Visas

Romania's border traffic plunged almost 60 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year, as approximately 28.5 million people moved in or out of the country. "Traffic values at the border checkpoints stood at about 28.5 million people (23.8 million EU citizens and 4.7 million non-EU citizens), both on the inbound and on the outbound.

The Greek government has extended until 8 February 2021 restrictions for all arrivals in the country by air, land or sea transport, the Press Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

Both Germany and France have opened the borders, while a smaller number of countries, including Spain and Portugal, should open their borders to their neighbors by the end of the month.

After almost four months, travellers from third-countries will finally be eligible to travel to the Schengen Area. Starting from July 1, the European Commission will start permitting non-EU and non-Schengen travellers to enter the borderless territory, gradually and partially.

Germany is in talks with Ankara over measures that could make it possible for German tourists to travel to Turkey for summer holidays, a senior government official said on June 4. 

Cyprus is launching a multilingual SMS campaign to head off more migrant arrivals by dispelling the mistaken belief the European Union member country is a gateway to the continent, the Cypriot interior minister said Sunday.

The closure of national borders has helped limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, but it's also dealt a devastating blow to tourism, travel and trade. That's especially true across the EU, where the bloc's Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson has called for a return to open borders as soon as possible.

For now, only Greece and Bulgaria have announced the opening of borders with Serbia.

Late in the evening on May 21, Bulgaria's Minister of Health, Kiril Ananiev, issued an order allowing representatives of firms and companies registered in the EU and the Schengen area to enter Bulgaria without the requirement for 14-day quarantine as of tomorrow, May 22.

The lifting of the ban also covers San Marino, the Principality of Andorra, Monaco and Vatican City State.

Many hotel groups in Greece are ready to reopen some of their seasonal units as soon as the government completes the operation protocols for protection from Covid-19. At the same time year-round hotels are gearing up to start accepting guests again on June 1.