COVID-19 travel restrictions for non-EU citizens in Austria

COVID-19 Entry Ordinance 2021

The COVID-19 Entry Ordinance 2021 (BGBl II 276/2021), which is in force only for a limited period until 31 August 2021, regulates the requirements for entry into Austria in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Regarding the entry requirements, the Ordinance distinguishes between:

• entry from "countries and regions with a low epidemiological risk" (Annex 1 of the Ordinance);
• entry from "countries and regions with virus variants" (Annex 2 of the Ordinance); and
• entry from "other countries and regions" not listed in Annex 1 or 2.

Ukraine is currently not listed in Annex 1 or Annex 2 of the Ordinance and therefore falls under the provisions for entry from "other states and regions". However, this could change.

Persons entering Austria from other states and regions such as Ukraine for business purposes must provide one of the following evidence, which must be issued in Latin script and in German or English:

The person must provide evidence of either a negative molecular biological test (e.g. PCR test) not older than 72 hours or a negative antigen test not older than 48 hours or a personally applied negative antigen test not older than 24 hours, which is recorded in an official system. The test evidence must contain specific information, such as date and time of the sampling.

The person must provide evidence of vaccination with one of the following vaccines:

• Comirnaty/BNT162b2/Tozinameran (INN) from BioNtech/Pfizer: 2 doses;
• ChAdOx1_nCoV-19/ChAdOx1-S/AZD1222/Vaxzevria/ COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca from AstraZeneca, and Covishield from Serum Institute of India: 2 doses;
• COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen from Johnson & Johnson/Janssen; Pharmaceuticals/Ad26.COV2.S Janssen (US +NL-Sites): 1 dose;
• Covid-19 Vaccine Moderna/mRNA-1273 from Moderna: 2 doses;
• Sinopharm / BIBP (Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products Co-Ltd.) SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated (InCoV): 2 doses;
• Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine, SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated: 2 doses.

In addition, one of the following requirements must be met:

• the first vaccination was 22 days but not more than 90 days ago;
• the second vaccination was not more than 270 days ago;
• for vaccines for which only one vaccination is intended: the first vaccination was 22 days but not more than 270 days ago;
• a (i) vaccination and (ii) a positive molecular biological test for SARS-CoV-2 at least 21 days prior to vaccination or evidence of neutralising antibodies prior to vaccination; (iii) and the vaccination was no more than 270 days ago.

1. a medical or official certificate of an infection, which the person overcame in the last 180 days or
2. evidence of neutralising antibodies not older than 90 days.

Evidence (a) to (c) may also be provided by a respective medical certificate, which must be in Latin script and in German or English in accordance with Appendix A or Appendix B of the Ordinance.

Additionally, entry for business purposes must be directly related to a business activity and the duration of the stay in Austria should correlate accordingly. Evidence attesting to this business purpose should be provided (e.g. by written confirmation of the employer/of an appointment for a job interview including a specific date of the appointment, delivery bills, order confirmations, etc.).

If the entry into Austria from "other countries and regions" (e.g. Ukraine) is not for business purposes, as of 8 July 2021 there are other exceptions from a mandatory quarantine and registration that might apply. For example, if a person provides evidence of vaccination with one of the abovementioned vaccines and either (i) the second vaccination dosis required for full immunization was already 14 days ago but no longer than 270 days ago or (ii) the vaccination required for full immunization was already 14 days ago but not longer than 270 ago and a positive molecular biological test for SARS-CoV-2 at least 21 days prior to vaccination or evidence of neutralising antibodies prior to vaccination is provided or (iii) in case of vaccines for which only one vaccination is intended: the first vaccination was 22 days but not more than 270 days ago. Also, this evidence must be issued in Latin script and in German or English.

If no exception is applicable, the following applies in addition to the abovementioned requirements:

• The person must complete a registration using the Pre-Travel Clearance form prior to entry into Austria (at the earliest 72 hours before entry). It must be presented in digital or printed format.

• In addition, the person must immediately enter a ten-day quarantine in Austria. Quarantine can be ended by obtaining a new negative test result for SARS-CoV-2 on the fifth day after entry (whereby the day of entry counts as "day zero").