The Republic of Cyprus lifted the entry ban for citizens of 56 countries, including Poland. The local government has prepared updated travel and tourism procedures that will take effect in early 2021.

According to the Cypriot ministerial message, the new measures include a list of 56 countries in which travel restrictions to Cyprus have been eased. In addition to the member states of the European Union, they include: the countries of the European Economic Area (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein), the third countries included in the recommendation of the Council of the European Union (European Union 2020/912 of June 30, 2020 regarding temporary restrictions on non-essential travel. To the European Union and the possibility of lifting this restriction), the United Kingdom, Russia, Israel, Ukraine, Belarus, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The procedures include a new country classification system that is in line with the standards of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, both in terms of color coding and epidemiological assessment in the country. The color-coded categories and their conditions for entry into Cyprus are summarized in the table below.

Conditions of entry Green category Orange category The red category Gray category
Cyprus air ticket within 24 hours prior to departure And therefore And therefore And therefore And therefore
PCR test within 72 hours prior to departure No And therefore And therefore And therefore
PCR test on arrival in Cyprus No No And therefore No
Mandatory self-isolation for 14 days upon arrival No No No And therefore
On-site random test (at government expense) And therefore And therefore And therefore And therefore
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The above-mentioned changes will take effect on January 15 – then a transition period will begin, which will apply until February 28. During this time, countries will be classified into the following categories: green, orange, red, or gray. As the Cypriot ministers made clear, “individual countries will be transferred between categories based on the current epidemiological situation and their further evaluation will only be undertaken by the Cypriot government.”

As of March 1, the 56 countries mentioned above will be excluded from the gray category, thus – only shifting between the green, orange and red categories. “They will be rated on the basis of the ECDC evaluation and not on the Cyprus basis. Only if the country is not on the ECDC list will it have to undergo a separate evaluation by the Cypriot government,” the letter says.

Governments reiterate that they will take care of “all travelers who have tested positive for the Coronavirus while on the island and those in close contact with them.” This means that the Cypriot government will provide these people with separate accommodation facilities and will cover the costs of accommodation, food and medicine.