Mandatory negative COVID-19 test results and declaration
If you are travelling to the Netherlands from a high-risk country you must present a negative PCR test result and a negative rapid test result. This is because there is a risk that travellers arriving from high-risk areas will import and spread coronavirus variants. The mandatory test results are not a substitute for other coronavirus measures, such as the entry ban, self-quarantining and vaccination.
People who test positive for coronavirus are not permitted to travel, including to the Netherlands. All passengers aged 13 and over must therefore present negative test results before travelling to the Netherlands. These rules also apply to people travelling to Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba (the Caribbean Netherlands).
Mandatory for people travelling from a high-risk country by aircraft, ship, train or coach
You must present a negative COVID-19 test result if you are:
travelling to the Netherlands from a high-risk country. This is any country that is not on the EU list of safe countries; and
travelling by aircraft, ship or international train or coach. Even if the Netherlands is not your final destination.
You must cover the costs of the tests yourself.
Rules if changing planes depend on country of departure
If your journey includes a transfer in the Netherlands or another country, the rules are as follows:
If you start your journey in a safe country and change planes in a high-risk country
without leaving the airport, you are not required to present a negative test result. If you leave the airport, however, the requirement will apply to you.
If you start your journey in a high-risk country and change planes in another country
the negative test result requirement applies to you, even if the country where you change planes is a safe country. The result remains valid during the layover.
If you start your journey in a high-risk country and change planes in the Netherlands
the negative test result requirement applies to you, regardless of whether you leave the airport.
If you depart from a high-risk region where you cannot access a rapid test, and you change planes at an airport where rapid tests are available, get tested there and present the result before you board the flight to the Netherlands.
Negative tests results and negative test declaration
If you are travelling to the Netherlands, you may be asked to present one or more of the following documents:
This applies only if you are travelling by air. Some airlines allow you to complete this health declaration digitally when you check in.
Presenting documents before departure and on arrival when travelling by air or sea
If you are travelling by air or sea, you must show these documents to the airline or shipping/ferry company before departure. If you are unable to present the correct documents, you will not be permitted to board.
If you are coming from an EU/Schengen area country or outside an EU/Schengen area country, a safety region official may ask you to present the documents on arrival.
If you are coming from a country outside the EU/Schengen area, the Royal Military and Border Police (Koninklijke Marechaussee) will ask to see your documents at passport control. If you are unable to present the correct documents and you are not a national of an EU or Schengen country, the Royal Military and Border Police may refuse you entry to the Netherlands.
Other coronavirus measures continue to apply
The requirement to present 2 kinds of negative test result applies in addition to the other measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Test result requirement has not replaced entry ban
The requirement to present 2 negative test results (and a signed declaration) is not an easing of the EU entry ban or the self-quarantine requirement. You may still only travel to the Netherlands from outside the EU/Schengen area if you are exempt from the entry ban.
Always self-quarantine on arrival
Testing negative is not a substitute for self-quarantining. People with a negative test result should still self-quarantine for 10 days on arrival in the Netherlands. You can arrange to get tested for coronavirus again on the 5th day after your arrival. If the result of this test is negative you can end your self-quarantine. Consult the Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel advisories to see if the country you are arriving from is a high-risk country. To prepare for your journey to the Netherlands do the Quarantine Check for travellers. This is a practical checklist of steps to take before and after your journey. You should travel only if your journey is essential.
Requirement applies even after vaccination
You must present a negative test result even if you have received a coronavirus vaccination.
PCR and rapid test locations outside the Netherlands
The following people do not have to present a negative PCR test result, but must present a negative rapid test result:
Transport workers and seafarers travelling to the Netherlands on passenger transport in connection with their work.
This applies to seafarers who possess a seaman’s record book and people who work in the goods transport sector and other essential transport personnel, who are travelling on passenger transport in connection with their work. This includes lorry drivers and crew members on container ships, bulk carriers (e.g. ore and coal), tankers (fuel and chemicals) and fishing vessels. It also includes individuals who work in the energy sector, including oil and gas platforms and offshore wind farms, offshore companies that provide services to this sector, and crew members on aircraft, cruise ships and ferries if they are travelling in the exercise of their work.
This exemption also applies to transport workers and seafarers who are travelling to or from their work the Netherlands. They do not need to present a negative PCR test result.
Air and ship crew do not have to present a negative PCR test result or rapid test result if they do not leave the aircraft or ship in a high-risk country, and immediately continue their journey or return to the Netherlands.
The exemptions to not apply to seafarers on commercial yachts and pleasure craft.
Cross-border commuters, students and school children
Holders of a diplomatic identity card issued by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Holders of non-Dutch diplomatic passports
Holders of Dutch diplomatic passports, if they are travelling in the exercise of their work or whose physical presence is required for work
Heads of state and members of foreign governments
Air passengers whose flight does not have the Netherlands as its final destination but which must divert to the Netherlands due to unforeseen circumstances
Travellers in possession of a NATO travel order or a NATO-2 visa.
Definition of cross-border worker/student/school child
You are a cross-border worker/student/school child if you live in an EU member state, a Schengen country or the United Kingdom and work/study/attend school in the Netherlands, and you travel back to your place of residence at least once a week. You are also a cross border worker/student/school child if you live in the Netherlands and work/study/attend school in another EU member state, a Schengen country or the United Kingdom, and you travel back to your place of residence in the Netherlands at least once a week.
Proof of cross-border worker/student/school child status
You must provide proof of where you live (for example a lease or confirmation from the municipality) and proof of where you work/study/attend school (for example an employment contract, a declaration from your employer, proof of enrolment from your university or school, or a declaration from your university or school).
Rules for different means of transport
Using public transport
You must be able to show a negative PCR test result if you are travelling to the Netherlands using one of the following international train or coach connections:
Intercity Berlin
ICE International from Frankfurt/Basel
Thalys
Eurostar
Intercity Brussels
FlixBus international routes.
You do not have to present a negative rapid test result if you are travelling to the Netherlands by international train or coach, only a negative PCR test result.
Regional buses within 30 kilometres of the border
You do not have to show a negative PCR test result if you are travelling on a regional, cross-border bus and stay within 30 kilometres of the Dutch border on both sides. If the stops where you get on and off the bus are both in the Netherlands you do not need to show a negative test result either.
Regional train
You do not have to show a negative PCR test result if you are travelling on a regional, cross-border train to the Netherlands.
If you are unable to present correct documents on a train or coach
If you are travelling by international train or coach, you will be asked to present a negative test result before boarding or during the journey, but at any rate before the first stop in the Netherlands. If you are unable to do so, you must leave the vehicle.
Travelling by private coach
The negative PCR test result requirement applies only to public transport, like FlixBus, and not to private coaches.
Passengers travelling to the Netherlands from a high-risk area by ship are required to present a negative PCR test result.
This applies to ferries, cruise and river cruise ships.
Negative test result not needed if travelling by car
People arriving in the Netherlands by car currently do not need to present a negative test result. Please note, however, that different countries have imposed different measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. If you are travelling to the Netherlands by car through one or more other countries, you should check what rules apply there.
Travelling to the Netherlands by car through the Channel Tunnel
If you are travelling to the Netherlands from the United Kingdom by car via the Channel Tunnel and France, you are required by the French government to have a negative PCR test result.
Freight transport: you must have a negative PCR test or rapid test result.
