What certificates are needed for travel and where can you go without them?

We are entering a new reality. Travel is coming back to life, borders are opening, flights are resuming, but new rules complicate going on vacation. But it's not as difficult as it seems. In this article, we will tell you how and where to get the necessary coronavirus certificates to travel safely. And whether they are needed at all – that too.

"Health Passport"

Back in April, news began to emerge that it would be impossible to travel abroad without such a document. But time passes, and many countries, eager to start the tourist season as quickly as possible and get the industry back on its feet, are doing everything to simplify the entry of tourists into their territory as much as possible. No one has yet proposed a complete concept for such "immune passports"; it's unclear what information they would contain and how to keep it up-to-date. Therefore, it was decided to stick with certificates.

Certificate of no COVID-19

Currently, such a certificate is required even for travel within Russia, especially for holidays at Black Sea resorts. However, Maya Lomidze, executive director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), believes that the validity period of the certificate is very short. After all, a tourist can get infected at the airport, on the plane, or already on vacation. But since a certificate is required even for entry into a sanatorium – it must be obtained.

In June, for holidays in reopened sanatoriums, not only a certificate of no coronavirus is needed, but also two other documents:

• sanatorium-resort voucher;
• a certificate of epidemiological environment, which confirms that you have not been in contact with infected people for the last 14 days.

Moreover, the certificates must be as "fresh" as possible, meaning issued 2-3 days before the holiday. And while it's not difficult for people in large cities to obtain them, residents of regions will have to put in some effort. The fact is that not all settlements have medical centers that issue such certificates, so people have to travel to the nearest large city.

Where to get tested for coronavirus or antibodies?

You have two options for getting tested before your trip:

• go to your local polyclinic yourself (free with an MHI policy)
• contact a private clinic or laboratory (paid)
• call a special medical worker to your home (paid or free)

The Helix laboratory is very popular. You can go there yourself: it will cost 1,200 rubles for the analysis + 300 rubles for the swab collection, with a research period of up to 3 days. However, due to the influx of people, it may increase. Or you can call a laboratory worker to your home: the same 1,200 rubles for the analysis, but + 700 rubles for the courier's visit. The research period is the same.

The same can be done at Lakhta Clinic (1,800 rubles for analysis + about 4,900 rubles for calling a nurse or doctor to your home or office). The period is also 3 days, but if you need it quickly, there is an express test service for 1 day, which costs about 12,000 rubles.

Other institutions:

• North-Western Center for Evidence-Based Medicine Laboratory
• Hemotest Laboratory
• Citilab Laboratory
• ArsVita Clinic

You can also take an antibody test, which will show if you have had coronavirus. Such tests can be taken at Helix, Lakhta Clinic, as well as at the Invitro laboratory and the Euromed Clinic.

Choose any place where you prefer the price and conditions, and be sure to study the necessary information on the laboratory's website.

In Moscow, the system is the same, especially since the city has the laboratories listed above (many laboratories are available in almost all cities of Russia, look for yours). And to take an antibody test, check out this map of blood donation points.

How to get a certificate of epidemiological environment?

Here's where many citizens encounter a problem: how can a doctor determine if your contacts are healthy? In reality, a certificate of epidemiological environment is almost the same certificate issued to children for camps. Only now it is also needed for adults.

You can get such a certificate at your local polyclinic from your district therapist; children get it from a pediatrician. Commercial clinics do not issue certificates confirming no infected contacts, as state polyclinics have more information about sick individuals. In general, you will likely have to wait in line. The document is issued free of charge.

What if I fly without certificates?

This is also possible, but it all depends on the destination. We cannot yet say exactly where a certificate will be required and where it won't, because the information is constantly changing. For example, Italy is eagerly awaiting Russian tourists for holidays and promises not to require any certificates upon arrival, but no one knows if this generosity will last a week.

In any case, if you are flying abroad, you will be able to take a coronavirus test at the airport upon arrival if necessary. In some places, this is currently mandatory, in others it is selective. It is also difficult to say which airports have which requirements – everything is changing. But if you are flying abroad, it's best to double-check the information.

Which regions of Russia can be visited without certificates?

Many regions have begun the first stage of lifting restrictions. Here's where Muscovites can travel without certificates and mandatory quarantine upon arrival:

• Bashkortostan
• Kaluga Oblast
• Komi
• Kursk Oblast
• Leningrad Oblast
• Moscow Oblast
• Novosibirsk Oblast
• Saint Petersburg
• Sverdlovsk Oblast
• Tatarstan
• Tver Oblast
• Tomsk Oblast
• Tula Oblast
• Tyumen Oblast
• Ulyanovsk Oblast
• Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (Yugra)
• Chelyabinsk Oblast
• Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug
• Yaroslavl Oblast

And in these regions, some restrictions for Muscovites still remain:

• Smolensk Oblast and Belgorod Oblast (quarantine upon arrival can be avoided if there is a certificate of past illness, a certificate of quarantine completion in another region, and a certificate of no COVID-19)
• Kamchatka Krai (a certificate of no coronavirus is required)
• Primorsky Krai (a certificate of no coronavirus, issued 2 days before arrival, is required)
• Kostroma Oblast (certificates from a medical organization at the place of actual residence regarding the epidemiological environment, issued no later than three days before arrival in the region, and a certificate with coronavirus test results are required. Transit through the region is only for business trips)
• Stavropol Krai (mandatory isolation only for those traveling to sanatoriums; a certificate of epidemiological environment is also required)
• Magadan Oblast (tourist trips only with permission from the local Rospotrebnadzor, obtained a week before arrival)
• Penza Oblast (only those who arrived for work or due to the death of a close relative are exempt from mandatory isolation)
• Vologda Oblast (arrival from other regions is only permitted for visiting relatives, for work, or if you own property there)
• Novgorod Oblast (14 days of isolation upon arrival)
• Zabaykalsky Krai (14 days of isolation upon arrival).