Portugal to open up to ‘non-essential travel’ from May 17

• 21 May, 21

Portugal has today opened its borders for tourists from the rest of the European Union Member States, as well as the non-EU Schengen area countries -Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland – as well as for the tourists from the former EU member, the United Kingdom.

The decision has been announced by the Portuguese tourism website Visit Portugal, which noted that arrivals from the UK are obliged to test for COVID-19 72 hours before they reach Portugal, the earliest.

“Non-essential travellers from the UK are allowed to enter Portugal as of the 00:00 of May 17, but must present proof of a negative test for COVID-19 (RT-PCR), carried out within 72 hours before boarding time,” the Portuguese authorities note.

Currently, Cyprus, Croatia, Lithuania, Netherlands, and Sweden have an incidence rate equal to or greater than 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days. Only essential travel is permitted from these countries to Portugal.Arrivals from these countries will need to isolate for a period of two weeks at home or in a place decided on by the health authorities after entering mainland Portugal. They also have to register with SEF – Foreigners and Borders Service before entering the country.

Cre: schengeninfo.com