The European Commission has agreed on new recommendations to limit the validity period of the EU Digital Covid Certificate to 270 days for those who haven’t yet received a COVID-19 booster jab.
The 270-day period is calculated from the day of the second dose and came into force from 1 February 2022. This ruling applies to all EU member states and to the certificates issued by third countries when visiting the EU.
To enter EU member states, travellers will need to either show a valid EU Digital Covid Certificate or proof they have had the booster jab.
The new recommendation is not legally binding and a myriad of rules and regulations continue to cause confusion for business travellers, as countries choose to implement national rules that differ to EU proposals.
- Belgium have recently announced that they will reduce the validity period of the covid certificates without a booster shot to 5-months from 1 March.
- Denmark set a 7-month validity period for the first two doses in December.
- Italy’s “Super Green Pass” validity will be reduced from 9 months to 6 months on 1 February.
- France limits the validity period of the “Pass sanitaire”, the French version of the EU digital Covid Certificate, to 7 months for French nationals who have not received a booster jab.
- Latvia has issued a 5-month validity period for those who have been administered a one-shot vaccine (Janssen) and have not received a booster dose.
- Greece has issued the same rule as Denmark, introducing a 7-month validity period for vaccinated individuals without a booster jab.
Malta is the first country to announce a validity period for the booster jab. From 17 January, Malta introduced a 3-month validity period for vaccination certificates without a booster jab and a 9-month validity period for certificates with a booster jab.
Business travellers and travel managers are advised to keep a close eye on government websites and the validity of immunisations as regulations start to take effect.
“An inconsistent approach and lack of co-ordination between member states continues to cause confusion and a threat to business travel recovery. Corporates and business travellers need a predictable, harmonised and science-based response to the pandemic, to build confidence and momentum,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA.
