As was announced following the coronavirus press conference on September 14, new travel and quarantine rules come into effect in the Netherlands on September 22 - here’s everything you need to know about the relaxed travel rules and what they mean for you. 

Dutch government relaxes travel restrictions and quarantine rule

Up until now, the Dutch government has used the EU travel white list to determine the travel rules for countries outside of the EU. Under the current rules, all travellers arriving from very high-risk areas are required to quarantine for at least five days upon arrival in the Netherlands. 

However, this quarantine obligation is about to change: from September 22, vaccinated travellers from high-risk areas are no longer required to quarantine. 

Mandatory quarantine rule lifted for very high-risk countries 

As of September 22, vaccinated travellers arriving from the following countries are no longer required to quarantine: 

• Afghanistan 
• American Virgin Islands
• Anguilla
• Azerbaijan 
• Bangladesh 
• Bermuda
• Botswana 
• Brazil
• Costa Rica
• Cuba 
• Dominica 
• Eswatini
• Fiji 
• French Guiana
• French Polynesia
• Georgia 
• Guadeloupe 
• Guyana
• Haïti 
• India
• Indonesia
• Iran 
• Israel 
• Kazakhstan 
• Kosovo 
• Lesotho 
• Malaysia 
• Martinique 
• Mongolia
• Montenegro 
• Myanmar
• Nepal 
• North Macedonia 
• Pakistan
• Palestinian Territories 
• Philippines 
• Saint Lucia 
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Serbia
• Seychelles
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Sri Lanka 
• Suriname
• Thailand 
• United Kingdom 
• United States 
• Venezuela

While the quarantine rule has been amended, travellers arriving from certain high-risk areas will still be required to present a negative coronavirus test (PCR or antigen) before departing for the Netherlands, regardless of their vaccination status. PCR test results can be a maximum of 48 hours old, while antigen test results must be a maximum of 24 hours old.

Travellers who are not fully vaccinated - even those with an official recovery certificate - will still be required to quarantine upon arrival in the Netherlands.

USA lifts entry ban for travellers from the Netherlands

In addition to the change of Dutch travel rules, this week the United States announced that in November it would finally be lifting its entry ban for vaccinated travellers from the EU, as well as those from the UK, China, and Brazil.

The US will recognise all vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation (even those that don't have FDA approval), but vaccinated travellers will still be required to present a recent negative coronavirus test before departing for the US.