Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates were moved from red zone to green, based on the epidemiological situation, the Health Ministry has announced. The new categorization will take effect from Thursday, 10th March.

The Ministry reminded that the new Action Plan for the smooth operation of flights and the operation of airports came into effect from Tuesday, 1st March.

The categorisation of countries, based on the epidemiological risk assessment, was modified and includes three categories with the following colour code: Green, Red and Grey Category. It is clarified that, according to the new Action Plan, the Green and Orange Categories of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) correspond to the Green Category of the Republic of Cyprus, while the Red and Deep Red Categories correspond to the Red Category of the Republic of Cyprus.

The categorisation for the countries of the European Union and the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) as well as Switzerland, in the Green, Orange or Red Categories, is based upon that of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Third countries (Egypt, Armenia, Georgia, UAE, USA, UK, Jordan, Israel, Canada, Qatar, Kuwait, Belarus, Lebanon, Bahrain, Oman, Ukraine, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia) and all additional countries included in the updated list of the European Council Recommendation 2021/89 for the gradual abolishment of temporary restrictions for not necessary trips in the EU are epidemiologically assessed by the Health Ministry and are classified in the Green and Red Categories.

It is noted that the categorisation of the countries, based on the epidemiological risk assessment, is extremely dynamic and may be modified at any moment as the pandemic evolves and the epidemiological data changes. For this reason, new data will be announced and the list of countries will be updated frequently.

Passengers who have not been vaccinated or do not hold a valid certificate of vaccination or a valid certificate of recovery from Covid-19, regardless of nationality, may enter the Republic of Cyprus from any country of departure, only if they meet the requirements of the corresponding category (i.e. presentation of negative laboratory test result, obligation for self-isolation/quarantine, issuance of a special permit, etc) of the country of departure. More information can be found at the following link: https://cyprusflightpass.gov.cy/el/passengers-without-certificate.

Vaccinated passengers or passengers who have recovered from Covid-19, regardless of their nationality and country of departure, are exempted from the obligation to meet the requirements of the corresponding category (e.g. presentation of a negative laboratory test, obligation to self-isolation/quarantine, issuance of a special permit, etc.) of the country of departure may enter the Republic of Cyprus as long as they fulfill requirements referred to the following link:

Green Category Countries - Low risk countries at current stage

Third countries: United Arab Emirates, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Rwanda, Saudi Arabia

Red Category Countries - Increased risk countries compared to the Green Category countries

EU member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Czech Republic, Finland.

Small states: Andorra, Monaco, Vatican City, San Marino

Schengen Area members: Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway

Third countries: Egypt, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Georgia, United States of America, United Kingdon, Japan, Indonesia, Jordan, Israel, Canada, Qatar, Colombia, Kuwait, Belarus, Lebanon, Bahrain, New Zealand, South Korea, Oman, Ukraine, Uruguay Peru, Russia, Serbia, Chile.

All passengers, including those who have a valid vaccination certificate, are obliged to apply for a CyprusFlightPass, within 48 hours prior to the departure of their flight. Moreover, in order to safeguard the Public Health and monitor the epidemiological outlook, the Health Ministry can randomly carry out COVID-19 tests to passengers of selected flights (including individuals bearing vaccination certificates).