Vaccinated or not, there is just one set of rules when crossing the border

Poland and some Baltic states have exceptions for vaccinated people. Slovakia supports a unified European solution.

(Source: Sme)

People who have been vaccinated against Covid enjoy an exception from testing, but when crossing borders they are treated like anyone else.

Two weeks after a person has had their second Covid vaccine dose, they are considered fully vaccinated. There were about 10,000 such people in Slovakia at the beginning of February 2021. They are enjoying the benefit of not having to receive testing to gain exception from the curfew, which applies in Slovakia as part of the ongoing mass testing. Instead of a negative test result, they just use their vaccination confirmation. The basic anti-pandemic measures, like wearing the mask, apply to them just like to everyone else; including the crossing of the country's borders.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

SkryťTurn off ads
How to travel to and from Slovakia during COVID-19 Read more 

Vaccinated or not, people arriving to Slovakia either have to show their negative Covid test result or go into self-isolation upon arrival and take a swab five days later.

This is not about to change soon. The Slovak authorities are not pondering any changes, saying that they support the European approach when it comes to crossing borders. Slovakia may re-consider this approach if many EU member states and especially its neighbours apply national rules.

The issue of scrapping the testing and/or quarantine obligations for vaccinated persons is not on the table at the EU level.

“As long as we do not have the necessary data to see if vaccinated people are immune enough and do not spread the infection further, several member states choose a wait-and-see approach,” State Secretary of Slovakia's Foreign Affairs Ministry, Martin Klus, told The Slovak Spectator.

SkryťTurn off ads

Most EU countries waiting

Such data will only be available a few months into the vaccination roll-out.

Slovakia will support the common proposal that will ease the free movement of people in the EU and cross-border mobility, to bring people in Europe closer to normal, Klus said.

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

Stock image.

Twice as many Ukrainians work in Slovakia now than before the Russian invasion.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad