Thailand removed from EU safe travel list amid rising Covid cases
The European Union Council on Thursday removed Thailand from its safe travel list, also known as EU White List, during the Covid-19 situation, Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Saengrat said on Friday.
“As a result, travellers from Thailand will now face restrictions on entering EU countries, including possible quarantine,” he added.
Rwanda was also removed from the EU White List on Thursday.
Ukraine was added to the list, which also features 23 other countries – Albania, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Brunei, Canada, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Montenegro, New Zealand, Qatar, Moldova, North Macedonia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Ukraine and the United States.
China’s Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions are also on the safe list.
“The EU White List was established on June 30, aiming to be a guidance for members of the European Union to employ suitable screening measures for foreign travellers wishing to enter EU countries during the Covid-19 situation,” said Thani.
“To be eligible to make the list, a country must have an infection rate of less than 75 people per 100,000 population in the past 14 days. The EU Council also considers the trend of new infections, disease control measures, and vaccination rate in each country. The list has been reviewed and updated periodically.
“Since its establishment, Thailand had been on the EU White List until the latest update on Thursday,” said Thani.
“The EU White List is a recommendation for member countries to implement screening measures for foreign visitors. It is still for individual EU countries to decide whether to lift the travel restrictions,” added Thani.
For more information, please contact the embassy of the EU country or visit https://reopen.europa.eu.