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HEALTH

How Italy has changed its travel rules for certain countries

Italy has revised the rules for several countries in its latest emergency decree, though the news is better for some than for others.

How Italy has changed its travel rules for certain countries
Italy has updated its international travel rules with extra restrictions over Christmas and New Year. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

The new decree, effective December 4th to January 15th, updates Italy's travel restrictions for the first time since November.

It's marked by tougher rules as the government seeks to discourage residents from taking ski trips or other holidays abroad, wary of seeing another spike of the kind that followed the easing of restrictions over the summer.

READ ALSO: What are Italy's new rules for Christmas travel?

They notably include a requirement for all EU travellers to test negative before arriving in Italy, and mandatory quarantine for anyone travelling to Italy between December 21st and January 6th – regardless where they're departing from.

But the latest measures also reclassify specific countries, in some cases making it easier to enter Italy even as a visitor from outside Europe.

In others, however, the barriers to entry just got even higher.

Here's a guide to how the rules have changed.

The countries on which Italy has eased or lifted its restrictions

  • Romania: previously on Italy's mandatory quarantine list, the country has been reclassified in line with other EU countries including France and Spain. Starting immediately, people arriving in Italy from Romania can now avoid quarantine by showing a negative test result – until quarantine becomes mandatory for everyone from December 21st to January 6th.
     
  • Singapore: the city-state has been added to the list of 'safe' countries outside Europe where travel is allowed for any reason, including tourism. That means Singapore residents can visit Italy, but they will still have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival (even outside the Christmas period).
     
  • Armenia, Bahrein, Bangladesh, Bosnia Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Kosovo, Kuwait, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Peru: these countries were formerly classified as no-go areas, with travel to and from Italy all but banned. Now travel is permitted for essential reasons of work, study, health or family emergency, or for people who usually live in Italy and are returning home – so long as you quarantine for 14 days on arrival. 

The countries on which Italy has tightened its restrictions

  • Canada, Georgia, Tunisia: these countries have been removed from Italy's non-EU 'safe' list, meaning that residents now have to prove they have an urgent reason such as work, study or family emergency in order to travel to Italy. If they're eligible to travel, they'll have to quarantine for 14 days.
     
  • UK, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic: travellers from these countries already required a coronavirus test to enter Italy, but while it used to be possible to get tested on arrival at the airport or within two days of landing, you'll now have to show a negative test result before boarding your flight, or spend 14 days in quarantine (outside December 21st to January 6th, when everyone has to quarantine). This aside, people from these countries can continue to enter Italy for any reason. The same rules apply to Romania (see above).
     
  • Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco: Italy has effectively upped restrictions on travellers from most other EU and Schengen countries, who from December 10th onwards have to show a negative test result before entering Italy or self-quarantine (outside December 21st to January 6th, when everyone has to quarantine). This aside, people from the EU or Schengen Zone can continue to travel to Italy for any reason.

The countries on which restrictions remain unchanged

  • San Marino and Vatican City: there are no restrictions on travel to or from these two tiny  enclaves, which lie entirely within Italy's borders.
     
  • Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Rwanda, Thailand, Uruguay: these lucky few countries (plus Singapore) are the only ones outside Europe from which tourism to Italy is permitted, though travellers still have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival. 
     
  • Everywhere else: people in any other country can travel to Italy for essential reasons of work, study, health or family emergency, but not as a tourist. If you are eligible to travel, you'll have to quarantine for 14 days.

 

Italian citizens and residents still allowed to return

People who are officially resident in Italy, no matter what nationality they hold or what country they're departing from, are still allowed to travel to their Italian home. You'll have to observe whichever testing and/or quarantine rules apply to the country you depart from.

The same goes for Italian citizens, who are allowed to enter the country even if they don't usually live here. Quarantine and testing rules apply.

For more information about which rules apply to you, use the Foreign Ministry's interactive questionnaire, available here.

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STRIKES

What to expect from Italy’s nationwide rail strike on Sunday

Train passengers in Italy may face disruption on Sunday, June 16th, as staff at railway operators including Trenitalia and Trenord plan a 23-hour strike.

What to expect from Italy’s nationwide rail strike on Sunday

Anyone planning to travel by train this weekend could face delays or cancellations as staff at state-owned railway operators Trenitalia, Trenord and Trenitalia Tper plan to strike from 3am on Sunday, June 16th to 2am on Monday, June 17th, for a total of 23 hours.

The walkout was called by the PdM/PdB transport union in early May to demand the renewal of collective labour agreements in the rail transport sector.

Originally scheduled for Sunday, May 19th, the protest was later postponed to June 16th following a government injunction citing public safety concerns due to an overlap with the Emilia Romagna F1 Grand Prix.

While rail companies are legally required to guarantee the operation of a number of minimum services (servizi minimi) during strikes taking place on weekdays, there’s no such requirement for weekend walkouts.

This means that operators are free to decide whether or not to guarantee minimum services for passengers.

Trenitalia 

National rail operator Trenitalia said in a statement that their services “may experience cancellations or changes” for the entire length of the strike, though the protest may also “result in service variations both before its start and after its end”. 

Trenitalia said it will operate a number of minimum services during the walkout. These are available here.

READ ALSO: The transport strikes to expect in Italy in summer 2024

The operator advised passengers planning to travel on Sunday to check the status of their journey via the Infomobilità section of their website, their mobile app, or by calling toll-free number 800 89 20 21.

Passengers who have booked Intercity or Frecce journeys for Sunday and wish to cancel their trips will have until the scheduled departure time to request a refund. 

Passengers who have purchased regional train tickets will have to submit their refund requests by midnight on Saturday.

Trenord

Trenord, which operates a number of regional trains in the Lombardy region, including links to and from Milan’s Malpensa Airport, said that the walkout “may have repercussions” on all of their scheduled services.

People board a regional train at Milan's Stazione Centrale

People board a regional train at Milan’s Stazione Centrale. Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP

Trenord will not operate minimum services during the strike. However, should airport link services be cancelled, replacement buses will run the same routes. 

See Trenord’s website or mobile app for the latest updates.

Trenitalia Tper

Trenitalia Tper, which operates a number of trains in the Emilia-Romagna region, said that their services “may experience cancellations or changes” due to the walkout. 

Passengers travelling before the start or after the end of the protest may also face disruption, the statement said.

Trenitalia Tper will guarantee the operation of a number of minimum services (servizi minimi) during the day. These can be consulted here.

See their website for the latest updates.

Italo

A statement from Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, which owns and manages all of Italy’s railway network, said the walkout will only involve staff at state-owned operators Trenitalia, Trenitalia Tper and Trenord, meaning that scheduled services from private long-distance operator Italo will go ahead as normal on Sunday. 

What to do if your train is cancelled

If a pre-booked rail service is cancelled due to strike action in Italy, passengers are normally allowed to travel on other equivalent services or are entitled to a refund.

Passengers travelling with Trenitalia can request a refund either at the station or by completing this web form, whereas Italo generally issues refunds automatically.

Keep up with the latest updates in The Local’s strike news section.

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