Many questions come up to mind when it comes to travelling during the “new normal” era.
From Monday 15th June, EU member states will be accelerating the reopening of their borders, and tourist questions are being dealt with by the official website of the European Union.
As quoted by the AFP, through the “EU Re-open” website at reopen.europa.eu, travellers can enter the name of the country they wish to visit and find out the rules that will apply after each place’s coronavirus lockdown.
The site, which is so far available in 24 languages, only covers the 27 EU member states, meaning there’s no information about Britain and four non-EU members that are part of the Schengen travel zone.
A French resident, for example, can consult the site to find out information about the fast-train line to Luxembourg. If they want to go to Austria, the site says that a mask must be worn and before flying home to France they’d need to present an official statement confirming there were no symptoms of the coronavirus present.
Information on the EU Re-open website and app will continue to be updated in line with the developments of the coronavirus pandemic. Most EU countries have reopened internal borders for member states as of Monday, but social distancing rules vary greatly in each country and some countries continue to limit arrivals from high-risk areas.
Until now, Indonesian tourists have not been able to enter European Union countries. VFS Global, the processing centre for Schengen visas, is still closed until further notice.
“VFS Global operates in accordance with the direction of the central and regional government authorities and the country’s diplomatic mission for visa applications,” VFS Global wrote in the FAQ menu on its website.
“Please note that even after the lockdown in a European Union country ends, VFS Global can only be opened when the local Embassy or Consulate gives approval for reopening. VFS Global cannot decide to reopen the unilateral Visa Application Centre,” VFS Global continued.
Information about the EU Re-open website can be found on https://reopen.europa.eu/en and VFS Global on https://www.vfsglobal.com/en/individuals/covid-19-customer-advisories.html
Source: CNN Indonesia