I am getting a lot of conflicting information regarding what documentation we will need for our trip to Rome in March. Will our CDC vaccination card work for getting us into museums, restaurants, The Vatican, The Colosseum or do we need the EU Green Pass (European Union Digital Covid Certificate) or do we need both. Can someone help me understand what we will need?
Thanks in advance!
CDC card will suffice- at least it is now.
Currently there is no way for US citizens to get the eu Green Pass.
aaack- can't find the page I was looking for with this info but if you go to any museums site in Italy you'll see something like this:
We would like to inform our visitors that access to the Santa Croce monumental Complex is only possible if you have a Green Pass (COVID-19 green certification). Non-European visitors can access if they have an equivalent certification.
The Italian government has made it very clear that the CDC card is an "equivalent certificate" and the are lots of reports here of folks inItaly now using their CDC cards without a problem.
I believe there was someone who said one restaurant denied him entrance but accepted his PLF QR instead
Currently there is no way for US citizens to get the eu Green Pass.
I believe that is true.
But I did read someplace that the member states have a lot of latitude on issuing them.
The Expat Clinic I use in Budapest has said they can give me a "Temporary" EU Certificate but I have no idea if "temporary" means short term use till the real one is registered and sent, or if it means short term use and nothing more; or if the clinic even knows what they are talking about.
I will be there in about 2 weeks and will be at the clinic for a checkup (my preferred doctor works there) and to get my return home antigen test; will give it a try and see what I find out.
I cannot speak to the concept of a "temporary" EU Digital Covid Certificate in other parts of Europe, but in The Netherlands, you have to be a Dutch citizen or holder of a long-term residence visa. You also have to have a DigiD account, which stands for Digital Identity. With your DigiD you show who you are if you want to arrange something on the internet with a (semi) government organization. Examples would include the tax authorities, education, healthcare, or your pension fund. So basically, you're registered with the government in some fashion. It would be interesting to hear about how other countries are handling the "security and access" of the EU Digital Covid Certificate process and who does allow "temporary" access.
Currently - and who knows what will be the process in March 2022 - you do need to complete the EU Digital Passenger Locator Form (dPLF) to enter Italy, regardless of whether you have the EU Digital Covid Certificate or you are traveling on a non-EU vaccination card. (I am going in a few weeks, and although I have a EU Digital Covid Certificate, I have already completed & submitted my dPLF application).
As ChristineH mentions, currently, the CDC vaccination card will work in Italy for access/entry. It seems that traveling these days is a constant checking - and updating - of the rules and procedures for your outbound and return country policies. For example, today only three countries are using the EU Digital Passenger Locator Form (dPLF). Who knows if that will be the case in 2022. And if you're traveling between countries in the EU, you also have to check the entry requirements for the country next on your list and how those rules pertain to where you're coming from. And no, unfortunately, they are not all the same. COVID has certainly had an impact on Schengen policies and the concept of open borders.
Who knows what you’ll need in March…things are changing daily. Focus your energy elsewhere.
