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Denmark is first EU nation to scrap all travel restrictions

March 30, 2022
2 min read
Personal perspective of tourist holding an ice cream in front of Nyhavn canal, Copenhagen
Denmark is first EU nation to scrap all travel restrictions
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In a move that echoed the U.K.'s decision to drop its own entry restrictions last month, Denmark (from today) opens its doors to anyone who wants to visit without the need to worry about COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Denmark is the first E.U. nation to abolish all COVID-19 travel restrictions, allowing travelers to avoid jumping through any entry requirement hoops to visit. The same will also apply when inside the country, where all preventative COVID-19 measures have also been lifted.

Denmark has blazed the trail in its living with COVID-19 policies and had already scrapped most of its travel restrictions in February.

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Previously, non-E.U. or Schengen area country travelers who had not completed their vaccination process with a recognized vaccine dose and those who were not recovered from the virus, were required to present a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 24 hours of entering Denmark.

Along with lifts on entry requirements, this means travelers will also no longer be obliged to wear face masks or use COVID vaccination certificates in order to enter bars, restaurants and other indoor venues.

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"No one can know what will happen next December," said health minister Magnus Heunicke. "But we promised the citizens of Denmark that we will only have restrictions if they are truly necessary, and we'll lift them as soon as we can. That's what's happening right now."

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There remains one caveat in the small print, however: Danish authorities have reserved the right to reintroduce the measures at short notice should a new variant rear its head.

"As a part of this contingency, the so-called 'handbrake' can be activated if concerning variants emerge. The handbrake is not activated for any countries at this time," the health ministry said.

The U.K. Foreign Office website confirmed: "There are no COVID-19 related requirements regarding test or self-isolation when entering Denmark."

Featured image by Nyhavn, Copenhagen, Denmark (Photo by Marco Bottigelli/Getty Images)
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