How To Find Out About Covid-19 Entry Requirements
Traveling during Corona certainly isn't easy with all the restrictions that are in force and changing every other week. Fortunately, they have stabilized a little bit in the last few months, but we're still a long way from the care-free days of 2019 and earlier. The best way to find out about restrictions is to go to an official website of the country and read about their restrictions, most countries have such pages by now and they often include a lot of text. It's very important to read carefully as it is very easy to misinterpret or simply miss relevant information. I would like to recommend another page where you can double-check the information, and this information is actually taken directly from the system that airlines use to determine if you fulfill all requirements or not.
When the pandemic hit the rules of travel changed overnight. It was impossible for passengers, airlines, and airport staff to keep up with everything. Normally airlines and airport staff use a system called "Timatic", which is still in use. Timatic is maintained by IATA and it's normally not available online. However, it doesn't update daily. So when changes to the entry requirements started to get updated daily for most countries IATA had to create a system that would be updated daily.
This system is informally called "TI-News" and IATA decided to make it available online in the form of a world map. You will find the map at IATA Travel Centre and the address is https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/international-travel-document-news/1580226297.htm. When you enter the website it tells you that you're only allowed to look at ten countries, but the only things that happen when you try to read more than that are that you will have to verify that you're not a robot again and then you can read ten more countries. This is useful if you're looking for a travel destination this summer that will let you in with the least possible restrictions for example.
Oslo, Norway. Norway has had some of the strictest restrictions in Europe during the pandemic and one of few countries that have consistently banned the entry of other European travelers unless they fulfill some strictly defined exceptions.
Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey on the other hand removed all restrictions for all countries early. They had to re-impose some restrictions in early 2021, such as a requirement to hold a negative PCR Test. However, Turkey still allows all nationalities who were visa exempted before 2020 to enter without providing a valid reason.
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It's important to read carefully how things are worded. In this type of text, a single word will often completely change the meaning of the paragraph, and the restrictions are often written as blanket bans with exceptions. In other words, it doesn't say that a person with an American passport is allowed to enter. It will say that everyone is banned from entry, but that the ban doesn't apply to a person with an American passport.
Unless otherwise specified all requirements has to be fulfilled at the first point of contact with the airline. So if you go to the check-in area you need to have your PCR test result ready before you will be checked in and given a boarding pass. If you are able to check in online and go directly to the gate you need to have it ready before you are allowed to board. A lot of airlines have however temporarily limited that option and you won't be able to download your boarding pass from home.
Lines starting with a number are a new restriction separate from the previous information on the page. Lines starting with a dash (-) are exceptions or additional information to the last line starting with a number.
It's also important to remember that this page says nothing about visa requirements. That is something you have to look up independently. This site will tell you everything you need to know about the temporary restrictions that have been implemented due to the Coronavirus only.
