Austria has introduced severe restrictions for unvaccinated people following a spike in new Covid cases.
Around two million people who have yet to be fully vaccinated have been put under lockdown as of Monday 15 November, only permitted to leave home for a slim number of reasons such as food shopping or work.
“We are not taking this step lightly, but unfortunately it is necessary,” Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said after the seven-day infection rate hit more than 800 cases per 100,000 people.
But what do the new rules mean for travellers? Here’s what we know so far.
Can vaccinated Brits travel to Austria?
Yes. If you provide proof of vaccination, you do not have to self-isolate or register upon entry to Austria. Austria will accept the UK’s proof of Covid recovery and vaccination record. If you are travelling with a printed PDF proof of vaccination status, it must date from after 1 November to ensure that the certificate can be scanned successfully.
However, Austria is one of a handful of countries that has introduced an expiration date for vaccine passports. “For double-shot vaccines (eg AstraZeneca, Moderna), you must show that you received the second injection no more than 360 days before arrival,” says the Foreign Office (FCDO). “If you received a booster more than 120 days after being fully immunised, this must not have been more than 360 days before arrival.”
This timeframe is reducing next month – from 6 December 2021, you are only considered vaccinated for 270 days after receiving a second or third dose of a recognised vaccine.
Can unvaccinated Brits travel to Austria?
Yes, but it is a restriction-heavy process. Travellers must present a negative test or proof of recovery from Covid, plus self-isolate for 10 days on arrival.
For proof of a negative Covid test, PCR results must be no older than 72 hours, antigen test (eg lateral flow) results must be no older than 48 hours, and antigen self-test results (which must be recorded in an official data processing system) must be no older than 24 hours.
For proof of recovery, travellers must show evidence of recovery during the past 180 days or evidence of neutralising antibodies no more than 90 days old.
Children up to the age of 12 do not have to provide a test result if travelling under the supervision of an adult. If the accompanying adult has to self-isolate, the child must self-isolate too. The child can then leave self-isolation at the same time as the adult. If travelling unattended, the same requirements apply as for adults.
Children aged 12-18 must self-isolate and register on arrival, unless they or the adult travelling with them are exempt from self-isolation, for example through vaccination.
“You can leave self-isolation after five days with a new negative PCR test result,” says the FCDO. “The day of entry counts as ‘day zero’.”
However, the new rules that have come into play mean unvaccinated travellers will then be subject to lockdown, only able to leave their accommodation for “essential” reasons (although children under the age of 12 and people who have recently recovered from the virus will be exempt).
The lockdown restrictions will initially be in place for 10 days.
Are there restrictions in place once there?
Unvaccinated people were already barred from visiting restaurants, hairdressers and cinemas – although this will be largely irrelevant under lockdown. The same goes for Christmas Markets, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, theatres and hotels, which are open only for people who are vaccinated or have recently recovered from Covid-19.
Elsewhere, FFP2 face masks - the European equivalent to N95 respirator masks - are compulsory on public transport and in taxis, plus in shops, banks, bakeries, cable cars, museums, libraries, post offices, pharmacies and doctors’ offices.
What are the rules for returning to the UK?
There are no countries left on the UK’s red list at present, meaning all nations are on its Rest of World (ROW) list.
Requirements for returning to the UK depend on whether the traveller is fully vaccinated or not. Those who are double jabbed have no need to test before returning or quarantine – they must simply book and take a private Covid test (lateral flow is now acceptable) within two days of arriving.
Travellers who are not fully vaccinated must present a negative Covid test (lateral flow is acceptable) taken in the three days before departure, self-isolate for 10 days on arrival, and take two private PCR tests on days two and eight of quarantine. Those in England may opt to pay for a third test on day five to leave self-isolation early if the result is negative.
All travellers must fill in a passenger locator form before departure for the UK.
