7+ EU Countries & Switzerland Allow Indians Fully Vaccinated with Covishield to Visit

Covishield Vaccine Holders Gets Green Light to Visit Switzerland & 7+ EU Countries

After months of deliberations, several European Union (EU) countries including Switzerland have permitted fully vaccinated Indian citizens to visit. These include those who have been fully immunised with the Covishield vaccine.

These EU countries include Germany, Spain, Greece, Ireland, Iceland, Austria Slovenia and more. These countries have included Pune’s Serum Institute of India manufactured Covishield vaccine in their Green Passport/Pass.

In other words, Indians who have received both doses of the Covishield vaccine will be allowed to travel to these countries without the need for quarantine. Nonetheless, Indians travelling to most European countries will still require a valid international travel insurance policy as it is a mandatory pre-requisite.

However, this decision to include Covishield in the Green Pass came after India warned of reciprocal policy for the recognition of digital COVID certificates issued by EU countries.

India Warns of Reciprocal COVID Certificate Recognition Policy for EU Countries

In response to the EU countries failing to recognise Covishield and Covaxin vaccines in their Green Pass, the Indian government warned of implementing a reciprocal policy for recognition of the digital COVID certificate issued by the EU countries.

As part of the reciprocal policy, the Indian government will not recognize the digital COVID certificate issued by EU countries to their citizens when they visit India. As a result, the EU citizens will have to undergo mandatory quarantine for a specified period of time after arriving in India.

The reciprocal policy will stay active unless the EU countries include Covishield and Covaxin under their Green Pass and recognize the vaccine certificate issued by India’s CoWIN. Once the Indian authorities have been notified by the EU member state of the inclusion of Covishield and Covaxin in their Green Pass and recognition of CoWIN vaccine certificates, their citizens will be exempted from the reciprocal policy when visiting India.

But wait there’s more.

According to the European Union, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has not approved Covishield because the Serum Institute of India has not applied for the required permissions and it will consider its case when they apply.

Nonetheless, the Indian authorities want EMA to consider the Indian vaccines by accepting the vaccine certificate issued by CoWIN, even if the applications have not been made.

Some of the approved by the EMA include Moderna, Comirnaty, Valneva, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson’s & Johnson’s Janssen and AstraZeneca-Oxford’s Vaxzervia.

But since the Green Pass is not mandatory to travel to the EU member countries, these countries can individually accept vaccines approved by the WHO.

How to Buy Travel Insurance to Visit European Countries Accepting Covishield Vaccine?

If an Indian citizen is fully vaccinated with Covishield and plans to visit Switzerland or other EU countries that recognize the Serum Institute-manufactured vaccine, they can buy international travel insurance by following the steps given below:

• Visit the website of a travel insurance company or an insurance broker
• Go to the option of buying travel insurance
• Enter the details of the trip
• Choose the preferred travel insurance plan
• Pay the premium amount
• The insurer will issue the policy

Summing It Up

The recognition of the Covishield vaccine by Switzerland and the other EU countries is a positive step towards reopening quarantine-free travel around the world for Indian citizens. Travel enthusiasts can now travel to these countries freely as long as they have received both doses of the Covishield vaccine. Don’t forget to cover the trip with international travel insurance to stay prepared for any unforeseen adversities.