Greece launches EU Digital COVID Certificate

Last update: September 10th, 2021.

Greece was one of the first countries to issue the EU Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC). The EUDCC launched on June 1st, a month ahead of schedule.

Greece’s economy suffered catastrophic losses due to the collapse of the tourism industry in 2020. The country was hoping to get back on track over the summer by allowing tourists from more than 30 countries to enter Greece.

Greek citizens are eligible for all three EU Digital COVID Certificates (vaccine, test and recovery) and must use the certificates for entrance to certain locations and events.

What is the EU Digital COVID Certificate?

The EU Digital COVID Certificate allows safe travels and access to certain non-essential public spaces by proving:

The EU Digital COVID Certificate, formerly known as “green pass”, will enable safe travel throughout the European Union, as well as EEA countries such as Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland.

As of July 1st, all EU members nations have already begun issuing certificates, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Spain.

How does the EU Digital COVID Certificate work in Greece?

The Greek COVID pass rollout aimed to secure a stable influx of tourists once more. EU citizens can enter Greece with their vaccine passports, formerly known as “green pass”.

Greek Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described it in May as a “fast lane to facilitate travel”.

Greeks who have been vaccinated can apply for a certificate through the government portal, using their TAXISnet codes to log in.

If they have not registered on this portal they can opt for the Citizens’ Service Centers (KEP).

The service will only allow for digital downloads of the PDF, but physical printouts can be acquired in person.

For security and privacy in COVID certificates, the EUDCC only shows a name, the type of vaccine or test received, the issuing country, and a unique QR code.

Uses of COVID pass in Greece

The Greek health minister, Vassilis Kikilias, announced that from September 13th to March 31st, various restrictions will be imposed on unvaccinated citizens.

The biggest change is that people who do not carry vaccine passports or recovery certificates will need to take PCR tests each week at the cost of €10 per test. Students will be able to test for free.

Entertainment facilities such as movie theaters, museums, and gyms can allow entrance to people who have negative tests not older than 48-hours. This will also count for transport by plane, bus, and train.

AP news reports that those working in “academia, tourism, restaurants, cafes, bars, and in entertainment productions, as well as school and university students” will need to be tested twice per week.

“It is our obligation towards the millions of citizens who spent 18 months of the pandemic being careful for themselves and their fellow citizens, who stayed up nights for weeks caring for patients, who shut their shops and lost their jobs in this huge pandemic, who worked remotely, who studied remotely,” said Kikilias.

Greece COVID-19 travel restrictions

Greece is accepting 10 different vaccines, the highest number recognized by any country. The vaccines that have been greenlit by Greece are:

Those who travel between the Greek islands and mainland Greece need to present a negative COVID test (not older than 72 hours), vaccination certificate, or recovery certificate.

Antigen tests (not older than 48 hours) or self-tests (not older than 24 hours) will also be accepted upon arrival.

Is it safe to travel to Greece now?

Three waves of COVID have passed through this Mediterranean nation, with a death toll of over 14,000. Over 600,000 people have tested positive in Greece. The peak infection rate was 4,608 new cases in a day, recorded on August 24th, 2021.

Since then their numbers have been declining and after the first week in September, the infection rate has fallen to around 50% of the peak.

Greece started vaccination in December but was off to a slow rollout. They have, however, been moving rapidly since April.

As of September 10th, they have administered more than 11,000,000 doses across the country. Around 54% of the Greek population is fully vaccinated.