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EXPLAINED: Can tourists get Austria’s Covid green pass to visit bars and events?

As travel picks up across Europe, there is a new challenge for tourists to navigate when visiting a new country - Covid-19 digital immunity cards.

Published: 21 July 2021 10:08 CEST
Updated: 13 October 2021 09:34 CEST
EXPLAINED: Can tourists get Austria’s Covid green pass to visit bars and events?
A person has their Covid vaccination details checked. Photo: Photo by Mat Napo on Unsplash

Austria’s coronavirus digital immunity card – known as the ‘Green Pass’ – is now live, but is it also available for tourists to use?

The short answer is – no, not yet.

For example, people arriving from an EU country can already access the EU Digital COVID Certificate in Austria, so they don’t need to download and use Austria’s digital immunity card. 

‘3G Rule’: How to prove you have been vaccinated, tested or recovered from Covid in Austria

Plus, in the most cases an Austrian mobile phone number or citizen card is needed to use Austria’s Green Pass, which rules out tourists.

For now though, tourists in Austria from outside of the EU can use paper or digital copies of vaccination certificates, negative tests or proof of recovery to access 3G areas.

What does this mean for people travelling to Austria? Here’s what you need to know.

How does Austria’s Covid-19 digital immunity card work?

The Green Pass involves downloading an app and using a QR card to access places where the 3G rule (vaccinated, tested or recovered) applies.

Places include gastronomy businesses like bars and cafes, hotels and language classes. 

To access the Green Pass, users need a Handy Signatur (a digital ID connected to an Austrian mobile phone number) or an Austrian citizen card. 

READER QUESTION: Can I travel to Austria if I’ve had AstraZeneca’s ‘Covishield’ vaccine?

However, people can still use the paper version of 3G certificates, such as a vaccination card, proof of recovery or proof of a negative antigen test to access 3G areas.

While this must be an official document, it does not need to have a QR code to be valid. It needs to be either in German or in English in a latin script and must be produced on request from business owners or police. 

The Austrian Federal Government has also said the Green Pass will not become compulsory.

Can tourists from EU countries use the Green Pass?

The Digital COVID Certificate was launched by the EU on 1st July and it is recognised in Austria.

The EU version can be used in the same way as the Green Pass to show proof of 3G, but paper or digital copies of test and vaccination certificates from other EU countries are also accepted.

This means EU tourists don’t have to worry about accessing Austria’s Green Pass.

What about tourists from other countries?

Currently, only the Green Pass and the EU Digital COVID Certificate are recognised in Austria and can’t be accessed by people from outside of the EU.

Unlike in some other countries, you cannot simply arrive in Austria and do a test. This is because in the most cases to get the green pass you need an Austrian phone number, citizen card or e-card. 

EXPLAINED: What is Austria’s Covid-19 immunity card and how do I get it?

But the EU Digital COVID Certificate might be extended to travellers from third countries in the future, like the UK and the US.

In the meantime, the British government is currently working on making its NHS app compatible with the EU system.

The EU is also working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to find a solution to recognising vaccine certificates without a QR code (an example is the US where certificates do not have a QR code).

If I can’t get the green pass, what does this mean for my trip to Austria? 

Fortunately, Austria still runs on paper – meaning you can show your paper evidence of vaccination, recovery etc when visiting bars, events and restaurants in Austria. 

This includes paper evidence of vaccination from abroad, such as in the United Kingdom. 

Several readers have told us they have also been able to show their NHS app at certain venues, although this is not official government policy. 

While this must be an official document, it does not need to have a QR code to be valid. 

It needs to be either in German or in English in a latin script and must be produced on request from business owners or police. 

Both the UK and Israeli governments are currently working with the EU on getting their apps accepted in Austria. 

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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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