Where to travel with the Hungarian immunity certificate?
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More and more countries have announced that those possessing the holy plastic card will be able to cross their borders without restrictions. Still, there is no unilateral decision among European Union member states, let alone among the majority of the world’s countries on what measures will actually be implemented.
Even though a Hungarian decree issued at the end of April stated that those who have been vaccinated will be able to travel freely, in reality, this is hardly the case. Especially if we talk about foreign countries.
The European Parliament made a decision last week:
only those who were vaccinated with a jab approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be entitled to certain easements when it comes to international travel.
The Chinese Sinophram and the Russian Sputnik V, the vaccines that are majorly used in Hungary, did not make the list. Nevertheless, the EMA has been investigating the Chinese jab, so the declaration of PM Viktor Orbán saying that this serum will be approved soon and used for travel this summer might come true in the near future.
When it comes to the immunity certificate and how to travel to Hungary’s neighbouring countries, here is a very detailed article containing all the information you need to know.
How to travel to Hungary’s neighbouring countries this summer
On the other hand, some important novelties came to life since then. Apart from Serbia, Slovenia, and Montenegro,
Bahrein also signed a bilateral agreement with Hungary, accepting one another’s immunity certificates.
This bilateral agreement will be key, and probably the only way for a while, to fight the issue of which vaccines accepted by the EU will be also accepted by individual countries.
There is another major issue with the plastic card, regarding travelling abroad. The reception date of the second jab is not included on the immunity certificate, not even when the QR code is scanned. This can cause quite a problem at the borders, since
Greece, for instance, does accept all vaccines used in Hungary, BUT only 2 weeks after receiving the second jab.
Hvg.hu asked the consular centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade regarding this inconvenience. Even they said that the police in another country will not understand the Hungarian plastic card, the policeman either accepts it or not. For this reason,
Stop sending dead people cards when survivers are still waiting for their certificates you idiots.
STUPID PRACTICAL QUESTION: when can you expect to receive this coveted plastic card? How long after vaccination will you receive it?