Belgium changes travel rules, relaxes general obligation to complete Passenger Locator Form

In Belgium, from Friday 11 March, the authorities have again started adapting the travel rules for the individuals that are entering the nation, relaxing the general obligation to complete the Passenger Locator Form (PLF).

On Friday, Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke mentioned, “Individual who is fully vaccinated and travelling within Europe will be able to do so very easily without too much paperwork.”

He mentioned, “The PLF only remains mandatory for those who travel to Belgium with a carrier from a third country that is not on the EU’s so-called allowlist.”

The third nation on that list, the non-European countries with very little virus circulations, are treated as European countries. The Passenger Locator Form is no longer applicable.

Vandenbroucke cautioned by highlighting, “That white list may come as a bit of a surprise: the US, the UK or Japan are currently not included on that list.”

There is no testing or the need for quarantine for the people who are travelling to Belgium who possess one of the three valid COVID-19 certificates (vaccination, test or recovery).

He further mentioned, “For those travelling within Europe, it is relatively simple. Suppose you are entering Belgium and are not a Belgian resident. In that case, you need to show an EU Digital Covid Certificate (vaccination certificate no older than 270 days, recent negative test, or a recovery certificate). If you have one of the three, then you can get in here.”

The nation’s citizens without a valid EU Digital Covid Certificate returning from a nation with a ‘dark red’ colour on the European travel map or a non-EU country, not on the white list, must still be tested on day one of arrival.

Furthermore, the individuals coming from the different nations or the region with a new Variant Of Concern (VOC) then the current testing and the quarantine rules will remain unchanged.