Coronavirus Restrictions in Switzerland and Netherlands

[Psoque]

I'm hoping this topic is allowed here, but I thought I should start this thread because I think this is very important information.

 

We are taking a Basel-to-Amsterdam river cruise next month.  We are planning to have a few days stay in Basel pre-cruise, and a few days stay in Amsterdam post-cruise.  This is what I know about how Switzerland and Netherlands are (currently) asking tourists from high-risk/very high-risk, non-EU countries to do in regard to indoor activities.  In Switzerland, "Swiss COVID Certificate" is technically required for indoor activities (museums, restaurants, shops, etc.).  The Dutch counterpart is called "COVID Certificate" or "Coronavirus Entry Pass" depending on which part of their website we look at.

 

Switzerland:  It appears that the Swiss government started issuing what they call "Swiss COVID Certificate" to those who received the approved vaccines in Switzerland.  It appears that the central Swiss government is asking each Canton to figure out a way to issue these certificates to foreign tourists vaccinated with European Medicine Agency approved vaccines, but this has not been worked out.  As a contingency plan, vaccine certificates from foreign countries will be accepted for this purpose until October 24, 2021.  Of note, this contingency date was initially set at October 10, 2021, and it was quietly moved down by 2 weeks recently.  Who knows if this will be changed again?  So eventually, US tourists (and perhaps others) would have to apply for the Swiss COVID Certificate somehow.  Earlier today, I emailed the Basel-Stadt Canton office that is working on this issue, inquiring about this.  I will let you know if/when I hear back from this office regarding the procedure/timeline there. 

 

https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home/krankheiten/ausbrueche-epidemien-pandemien/aktuelle-ausbrueche-epidemien/novel-cov/covid-zertifikat.html

 

Netherlands:  The Dutch government, as soon as the mandatory quarantine order was lifted, began requiring "COVID Certificate" or "Coronavirus Entry Pass" for all indoor activities.  It appears this is also very easy to obtain for Dutch citizens, but there appears to be no mechanism for foreign tourists to obtain one.  As far as I can gather from various sources (the Dutch website, as well as information forwarded to me by Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam) non-EU tourists,, including those from US and UK (and probably others) are required to undergo coronavirus testing every 24 hours while visiting Netherlands to obtain some sort of a temporary certificate.  I was informed that testing is free for this purpose.  I do not know what type of test is being done.  I will update this information when I find out more.

 

https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-certificate

 

I am assuming that this information will become obsolete as rules change.  But this is what I know so far.

[cruisr]

My friends are currently on a Tauck cruise from Basel to Amsterdam.  They have had no issues at all as Tauck handles everything.  They are having a test, their first since boarding, in Amsterdam and that is what they will use for their one day in Amsterdam,  post cruise, to go to museums and dine out and then to fly home.  It is an antigen test.  Their hotel, The Pulitzer, also told them if they extend their stay they can get testing (antigen) one block away from the hotel, if needed.

 

They did four days post in Milan and then Tauck had them on a train and motorcoach to Basel.  They even went to Colmar, FR, and did not need a Pass Sanitaire, as Tauck handled everything.

 

They also explored on their own in Basel, without problem.  They fly home in two days.

[CUTTERSAM]

10 hours ago, Psoque said:

I'm hoping this topic is allowed here, but I thought I should start this thread because I think this is very important information.

 

We are taking a Basel-to-Amsterdam river cruise next month.  We are planning to have a few days stay in Basel pre-cruise, and a few days stay in Amsterdam post-cruise.  This is what I know about how Switzerland and Netherlands are (currently) asking tourists from high-risk/very high-risk, non-EU countries to do in regard to indoor activities.  In Switzerland, "Swiss COVID Certificate" is technically required for indoor activities (museums, restaurants, shops, etc.).  The Dutch counterpart is called "COVID Certificate" or "Coronavirus Entry Pass" depending on which part of their website we look at.

 

Switzerland:  It appears that the Swiss government started issuing what they call "Swiss COVID Certificate" to those who received the approved vaccines in Switzerland.  It appears that the central Swiss government is asking each Canton to figure out a way to issue these certificates to foreign tourists vaccinated with European Medicine Agency approved vaccines, but this has not been worked out.  As a contingency plan, vaccine certificates from foreign countries will be accepted for this purpose until October 24, 2021.  Of note, this contingency date was initially set at October 10, 2021, and it was quietly moved down by 2 weeks recently.  Who knows if this will be changed again?  So eventually, US tourists (and perhaps others) would have to apply for the Swiss COVID Certificate somehow.  Earlier today, I emailed the Basel-Stadt Canton office that is working on this issue, inquiring about this.  I will let you know if/when I hear back from this office regarding the procedure/timeline there. 

 

https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home/krankheiten/ausbrueche-epidemien-pandemien/aktuelle-ausbrueche-epidemien/novel-cov/covid-zertifikat.html

 

Netherlands:  The Dutch government, as soon as the mandatory quarantine order was lifted, began requiring "COVID Certificate" or "Coronavirus Entry Pass" for all indoor activities.  It appears this is also very easy to obtain for Dutch citizens, but there appears to be no mechanism for foreign tourists to obtain one.  As far as I can gather from various sources (the Dutch website, as well as information forwarded to me by Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam) non-EU tourists,, including those from US and UK (and probably others) are required to undergo coronavirus testing every 24 hours while visiting Netherlands to obtain some sort of a temporary certificate.  I was informed that testing is free for this purpose.  I do not know what type of test is being done.  I will update this information when I find out more.

 

https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-certificate

 

I am assuming that this information will become obsolete as rules change.  But this is what I know so far.

I see on the Swiss pages that if you already have an EU covid pass (I received one for France) that you do not need another for Switzerland as they honor that one.   I would check the Netherlands for like reciprocity 

[Baldo99]

This discussion on Flyertalk provides options and links for obtaining both the Swiss and French passes. I was successfully able to obtain both, and either should be valid in the Netherlands since it is an EU DCC

 

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/coronavirus-travel/2052652-converting-us-cdc-vaccine-card-eu-immunization-pass-qr-code.html?styleid=24

[Psoque]

45 minutes ago, Baldo99 said:

This discussion on Flyertalk provides options and links for obtaining both the Swiss and French passes. I was successfully able to obtain both, and either should be valid in the Netherlands since it is an EU DCC

 

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/coronavirus-travel/2052652-converting-us-cdc-vaccine-card-eu-immunization-pass-qr-code.html?styleid=24

Thanks for this link.

 

I also received a reply from Basel-Stadt public health official.  I was informed that we (US tourists) can receive a digital COVID vaccination certificate (“Swiss COVID Certificate”) by e-mailing the office with our passport scan, CDC vaccination scan, and the “transfer code” from the Swiss coronavirus app.

 

 

[Psoque]

4 hours ago, CUTTERSAM said:

I see on the Swiss pages that if you already have an EU covid pass (I received one for France) that you do not need another for Switzerland as they honor that one.   I would check the Netherlands for like reciprocity 

That is correct.  The original intent of my post was to describe the process for those US (and possibly UK and other) tourists arriving in Switzerland for a Rhine River cruise.  The complicated part of this whole ordeal is that most tourists from US do not have EU-approved digital vaccination certificates, and getting them for the first time somehow is the biggest challeng.

 

I think we are lucky that our cruise starts in Switzerland (more on that on next paragraph), since it appears the Netherlands is not allowing US-vaccinated tourists to get their version of the vaccination certificate.

 

Now that I know how we can get the “Swiss COVID Certificate” even before we fly to Basel (please see my most recent post before this one), this might do the trick for the rest of the cruise and our post-cruise stay in Amsterdam.

 

So for us, this might work out OK.  I have no idea what is the best strategy for those starting their Rhine River cruise from Amsterdam, however.  That might be, unfortunately, more problematic, as long as the current rules stand.

 

 

Edited October 12, 2021 by Psoque
removed typos

[Baldo99]

I would think folks starting in  Amsterdam could use the French code, if they can obtain it in time. France only asks for a travel doc, where Switzerland asks for hotel or accomodation confirmation. 

[notamermaid]

Psoque, out of interest, as you only mention Switzerland and the Netherlands: is there nothing additional to do when you enter Germany, apart from having filled in the online form beforehand and carrying your vaccination certificate with you? Info from the Swiss digital certificate, can it be taken with you into Germany and is valid then? Or do yo need another one for Germany? And France, for Strasbourg?

 

notamermaid

 

Edited October 12, 2021 by notamermaid

[Psoque]

30 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Psoque, out of interest, as you only mention Switzerland and the Netherlands: is there nothing additional to do when you enter Germany, apart from having filled in the online form beforehand and carrying your vaccination certificate with you? Info from the Swiss digital certificate, can it be taken with you into Germany and is valid then? Or do yo need another one for Germany? And France, for Strasbourg?

 

notamermaid

 

I am sure you might know the answer much better than I do, since you are in Germany.  However, my understanding is the following:

 

-The Swiss certificate is supposed to be recognized by all EU/EFTA countries, so as soon as we obtain the Swiss certificate, we should be good to go.  What we don’t know is the duration of the validity of the Swiss certificate, and if we are actually receiving the “full version” of the certificate or not.

 

-In regard to transiting through other countries during the cruise, I am not sure if we need the EU/EFTA recognized certificates to visit shops/museums, etc.  My understanding is that it depends on individual business what form of vaccination/immunity certifications it requires.

 

-My emphasis on the Swiss and Dutch certificates is based on the fact that we are spending some time in Basel and Amsterdam, before and after the cruise, and we would like to visit these cities as freely as we can.  Another reason is that it is very obvious that the (current) rules in Netherlands appear to be much stricter than those in other EU/EFTA/Schengen countries.

 

-I don’t want to make this post too long, but we were advised by our cruise line to submit various forms to all of the countries we are visiting.  The Swiss entry form was easy to obtain.  The Dutch forms were also easy, though as I said before, they won’t issue vaccine certificates to people from some countries, including US and UK (and probably others).  The French forms were a bit hard to fill out and when we submitted the information, we received an automated e-mail response saying it is taking a very long time for them to process it…not a good sign.  I think this was for us to receive the French vaccination certificate???  The information on the form was very unclear.  The German form is only available for us to submit 2 (or 3?   I can’t remember) before arrival into Germany, so we haven’t done anything yet.

 

 

 

[Baldo99]

Psoque, just as an FYI - the Swiss certificate I received has an expiration date right on it. It is valid for exactly 12 months after my 2nd dose.

[notamermaid]

Thank you very much for your detailed answer, I was wondering for river cruisers how it works.

5 hours ago, Psoque said:

I am sure you might know the answer much better than I do, since you are in Germany.

I must admit that I have given up on following all the regulations and figuring out how to do this. My short trip to Würzburg was enough and I may stay in my own country for the rest of the year. I do not only have to figure out the country's requirements (the one I would travel to) but my federal and my several different states' regulations as well. And the ones through work (tourism).

 

All of you travelling have my sympathy and admiration for trying to negotiate through this administrative, ahem, challenge.

 

4 hours ago, Baldo99 said:

Psoque, just as an FYI - the Swiss certificate I received has an expiration date right on it. It is valid for exactly 12 months after my 2nd dose.

That is interesting to know. There seems to be an understanding in Europe to issue these for one year at the most. And there appears to be an understanding to give the term "recovered" an expiry date of six months. to which by the way virologists now say evidence should make authorities declare it for longer, currently around eight months. But that is another topic.

 

notamermaid

 

[jpalbny]

7 hours ago, Psoque said:

The French forms were a bit hard to fill out and when we submitted the information, we received an automated e-mail response saying it is taking a very long time for them to process it…not a good sign.  I think this was for us to receive the French vaccination certificate???  The information on the form was very unclear.

 

That sounds like our experience. We went to France in mid-September for a one-week cruise around Corsica. It looked like a pretty straightforward thing to send them your CDC card and a copy of your passport, to get the Passe Sanitaire...

 

We applied in August but about 10 days after we applied they completely changed the application process and we had to apply again (which I did on September 2). Then they emailed us regarding the first application - "we got too many applications so we won't get to them all; please apply again using the new process..." Great, we'd already done that.

 

So our trip to Corsica started on September 12 but we still hadn't heard from France about our applications when we left home. We did a rapid test upon arrival to get a temporary 3-day pass. Those 3 days came and went... We did another one 3 days prior to leaving, to cover the last 3 days and to get us home...

 

We arrived home on Monday the 20th, without ever hearing about our applications. On Friday the 24th they ever-so-helpful reply came: "Sorry, we have rejected your application, because your trip has already concluded. Please feel free to apply again for your next trip!"

 

Good intentions, and a very reasonable set of rules, but I have a sense that they have far too many applications and no way to handle them, so they are hoping that people give up. They want the tourism but they really are not set up to handle the numbers. I work for the government and we've been short-staffed for years so I understand; they probably just don't have enough people to do the work involved. It's just frustrating to try and do the right thing, and be completely unsuccessful.

 

The Netherlands, on the other hand, seems to be taking a Draconian approach. Tough luck, no foreigners can get a vaccine pass regardless. And an antigen test only lasts 24 hours? That's ridiculous. Even in France, an antigen test gets you a 72 hour temporary pass.

 

7 hours ago, Baldo99 said:

I would think folks starting in  Amsterdam could use the French code, if they can obtain it in time. France only asks for a travel doc, where Switzerland asks for hotel or accomodation confirmation. 

 

Hm, but with the delays inherent in the French code... After our experience above I would not count on this at all. It took them 3 weeks to even look at our application and who knows how long the backlog is now.

 

What about making a reservation at a Swiss hotel then canceling it once you get the code?

Edited October 12, 2021 by jpalbny

[Roz]

This was one of the reasons I canceled my December cruise that started in Amsterdam.  Too many hoops to jump thru with ever changing requirements.

[Psoque]

12 hours ago, Baldo99 said:

I would think folks starting in  Amsterdam could use the French code, if they can obtain it in time. France only asks for a travel doc, where Switzerland asks for hotel or accomodation confirmation. 

Obtaining the French digital vaccine certificate is not going well for many of us, including us.  We have no idea if we will receive it, ever, despite the fact that we submitted our first application in August, and was told we need to do this using the "new" system in September.  We are counting on not receiving this on time for our cruise in November.  The Swiss situation is not that simple either, since every Canton is handling this differently.  The Basel-Stadt Canton is requesting us to e-mail them copies of the vaccine certificate and the passport ID page, and the "transfer code" from their digital vaccine certificate app.  We were not asked to submit any hotel information.

Edited October 13, 2021 by Psoque

[Baldo99]

9 hours ago, Psoque said:

Obtaining the French digital vaccine certificate is not going well for many of us, including us.  We have no idea if we will receive it, ever, despite the fact that we submitted our first application in August, and was told we need to do this using the "new" system in September.  We are counting on not receiving this on time for our cruise in November.  The Swiss situation is not that simple either, since every Canton is handling this differently.  The Basel-Stadt Canton is requesting us to e-mail them copies of the vaccine certificate and the passport ID page, and the "transfer code" from their digital vaccine certificate app.  We were not asked to submit any hotel information.

I was able to obtain my French code within minutes. They are usually processed by human hands, but there is a small window between 8:15 and 8:30 AM France time that they appear to be auto processed by a bot. Other travel forums have confirmed this works and it definitely worked for both my wife and I.

 

I got Swiss codes from both the Valais and Lucerne cantons within 2 days. Valais requires using the app and transfer code. 

[thomfam5]

We returned from a trip to Switzerland last week. We flew into Zurich and traveled via train. Prior to leaving Florida we applied for and obtained the Swiss covid certificate app. This was required to eat in restaurants and go in any museums etc. You need to show you certificate on your phone and  they scan it. You need to download the app first and then apply. We waited a few days before approval. I understand that now the process includes a fee of approx $30 USD but otherwise the same. It expires 1 year post 2nd vaccine. 
I would recommend the app VeriFLY for any international flights, it made airport check in and travel so much easier. We didn’t do it for flights over and the return with it was very stress free. 
Last, Switzerland requires an entry form that you complete online. We also printed a copy out. There is a fine of 100 USD if you don’t comply with this.

[Psoque]

We received our Swiss digital COVID certificate, loaded onto the Swiss COVID Certificate app, basically overnight after e-maling the Canton of Basel-Stadt requested information.

 

It appears, according to the official Dutch website, any EU digital certificate with a EU QR code would be accepted in place of the Dutch "Coronavirus Entry Pass."

 

So I guess we are all good for our trip.

[Psoque]

On 10/13/2021 at 7:35 AM, Baldo99 said:

I was able to obtain my French code within minutes. They are usually processed by human hands, but there is a small window between 8:15 and 8:30 AM France time that they appear to be auto processed by a bot. Other travel forums have confirmed this works and it definitely worked for both my wife and I.

 

I got Swiss codes from both the Valais and Lucerne cantons within 2 days. Valais requires using the app and transfer code. 

I’m just curious why you requested the certificates from two separate Swiss cantons.  I thought one certificate would work not just all of Switzerland, but all of EU/EFTA.

[CRK9313]

20 hours ago, Psoque said:

We received our Swiss digital COVID certificate, loaded onto the Swiss COVID Certificate app, basically overnight after e-maling the Canton of Basel-Stadt requested information.

 

It appears, according to the official Dutch website, any EU digital certificate with a EU QR code would be accepted in place of the Dutch "Coronavirus Entry Pass."

 

So I guess we are all good for our trip.

I got mine overnight as well. Looks like I can use this everywhere,  although out of an abundance of caution I'm reserving test times until I can test the code to make sure I'm good to go. Maybe in an airport restaurant. We leave in 2 weeks. 

[tremere]

For those looking to validate QR codes obtained through Switzerland, France, or other EU nations, I recommend trying out the scanning apps supplied for iOS and Android by the various governments.

 

Two of the easiest to obtain that I've seen--and that align quite nicely with any of the Rhine cruises--are from the Netherlands and Switzerland.

 

Netherlands: CoronaCheck Scanner (https://coronacheck.nl/en/scanner)

Switzerland: COVID Certificate Check app

 

You will want to have your QR code either printed or available on a separate screen from the device you download the scanner onto. With this, you'll be able to quickly check that you get the "approved" screen and see the data that would be used to check against ID, if anyone chooses to do so. I personally found it interesting to see the different data protection policies in effect, as the Netherlands scanner only shows first and last initials, while the Swiss scanner displays the full name.

[Baldo99]

23 hours ago, Psoque said:

I’m just curious why you requested the certificates from two separate Swiss cantons.  I thought one certificate would work not just all of Switzerland, but all of EU/EFTA.

I applied in 2 different cantons only as a backup precaution in case one of them never came thru.

[SCBarker]

I wanted to say I signed up for the Swiss covid certificate with Basel-Stadt this morning at about 6:30am, and received it to the app by 10:00am. Simple.

We didn't have a hotel there and we are flying out of Zurich, so I stated in the email that we were arriving by river cruise and attached the whole 31 page document Avalon sent as proof. I seriously doubt they looked through it. A photo of your CDC card and passport are attached to the email, as well as a transfer code generated by the Covid Certificate app.

I'm not sure we'll need it, but I was pleased with the ease of the process.

[notamermaid]

@SCBarker so you are ready to go, all sorted . Have a great trip with a river cruise in beautiful autumn colours.

 

notamermaid

 

[Skeltzer]

Hi all, I wanted to thank everyone for sharing their experiences here. Using the information from this thread I was able to very easily and quickly get the Swiss COVID certificate in the app by emailing the Basel-Stadt folks with the proper documentation. Safe travels all!

[KLRDUKS]

I wanted to thank Psoque and others as me and my wife got ours last week. (Been having trouble posting with the known log-in issue - cleared my browsing history/cookies and that took care of it.) just wanted to let folks know if they did not already that you need a separate transfer code per person but can send all information in one e-mail. (At least this worked for Basel Canton) 

 

Apparently, we also avoided the $30/per person charge that was implemented on 10/14.