MAE: A negative PCR test needed to enter the Netherlands

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) states that, according to the information publicly communicated by the Dutch authorities, starting with December 29, at 12.01 am, persons over the age of 13, who intend to carry out a travel by air, rail, sea or bus to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, are required to submit a negative PCR-type molecular test for SARS-CoV-2 infection in the last 72 hours in one of the languages English, German, French, Spanish or Dutch.

According to the MAE, the transport companies have been instructed by the Dutch authorities to check whether passengers embarking in countries considered at risk (including Romania) to travel to the Kingdom of the Netherlands are in possession of a negative PCR molecular test result for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection, performed a maximum of 72 hours before the time of travel.

People who do not show a negative test result will not be allowed to board. Airlines will inform passengers of these new measures. According to the information provided by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the restriction also applies to persons in airport transit.

The following categories of persons are exempted from the obligation to present a negative PCR test:

People under the age of 13;

Those who travel from from areas considered safe (see list published on https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/coronavirus-covid-19/reizen-en-vakantie/inreizen-doorreizen-nederland-en-het-eu-inreisverbod / veilige-Landen);

Workers and students in the border area (30 km from the border);

Holders of diplomatic passports or diplomatic IDs issued by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

Heads of state and members of government;

Persons working in the field of freight transport or other types of transport (truck drivers, persons working on vessels transporting containers, bulk carriers, tanks, fishing vessels, as well as persons working in the energy sector on oil and gas platforms and in wind farms, offshore companies that provide services to this sector and air, cruise and ferry crews when traveling in the performance of their duties);

Seafarers holding a seaman's license and traveling in the interests of the service; the exceptions do not apply to seafarers on commercial yachts or pleasure craft;

Passengers of flights that do not have the Netherlands as their final destination, but must land at a Dutch airport due to unforeseen circumstances;

Passengers with a NATO travel order or a NATO-2 visa;

The obligation to submit a negative PCR-type molecular test for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection does not apply, for the time being, to persons traveling by personal car in the Kingdom of the Netherlands;

The negative result of a SARS-CoV-2 PCR test presented at border crossings will not exempt persons traveling to the Kingdom of the Netherlands from countries considered at risk to enter self-quarantine for 10 days since arrival.

The MAE reminds that Romanian citizens can request consular assistance at the telephone numbers of the Romanian Embassy in The Hague, 0031 70 354 15 80/0031 70 322 86 12/0031 70 331 99 80, the calls being redirected to the Citizen Contact and Support Center Romanians Abroad (CCSCRS) and taken over by Call Centre operators, on a permanent basis.

Also, Romanian citizens who face a difficult, special situation, with an emergency character, have at their disposal the emergency telephone number of the Romanian Embassy in The Hague - 0031 651 596 107.