All travelers who are completely vaccinated with Covid-19 from the GCC, including the UAE, will now be able to travel to Switzerland quarantine-free. The travelers who have taken vaccination which have emergency approval of the European Medical Agency (EMA) and, including Sinopharm, can also travel to premier European destination. 

The government of Switzerland has formulated return to normalcy post pandemic, proposing that from June 28, fully-vaccinated travelers from GCC nations will be able to enter Switzerland without requiring to quarantine or pre-travel testing. The proposal is subject to final consent by the parliament on June 23. "Interested travelers can request Schengen visas again through the VFS outlets in due course, and Emirati travelers do not need a visa to travel to Switzerland," said Matthias Albrecht, director GCC, Switzerland Tourism. 

The Schengen visa is a short-stay visa that permits traveler to any Schengen Area members, comprising 26 European countries. These nations have officially ended passport and all other types of border control at common borders. However, ‘re-entry regulations must be adhered to.'

"There are some exceptions to the proposed rules for certain countries, including India and Brazil; however, none from the GCC. All tourists from the UAE can travel to Switzerland, irrespective of their nationality. If people are fully vaccinated, then I think the PCR test is not necessary either,” said Albrecht. He added, "However, travelers will have to undergo PCR testing and other re-entry regulations to return to their homes in the GCC." 

The head of the travel board said that comprehensive set of Covid-19 safety measures have been set up. "From the GCC, the desire to travel is increasing almost daily. People are now planning their trips for the summer," he said. 

The Swiss government stated that it is adhering to the opening strategy of the EU, and will thus aim to open the entry to vaccinated people, from June 28.

"Over the past 12 months, rigorous protection concepts, adopted by the government, have proven extremely efficient and ensured that there was no outbreak hotspot at any tourist destination in Switzerland, even though hotels, restaurants in hotels and ski resorts remained open," Albrecht said. 

Swiss 'Clean&Safe' label to document the application of comprehensive protection concepts is used by over 4000 tourism businesses.

"We are delighted and feel quite emotional that we finally can go back to what we do best; to host guests in our magnificent country. With beautiful nature, uncrowded boutique towns and wide-open landscapes, Switzerland is the natural choice for a post-Covid holiday. Now that borders will open, we can't wait to welcome tourists," stated Albrecht. 

Last week, UAE’s Emirates Airline released a list of 19 countries where UAE travelers can go without quarantine. 

Travelers are required to provide their vaccination certificates upon arrival. The vaccination must have been authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or must be mentioned in WHO's Emergency Use Listing. These include the Pfizer BioNTech, Sinopharm and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines.