Update: Italy has extended its ban on tourists travelling from Singapore or who have been there in the last 14 days, until 15th March 2022.
If you’re heading to Italy anytime soon or planning a trip there, it’s bad news for most travellers today – with Singapore being downgraded to the country’s “List E” from 16th December 2021, effectively killing off leisure trips for Singaporeans until at least February 2022.
The move is part of a wider tightening of restrictions by the Italian authorities, in response to the rising threat of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, with the country also extending its state of emergency until March 2022.
Other precautions Italy is taking include mandatory COVID-19 testing for travellers arriving from within the EU, which technically goes against the objectives of the EU Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC), introduced by the bloc to facilitate equal travel restrictions between member states.
Singapore downgraded
From 16th December 2021, Singapore will be downgraded from Italy’s “List D” countries to “List E”.
That’s very bad news, because entry into Italy from “List E” countries is allowed only for specific reasons:
- Work reasons
- Health reasons
- Study reasons
- Absolute urgency
- Return to one’s domicile, home, or residence
Tourism is specifically excluded.
While Italy’s