Cyprus open for vaccinated British visitors from 1st May

Vaccinated British tourists that want to travel to Cyprus will be able to do so from 1st May 2021. The announcement was made by Savvas Perdios, the country’s deputy tourism minister.

British travellers booking a holiday to Cyprus will need to have had two doses of a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency. Currently, this means a Cyprus holiday will only be possible for those that have received either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine which are currently being offered in the UK. The Moderna vaccine which will be rolled out from the Spring is also approved European medicines regulator.

Those arriving for a holiday in Cyprus will need to have had their second vaccine dose of the vaccine at least seven days prior to their arrival in the country. The new announcement also eliminates the need for a negative test or to self-isolate on arrival for Cyprus holidays.

Sky News quoted Savvas Perdios as saying “We have informed the British government that from 1 May we will facilitate the arrival of British nationals who have been vaccinated so they can visit Cyprus without a negative test or needing to quarantine”.

Overseas leisure travel from the UK is currently prohibited until 17th May 2021 at the earliest. The announcement will therefore allow British tourists to travel on their Cyprus holiday on 17th May 2021 provided the government does not announce any further changes to the dates set out in the road map last month.

It is not yet clear how the authorities in Cyprus will verify a traveller’s vaccination status. A digital vaccination green pass has been announced by the European Union and full details of the scheme will be presented later this month.

Holidays to Cyprus from the UK make up the largest inbound market for the destination. The latest announcement from Cyprus for British travellers follows the agreements reached with Israel in the last few weeks where vaccinated Israeli travellers will also be permitted entry into the country.

Although the UK has indicated that all adults over the age of 16 will receive their first dose of a Covid vaccine by the end of July, the 12 week gap between doses means that a holiday to Cyprus may not be possible for many UK residents until November.