The Swiss government has closed a Covid-19 travel loophole. From 31 August 2020, it will no longer be possible to skirt Switzerland’s entry restrictions by arriving in Switzerland from a high-risk country by transiting through a country that is not on the list.
Until this date, it has been possible to circumvent Switzerland’s entry restrictions by travelling via airports in countries not on the country’s high-risk list. The country of departure of the flight carrying a person into Switzerland was what counted. The country of departure of any previous connecting flights was not considered.
Under the new rules the country of departure, not the stopover country, determines whether travellers may enter Switzerland.
Passengers travelling from a non-high-risk country will be able to enter Switzerland even if they stopped over in a high-risk country, provided they did not leave the transit area of the airport.
Covid-19 related entry restriction do not apply to Swiss and EU/EFTA nationals and Swiss residents. They can enter Switzerland from any country in the world. However, depending on the country they are travelling from, they may be required to go into quarantine for 10 days on arrival.
More on this:
Government press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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