Please sign in to post.

Italy's new COVID 19 restrictions: what are they?

I am looking for the facts about these new COVID-related restrictions in Italy. I have researched the Italian Ministero della Salute website for new COVID travel restrictions and cannot find the answer to my question, so here I am!

I am trying to confirm or refute that Italy now requires vaccinated travelers
--to have the final jab of the "full vaccination" within 180 days of entering the country.

--test negative for COVID before OR (corrected from AND) upon arrival and,
--if COVID-positive, a valid certificate of recovery from a health professional will allow the traveler to avoid isolation. (Because the antigen can show up for 3 months after recovery.)

From the Ministero della Salute (Ministry of Health) website, putting information together from the List D countries and the List C countries, I believe the actual restrictions (for fully vaccinated travelers) are:

-- the traveler must have the full course (1 or 2 jabs) of the allowable vaccines (no time frame restrictions).
-- test negative for COVID before OR (corrected from AND) upon arrival and,
-- if COVID-positive, a certificate of recovery that shows the last positive COVID test occurred within 180 days of entry to Italy will allow the traveler to avoid isolation.

Has anyone researched this issue? What have you found?

I think my final "finding" is that I will be cancelling the Italy leg of my spring trip because for the first time EVER travel planning is making be depressed! Frankly, I actually dread going to Italy for a month and not easily talking to strangers. (traveling solo...but i gotta talk to people every day!)

Here is the website link and the information I found there that leads me to my conclusion:

https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/nuovocoronavirus/dettaglioContenutiNuovoCoronavirus.jsp?lingua=english&id=5412&area=nuovoCoronavirus&menu=vuoto&tab=6

And here is what the website says for List D countries, which includes the United States of America:

"Entry into Italy without self-isolation
Anyone who has stayed or passed through one of the countries on List D in the 14 days prior to entering Italy without self-isolation (5 days) must comply with the following regulations:
• fill out the Passenger Locator Form prior to entering Italy. This form replaces the self-declaration made to the travel company and can be shown in both digital and paper format
• undergo a molecular swab carried out within 72 hours prior to entry into Italy and the result of which is negative, or an antigenic test carried out within 24 hours prior to entry into Italy, the result of which is negative. In the case of arrivals from the UK and Northern Ireland and British Isles, the molecular swab must be taken in the 48 hours prior to entering Italy
• present the COVID-19 Green Certificate, or equivalent certificate, certifying the completion of the vaccination cycle to the transport operator at the time of boarding and to anyone appointed to carry out the checks. Persons who have stayed in or passed through Canada, Japan and the United States of America in the fourteen days prior to their entry into Italy, can also show a COVID-19 Green Certificate certifying recovery or a certificate issued by the competent health authorities certifying recovery. These certificates can be shown digitally or on paper."

From the List C countries information…this is required for people who pass through List D countries the USA):

"o having completed the prescribed anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination cycle
or
o that you have recovered from COVID-19 (the certificate of recovery is valid for 180 days from the date of the first positive swab)"

Posted by
292 posts

Hi..from which country are you arriving prior to Italy? While this might seem overwhelming when planning this is doable..and I would hate to see you miss Italy. As long as you are well..test negative..you will be fine. The paperwork is really minimal and testing sites are available..I wish you happy planning!

Posted by
28061 posts

There are multiple threads about Italy's entry requirements running now. I believe the within-180-days requirement applies to the vaccination or booster as well as to a certificate of recovery (the latter only for those who have been infected, of course).

Posted by
7937 posts

The Italy policies, at present, are officially only in effect thru March 31, 2022. What happens effective April 1 could be encouraging or further discouraging, but hasn’t yet been announced.

Not knowing is, unfortunately, potentially despressing.

Posted by
17417 posts

It is pretty well explained on the US embassy website, which Cyn thoughtfully provided on a different thread:

https://it.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

Try looking at the entry requirements and the documentation needed to enter hotels, restaurants, ride trains, etc. separately, if that helps.

First the entry requirements: if entering from the US, use list D—-you need a passenger locator form, a negative covid test within the required time period —-72 hours for molecular ( PCR) test, or 24 hours for an antigen test. And proof that you are fully vaccinated (no time limit or expiration date specified for this requirement). I am skipping over the alternate route of proof of recovery from infection, as I will assume that does not apply to you (forgive me if it does, but I don’t feel competent to explain the rules on that).

I see no requirement for a 2d test after entering Italy. Maybe you are thinking of the UK?

The time limit or “expiry date” comes into play for the Super Green Pass (or equivalent, such as CDC vaccination card). As of Feb. 1, the validity of the documentation is reduced to 6 months from the date of last jab. For all practical purposes, since you need this to enter museums, hotels, restaurants, etc., you need to have this on entry, or you won’t be able to go anywhere or do anything.

I know it is daunting—-I feel that way myself. But the current “state of emergency” behind these rules has been extended to 31 March, so the rules could change after that—-for better or for worse. If your trip is after that, you should be able to wait and see what develops.

I found this website (unofficial, but well-presented, with links to the official sources) pretty helpful in explaining things.

https://italygreenpass.com/faq/

Posted by
347 posts

Thank you all for taking the time to reply.

From reading the Ministry of Health site, which I linked and quoted in my post, It seems the CDC cardstock proof of vaccination is valid for entry, with no expiration. Only a certificate of recovery has a 180-day expiration. I do understand if you have an EU-issued Green Card it will be suspended if you test positive and automatically re-validated after a specified time.)

For me personally, I would be coming directly from the US and would arrive in Italy on April 5. If my analysis is wrong and my vaccine certificate is good for only 180 days, I will SOL because I'd be outside that time frame when I arrive (and the US is not giving a second booster).

I have other things I want to spend my energy on aside from flip-flopping (oh, remember the good old days of US politics when that was a real political insult. WIsh we were back in those days) on whether I can/should/will/still want to go to Italy in the spring. I'll end up making yet more plans to go with the hoards in September and October.

Thanks for listening...send me your bill...licensed therapists only please. :-)

Posted by
418 posts

On the email that I got from Rick Steves, it recommended looking at the website Sherpa. It gave me a lot of information that helped with the info needed for the Best of Belgium and Holland.

Posted by
17417 posts

Becky, I cannot say about getting into Italy, but I am afraid you cannot count on your CDC-issued vaccination card being valid for going into museums, restaurants, hotels, etc., past the 6-month date set by Italy. The CDC card is accepted in lieu of the Italy-issued Super Green Pass, but that means the same rules apply—-including the expiration date for vaccines. The rule may change by April, but you cannot count on that. It is more likely that additional boosters will be authorized and offered.

Posted by
347 posts

Thanks for replying Lola. I am reluctant to rely on third-party sites, that is why I quoted the Italy Ministry of Health website in my question.

I know some sites are saying the CDC vaccine card has to show vaccination within 180 day of entry, but the Health Ministry site only references a 180 day time frame for the positive COVID test swab.

I've raised the issue because of conflicting or incomplete information on the topic. More for others than for me at this point...I'll go for a nice long trip in the fall.

Posted by
7937 posts

Thing is, even Italians aren’t getting 2nd boosters at the moment, so unless the limitations change, they’re going to be SOL at some point, too. Israel is giving 2nd boosters to at-risk citizens, but health experts elsewhere aren’t calling for them, so we wait and see. Hopefully you can get information in time to make a satisfactory decision for a Spring trip. Or is the Fall even going to be doable? My husband’s planning on a 9-day Italy bike tour in September while I’m in Rome, then we spend all of October in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna - if they’ll let us.

Is there a group therapy program available, maybe with group discount rates?

Posted by
17417 posts

As I tried to explain in my first post, there are two separate issues here: entry into Italy, and what you need to show to enter buildings and ride transport once you are there. i think you are patching together different parts of the regulations to cause the confusion.

Here is the link to the List D regulations for entry into Italy from the US:

https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/nuovocoronavirus/dettaglioContenutiNuovoCoronavirus.jsp?lingua=italiano&id=5412&area=nuovoCoronavirus&menu=vuoto&tab=4

You need a negative test and proof of vaccination, but there is nothing in the List D regulations about a expiration date for the vaccination, whether 6 months or 180 days.

You apparently found a 180 days limit from List C, which contains the rules for entry from other EU countries. Those people can enter with proof of vaccination, OR proof of recovery from covid. That proof is only valid for 180 days after the positive test. But it says nothing about vaccination expiring.

So, technically you can enter Italy from the US with a CDC card showing vaccination and/or booster more than 6 months old. The question is what you will be able to do once you are there. This is where the validity date of the Super Green Pass (and the CDC card equivalent) comes into play.

Under the new regulation issued earlier this month, and in effect February 1 through March 31, the Super Green Pass is only valid for 6 months from the date of the last shot. This was reduced from 9 months. The Super Green Pass is what you need to enter bars, restaurants, hotels, museums, etc., and to ride Frecce trains.

I know you do not want to rely the third-party for this information, so I searched through this document and found it.

https://www.dgc.gov.it/web/faq.html#gpr

Look under Green Pass and scroll down to open “In quanto tempo viene generata e per quanta tempo è valida La Certificazione?”

Then scroll to the bottom under “Attenzione” and see the last bullet point: Dal 1st febbraio 2022 la durata del green pass vaccinate e del green pass da guargione post vaccionzione sarà ulteriormente ridotta da 9 a 6 mesi”.

I left out the bold letters as I don’t know how to do that.

Posted by
158 posts

I just feel sorry for all the tourist stuff at this point and empathy. RS and staff must be feeling a bit overworked by the constant changes to all of it....

Posted by
347 posts

Lola, from your site:

"The validity of foreign certificates for the purpose of entry into Italy is instead regulated by specific Ordinances.
To learn more, visit the page Covid-19 – Travellers."

That page is the Ministry of Health site I quoted in my original post. I cited the List C information because that was the only spot I found a reference to the covid recovery certification being good for only 180 days, though there was reference to it in List D information.

You are right...getting into Italy is one thing while being able to do anything when you are there may be different.

Cyn..no offer for a group therapy discount yet! Also, I am with you...going north in the fall. Will also restore my Italy trip to about 2 months. I had reduced it to about 30 requiring that I cut out some cities.