/she must quarantine for a total of 14 days.

The HCAA has also released rules on travel by air to the Greek islands while in Greece (domestic travel). Press here for further information.

Greece’s aviation directives are part of the Greek government’s efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country.

The Greek government has detailed information on a dedicated website, which includes frequently asked questions, on how Greece is welcoming visitors this year.

Travelers in need of information regarding specific details are recommended to contact their embassy, airline or the General Secretariat for Civil Protection.

Follow GTP Headlines on Google News to keep up to date with all the latest on tourism and travel in Greece.

GTP editing team

This is the team byline for GTP. The copyrights for these articles are owned by GTP. They may not be redistributed without the permission of the owner.

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19 comments

Ruth Townsend 29 May 2021 - 10:29

Does anyone know how Greece decides what is an acceptable vaccination certificate – in this case from Spain? We are UK passport holders with Spanish residency in the Canaries. We were vaccinated there in April and have documents stomped and signed at the Health Centre. They state our names, the dates and the lot numbers of the Pfizer jabs, but when we entered Cyprus two weeks ago they were rejected and we had to have tests.I t seems there is a different national recognised document we don’t know about. We will be entering Greece from either Cyprus or UK depending on the status of Cyprus with resect to UK entry.

Youssef farah 27 May 2021 - 07:55

Lebanese citizen with a vaccination certificate are not allowed to travel to greece although the numbers of infected people in Lebanon dropped dramatically?

Dana 1 June 2021 - 11:23

This is true which is weird we are doing better than other countries in terms of covid

Tone Krogh 25 May 2021 - 20:49

Does a British vaccinated person have to stay in a corona hotel?

Madthinker 25 May 2021 - 16:29

“Travelers from the following countries are allowed to enter Greece if…”.

Does this mean passport holders, or people travelling from those countries?

I am UK passport holder/resident, but have ben in South Africa for the last few months.

UK advice seems to say that it applies to UK nationals if they are resident. The “UK nationals are permitted to enter Greece if they are a permanent resident in the UK, Greece”. However, this is not clear in the Greek advice & elsewhere.

L Macready 26 May 2021 - 10:10

I agree it’s not clear. We are also UK permanent residents and travelled from South Africa to Greece BUT via Doha which is one of the countries on their list (Qatar) to be on the safe side. This was on the 16th May. We had zero issues on arrival in Athens, they want to see your PCR and QR code for the form only. The form asks what airline you flew in on , where you departed from (Qatar) and where your permanent address is. There is a question on where you have been in last 14 days but it is optional so we did not fill it in. Hope this helps.

Madthinker 27 May 2021 - 10:55

Thank you for the information!

ornela sulce 25 May 2021 - 14:13

what about albanian turist we pay our flight and hotel too

Marja Pohjola 24 May 2021 - 23:47

I am interested in what regulations there will be to enter Greece after the date 31.of May? Will the regulations differ from those given now?

Mark Brealey 24 May 2021 - 21:30

As Martin lavelle said above. There is still no clarification on what form a vaccination certificate takes. I have my second vaccination tomorrow and the first is already recorded on the NHS application. Assuming the second is loaded before I travel on 21st June will that be enough?

Michelle 24 May 2021 - 15:53

Yes,they are accepting the UK appointment cards which are hand written.

Garamont 24 May 2021 - 13:07

Then my position is, not this summer in Greece. Maybe next year (and I’m fully vaccinated).

Martin Lavelle 24 May 2021 - 12:36

What form must the vaccination certificate take? I have a card with all the necessary information on it but it is hand written so I am not sure if it would meet the necessary requirements!

Anton juan Jr 24 May 2021 - 12:22

Question: If one holds an American passport andvaccination certificate and but is traveling to Greece from the Philippines will that person be allowed entry?

Renée Bergström-Merivirta 24 May 2021 - 11:43

Does the locator form concern children, as well? Didn´t find any space for putting in children with parent. Yhe children are 5 and 11. Do they have to
have their uwn forms??

Who could answer??

Ann 24 May 2021 - 21:52

I per family, so your kids doesn’t have to fill out.

Olga 25 May 2021 - 11:24

They ask to fill in one PLF for the whole family as far as I’ve read on their site.

David Bruce 23 May 2021 - 16:03

I would be extremely interested to know upon what epidemiological data (journal, authors and date of publication) the decision to allow travellers to enter the country armed with only a negative PCR test is based upon. A fully vaccinated individual can still catch and transmit the virus. The vaccine greatly mitigates the effects of the former and substantially reduces the chance of the latter. A piece of paper saying negative test result can do neither.

There is no further testing of the negative PCR traveller, no quarantine and no track and trace. The negative PCR test is a reflection of only when the test was taken. It follows, therefore, that it cannot be a reflection of 10 hours later, to say nothing of 10 days later.

A traveller returning to the UK after a holiday in Greece must currently have a pre flight test, quarantine for ten days during which another two tests are required.

Sue Tsirigoti 24 May 2021 - 13:55

There is track and trace through the PLF form.

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