Restrictions on non-essential travel to the European Union

02/09/2020 GDGlobalMobility

The Government of Spain has extended the partial closure of borders until September 30 and definitively excluded Morocco from the list of third-party countries whose residents are exempt from travel restrictions.

Council Recommendation EU 2020/912, of June 30, on the temporary restriction of non-essential travel to the European Union and the possible lifting of said restriction established a list of third-party countries whose residents were exempt from travel restrictions to the European Union, as well as a set of specific categories of people also exempt from these restrictions, regardless of their place of origin: European Union Travel Restrictions and Exemptions

This Recommendation has been modified on successive occasions to gradually reduce the list of third-party countries depending on their worsening epidemiological situation. In this post, you can find out about the restrictions on non-essential trips to the European Union and how the list of third-party countries that we mentioned has changed: the residents of which third-party countries can travel to the European Union?

Partial border closure until September 30

The new Order will be in effect until September 30, 2020, without prejudice to its eventual modification due to a change in circumstances or new recommendations within the European Union. Morocco has been deleted from the Annex, without this having a practical impact since, due to the application of the principle of reciprocity, the presence of said country in the Annex had not yet taken effect.

The residents of which countries can enter the European Union?

The Annex that includes the updated list would therefore look like this.

Third-party countries whose residents are not affected by the temporary restriction of non-essential trips to the EU through external borders in the terms set out in this Order: