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Reader question: Can I travel to Switzerland if I’ve had AstraZeneca’s ‘Covishield’ vaccine?

If you've been vaccinated with AstraZeneca, you could well have had a shot of 'Covishield' - which is not yet approved by the EMA. Can you still travel to Switzerland if you've had it?

Published: 13 July 2021 13:50 CEST
Reader question: Can I travel to Switzerland if I've had AstraZeneca's 'Covishield' vaccine?
All versions of the AstraZeneca vaccine are approved in order to enter Switzerland. Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP

What’s this all about?

While we’ve all become used to describing vaccines by the names of the companies who produce them, it turns out that the same vaccines can appear in numerous different guises.

In this instance, we’re mainly concerned with two key versions of AstraZeneca: one produced in Europe under the brand name Vaxzevria, and one produced under licence by India’s Serum Institute, which is marketed as a Covishield.

Though the brand names are different, the vaccine is identical: it is produced with the same ingredients to the same specifications. The only key difference is that the version made in India is not licensed within the EU.

Until recently, this hadn’t been much of an issue, since Covishield is largely distributed in India, the United Kingdom and several African countries. 

However, with the roll-out of the EU’s vaccine passport, the Indian-produced AstraZeneca vaccine has hit a snag: only vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) fall under the scope of the vaccine passport scheme, so travellers who’ve been immunised with Covishield have been having headaches when travelling around the EU. 

While Switzerland is not a member of the EU, it has become a part of the EU vaccine pass framework in order to facilitate travel across the bloc. 

EXPLAINED: How to use Switzerland’s Covid app when travelling in the EU

What is the EU saying? 

A spokesperson for the European Commission told the The Local that the acceptance of Covishield for travellers was a matter for individual Member States to decide.

“At present, Covishield is not authorised for placing on the market in the EU,” they said. “However, it has completed the World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Use Listing process. EU Member States can therefore decide to allow entry to those vaccinated with Covishield.”

This means that, while it may not be valid for the EU-wide digital, those who have had a shot of the Indian-manufactured vaccine should nonetheless be allowed to enter certain European countries without a negative test or proof of recovery – and, depending on that country’s rules, without needing to quarantine.

This also applies to other versions of popular vaccines that have been manufactured elsewhere in the world, such as the third version of AstraZeneca – SK Bio – which is manufactured in South Korea, and other versions of Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. 

What are the rules in Switzerland?

Switzerland administers vaccines from only two manufacturers: Moderna and Biontech/Pfizer. 

Unlike in most European countries, AstraZeneca was never approved in Switzerland.

Furthermore, while the Johnson and Johnson vaccine has been approved, the Swiss government has not purchased any doses – meaning that the vaccine is also not administered here. 

Fortunately however for travellers, while Switzerland’s domestically administered vaccine list is relatively short, it does accept a wide variety of vaccines for people wanting to enter the country. 

This includes the Covishield vaccine, as well as two vaccines manufactured in China (Sinovac and Sinopharm). 

People vaccinated with the following will be allowed to enter Switzerland: 

  • Pfizer/BioNTech (BNT162b2 / Comirnaty® / Tozinameran)
  • Moderna (mRNA-1273 / Spikevax / COVID-19 vaccine Moderna)
  • AstraZeneca (AZD1222 Vaxzevria®/ Covishield™)
  • Janssen / Johnson & Johnson (Ad26.COV2.S)
  • Sinopharm / BIBP (SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cell))
  • Sinovac (CoronaVac)

The full list is laid out by the Swiss government here. 


The European version of AstraZeneca is the same as the Indian version in all but name. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/LongVisual via ZUMA Wire | Camilo Erasso

That means that travellers from the UK, India and Africa who have been inoculated with the Covishield version of the vaccine will be permitted to enter the country, though they may have some issues with onward travel to places like France, where Covishield is still unrecognised. 

How do I know if I’ve been vaccinated with Covishield?

The easiest way to check if you’ve been vaccinated with Covishield is to look at your vaccination booklet and see what brand name is listed on there.

If your vaccine certificate states only AstraZeneca, you can check the batch number to find out which version you were vaccinated with.

Where else in Europe can I travel? 

As of June 12th, 15 countries in Europe had officially agreed to recognise Covishield for travel, according to a tweet by WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan. 

In alphabetical order, these are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

However, with India’s reciprocal offer on the table and an ever-expanding list of countries agreeing to accept the vaccine, more European countries could well be added to this list in the coming weeks. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

As European travellers prepare for the introduction of enhanced passport checks known as the Entry & Exit System (EES), many readers have asked us what this means for the '90-day rule' for non-EU citizens.

Published: 1 May 2024 07:18 CEST
How do the EU's new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

From the start date to the situation for dual nationals and non-EU residents living in the EU, it’s fair to say that readers of The Local have a lot of questions about the EU’s new biometric passport check system known as EES.

You can find our full Q&A on how the new system will work HERE, or leave us your questions HERE.

And one of the most commonly-asked questions was what the new system changes with regards to the 90-day rule – the rule that allows citizens of certain non-EU countries (including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) to spend up to 90 days in every 180 in the EU without needing a visa.

And the short answer is – nothing. The key thing to remember about EES is that it doesn’t actually change any rules on immigration, visas etc.

Therefore the 90-day rule continues as it is – but what EES does change is the enforcement of the rule.

90 days 

The 90-day rule applies to citizens of a select group of non-EU countries;

Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Macau, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City and Venezuela.

Citizens of these countries can spend up to 90 days in every 180 within the EU or Schengen zone without needing a visa or residency permit.

People who are citizens of neither the EU/Schengen zone nor the above listed countries need a visa even for short trips into the EU – eg an Indian or Chinese tourist coming for a two-week holiday would require a visa. 

In total, beneficiaries of the 90-day rule can spend up to six months in the EU, but not all in one go. They must limit their visits so that in any 180-day (six month) period they have spent less than 90 days (three months) in the Bloc.

READ ALSO How does the 90-day rule work?

The 90 days are calculated according to a rolling calendar so that at any point in the year you must be able to count backwards to the last 180 days, and show that you have spent less than 90 of them in the EU/Schengen zone.

You can find full details on how to count your days HERE.

If you wish to spend more than 90 days at a time you will have to leave the EU and apply for a visa for a longer stay. Applications must be done from your home country, or via the consulate of your home country if you are living abroad.

Under EES 90-day rule beneficiaries will still be able to travel visa free (although ETIAS will introduce extra changes, more on that below).

EES does not change either the rule or how the days are calculated, but what it does change is the enforcement.

Enforcement

One of the stated aims of the new system is to tighten up enforcement of ‘over-stayers’ – that is people who have either overstayed the time allowed on their visa or over-stayed their visa-free 90 day period.

At present border officials keep track of your time within the Bloc via manually stamping passports with the date of each entry and exit to the Bloc. These stamps can then be examined and the days counted up to ensure that you have not over-stayed.

The system works up to a point – stamps are frequently not checked, sometimes border guards incorrectly stamp a passport or forget to stamp it as you leave the EU, and the stamps themselves are not always easy to read.

What EES does is computerise this, so that each time your passport is scanned as you enter or leave the EU/Schengen zone, the number of days you have spent in the Bloc is automatically tallied – and over-stayers will be flagged.

For people who stick to the limits the system should – if it works correctly – actually be better, as it will replace the sometimes haphazard manual stamping system.

But it will make it virtually impossible to over-stay your 90-day limit without being detected.

The penalties for overstaying remain as they are now – a fine, a warning or a ban on re-entering the EU for a specified period. The penalties are at the discretion of each EU member state and will vary depending on your personal circumstances (eg how long you over-stayed for and whether you were working or claiming benefits during that time).

ETIAS 

It’s worth mentioning ETIAS at this point, even though it is a completely separate system to EES, because it will have a bigger impact on travel for many people.

ETIAS is a different EU rule change, due to be introduced some time after EES has gone live (probably in 2025, but the timetable for ETIAS is still somewhat unclear).

It will have a big impact on beneficiaries of the 90-day rule, effectively ending the days of paperwork-free travel for them.

Under ETIAS, beneficiaries of the 90-rule will need to apply online for a visa waiver before they travel. Technically this is a visa waiver rather than a visa, but it still spells the end of an era when 90-day beneficiaries can travel without doing any kind of immigration paperwork.

If you have travelled to the US in recent years you will find the ETIAS system very similar to the ESTA visa waiver – you apply online in advance, fill in a form and answer some questions and are sent your visa waiver within a couple of days.

ETIAS will cost €7 (with an exemption for under 18s and over 70s) and will last for three years.

Find full details HERE. 

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