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QUARANTINE

Switzerland to scrap quarantine requirement for all arrivals

Switzerland is to remove the need for travellers arriving from any country to enter quarantine. From Saturday it will replace the requirement with more extensive testing measures.

Published: 3 December 2021 15:19 CET
Updated: 3 December 2021 17:36 CET
An Airbus A320 plane of Swiss International Air Lines is landing on November 12, 2012 in Geneva. The company owned by German airline Lufthansa said it would cut flights to Athens and Madrid, both hard-hit by the eurozone crisis, and would expand its flights to more lucrative destinations. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
Switzerland on Friday announced new entry rules. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Please note, new measures are now in effect. Click here for more information. 

Switzerland’s expanded Covid measures, which will apply from December 6th, will include an expansion of the Covid certificate requirement, a shortening of the period antigen tests are valid for as well as a more comprehensive mask requirement.

The quarantine requirement for arrivals will also be scrapped from Saturday, December 4th, with tougher testing requirements put in place to control the spread of the Omicron variant. 

READ MORE: Switzerland announces tighter Covid measures

From Saturday, all countries currently on Switzerland’s quarantine list, which included the UK, Australia, the Netherlands and Denmark, will be removed. 

The announcement is a boost for Switzerland’s struggling ski industry, who were set to again incur big losses if the requirement would have been kept in place. 

All countries removed

“All countries are removed from the quarantine list as of Saturday,” the government said. Everyone entering Switzerland must present a negative PCR test, except those crossing the border from neighbouring Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Liechtenstein.

Instead, people arriving will need to complete two PCR tests, one before arriving and one between four and seven days after arrival. 

This will be for all entrants, regardless of vaccination status.

“In order to prevent the introduction of the new Omicron variant as far as possible, a more stringent test regime now applies to all entries into Switzerland. This compulsory test also applies to vaccinated and recovered people. “

People will need to pay their own test costs. 

One important point to note is that those travelling from the following border areas of Switzerland’s neighbouring countries are not subject to the testing requirements.

Areas in Germany: State of Baden-Württemberg and State of Bavaria.

Areas in France: Regions Grand-Est, Bourgogne / Franche Comté and Auvergne / Rhône-Alpes.

Areas in Italy: Piedmont, Aosta Valley, Lombardy and Trentino / South Tyrol regions.

Areas in Austria: Land Tirol and Land Vorarlberg.

Territories in Liechtenstein: entire Principality

Around 340,000 workers a day cross the border into the landlocked country. People must be tested again between the fourth and seventh day after entering Switzerland.

Those already in quarantine are immediately free to go but must do the day four to seven test.

The Swiss government also said non-vaccinated foreign tourists from any region deemed at risk in Europe’s Schengen open-borders area would no longer be able to enter. Covid-19 vaccines will remain free and easily available in 2022, the government announced.

Infections increasing for weeks

Swiss Health Minister Alain Berset said the expansion of measures was necessary due to the deteriorating Covid situation in the country. Switzerland has recorded record new infections over the past week, while ICUs in several cantons are at full capacity.

“The infections have been increasing sharply for a few weeks. In addition to local outbreaks, mainly in schools and in old people’s and nursing homes, the virus is also spreading again among the broader population” the government said in a statement. 

While the measures will be stricter than those currently in place, they are more relaxed than those initially forecast by the federal government on Tuesday, with the controversial Covid certificate requirement in private homes being rejected by the cantons.

READ MORE: How will Switzerland enforce the Covid certificate in private homes?

The measures will be in place until January 24th at the earliest.

Member comments

  1. My friend is flying from Spain in Saturday and has no time to take PCR and get the result. Does the new rule apply from Saturday ? I can’t see anything that there will be some transition period? I assume lots of countries will be in same situation of needing a PCR but no time to take it on Saturday. Thanks for any advice

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For members

EES PASSPORT CHECKS

How will the new app for Europe’s EES border system work?

With Europe set to introduce its new Entry/Exit biometric border system (EES) in the autumn there has been much talk about the importance of a new app designed to help avoid delays. But how will it work and when will it be ready?

Published: 7 May 2024 10:29 CEST
How will the new app for Europe's EES border system work?

When it comes into force the EU’s new digital border system known as EES will register the millions of annual entries and exits of non-EU citizens travelling to the EU/Schengen area, which will cover 29 European countries.

Under the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), non-EU residents who do not require a visa will have to register their biometric data in a database that will also capture each time they cross an external Schengen border.

Passports will no longer be manually stamped, but will be scanned. However, biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard when the non-EU traveller first crosses in to the EU/Schengen area.

Naturally there are concerns the extra time needed for this initial registration will cause long queues and tailbacks at the border.

To help alleviate those likely queues and prevent the subsequent frustration felt by travellers the EU is developing a new smartphone app.

READ ALSO: What will the EES passport system mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The importance of having a working app was summed up by Uku Särekanno, Deputy Executive Director of the EU border agency Frontex in a recent interview.

“Initially, the challenge with the EES will come down to the fact that travellers arriving in Europe will have to have their biographic and biometric data registered in the system – border guards will have to register four of their fingerprints and their facial image. This process will take time, and every second really matters at border crossing points – nobody wants to be stuck in a lengthy queue after a long trip.”

But there is confusion around what the app will actually be able to do, if it will help avoid delays and importantly when will it be available?

So here’s what we know so far.

Who is developing the app?

The EU border agency Frontex is currently developing the app. More precisely, Frontex is developing the back-end part of the app, which will be made available to Schengen countries.

“Frontex is currently developing a prototype of an app that will help speed up this process and allow travellers to share some of the information in advance. This is something we are working on to support the member states, although there is no legal requirement for us to do so,” Uku Särekanno said in the interview.

Will the 29 EES countries be forced to use the app?

No, it is understood that Frontex will make the app available on a voluntary basis. Each government will then decide if, when and where to use it, and develop the front-end part based on its own needs.

This point emerged at a meeting of the House of Commons European scrutiny committee, which is carrying out an inquiry on how EES will impact the UK.

What data will be registered via the app?

The Local asked the European Commission about this. A spokesperson however, said the Commission was not “in a position to disclose further information at this stage” but that travellers’ personal data “will be processed in compliance with the high data security and data protection standards set by EU legislation.”

According to the blog by Matthias Monroy, editor of the German civil rights journal Bürgerrechte & Polizei/CILIP the Frontex app will collect passengers’ name, date of birth, passport number, planned destination and length of stay, reason for travelling, the amount of cash they carry, the availability of a credit card and of a travel health insurance. The app could also allow to take facial images. It will then generate a QR code that travellers can present at border control.

This, however, does not change the fact that fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing into the Schengen area.

So given the need to register finger prints and facial images with a border guard, the question is how and if the app will help avoid those border queues?

When is the app going to be available?

The answer to perhaps the most important question is still unclear.

The Commissions spokesperson told The Local that the app “will be made available for Schengen countries as from the Entry/Exit System start of operations.” The planned launch date is currently October 6th, but there have been several delays in the past and may be another one.

The UK parliamentary committee heard that the prototype of the app should have been ready for EU member states in spring. Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the UK Department for Transport, said the app will not be available for testing until August “at best” and that the app will not be ready in time for October. The committee previously stated that the app might even be delayed until summer 2025.

Frontex’s Särekanno said in his interview: “Our aim is to have it ready by the end of the summer, so it can then be gradually integrated into national systems starting from early autumn”.

READ ALSO: How do the EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Can the system be launched if the app is not ready?

Yes. The European Commission told The Local that “the availability of the mobile application is not a condition for the Entry/Exit System entry into operation or functioning of the system. The app is only a tool for pre-registration of certain types of data and the system can operate without this pre-registration.”

In addition, “the integration of this app at national level is to be decided by each Schengen country on a voluntary basis – as there is no legal obligation to make use of the app.”

And the UK’s transport under secretary Guy Opperman sounded a note of caution saying the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

When the app will be in use, will it be mandatory for travellers?

There is no indication that the app will become mandatory for those non-EU travellers who need to register for EES. But there will probably be advantages in using it, such as getting access to faster lanes.

As a reminder, non-EU citizens who are resident in the EU are excluded from the EES, as are those with dual nationality for a country using EES. Irish nationals are also exempt even though Ireland will not be using EES because it is not in the Schengen area.

Has the app been tested anywhere yet?

Frontex says the prototype of the app will be tested at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, in Sweden. Matthias Monroy’s website said it was tested last year at Munich Airport in Germany, as well as in Bulgaria and Gibraltar.

According to the German Federal Police, the blog reports, passengers were satisfied and felt “prepared for border control”.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

 
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