On Monday, the European Union removed six countries, including the United States and Israel, from its so-called whitelist, in response to a rising number of coronavirus infections.

EU reinstates entry ban for US and Israel

In order to secure a spot on the EU’s travel whitelist, a country must report fewer than 75 cases of COVID-19 per day per 100.000 inhabitants over a two-week period. In line with the criteria outlined by the EU, the following six countries have been removed from the union’s travel safe list:

• The United States
• Israel
• Lebanon
• Montenegro
• North Macedonia
• Kosovo

EU member states are not required to adhere to the travel advice issued by the union, but the latest adjustment to the bloc’s whitelist means non-essential travel to the above-mentioned nations is subject to (temporary) travel restrictions. 

The Dutch government has updated its list of non-EU safe countries. As of September 4, the EU entry-ban will once again apply to the above-mentioned countries, and travellers flying from the US and Israel will only be allowed to enter the Netherlands if they are fully vaccinated (or fall under one of the other exemptions) and will be required to quarantine for at least five days. In addition to this, from September 4, both Germany and Hungary will also be considered high-risk, and will change from green to yellow.

Dutch government: No mandatory quarantine for EU safe countries

As of August 30, the following countries continue to be exempted from the EU’s entry ban:

• Albania
• Armenia
• Australia
• Azerbaijan
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Brunei
• Canada
• Japan
• Jordan
• New Zealand
• Qatar
• Moldova
• Saudi Arabia
• Serbia
• Singapore
• South Korea
• Ukraine
• China (subject to confirmation of reciprocity)

Travellers arriving in the Netherlands from one of the safe countries are not required to quarantine, but are requested to present proof of vaccination, proof of recent recovery from COVID-19, or a negative test result.