Mandatory negative COVID-19 test result

You must have a negative COVID-19 test result document if you are travelling to or returning to the Netherlands. This applies to most countries and to everyone aged 13 or over. The test result is mandatory if you are travelling by airplane, train or coach . From 1 June 2021 a negative test result is also mandatory if you are travelling by private transport, such as by car or motorcycle.

A number of travel-related changes came into effect on 1 June:

1. Negative NAAT (PCR) test result

A NAAT (PCR) test is a type of test used to check whether you are infected with coronavirus. Requirements apply to the NAAT (PCR) test you use to show a negative COVID-19 test result when travelling to the Netherlands from abroad.

The following tests are accepted if you need to show a negative PCR test result when travelling to the Netherlands:

• PCR
• RT PCR
• LAMP
• TMA
• mPOCT

PCR (NAAT) test result less than 72 hours old

If you have a PCR (NAAT) test done abroad, the time between the test and your arrival in the Netherlands must be no more than 72 hours.

If you are delayed: PCR (NAAT) less than 96 hours old

If you are delayed through no fault of your own, a negative test result based on a sample collected up to 96 hours (instead of 72 hours) before your arrival in the Netherlands will still be accepted. This gives you an extra 24 hours. You must be able to prove that the delay was not your fault.

COVID-19 test costs

You must pay the costs of the COVID-19 test yourself.

Expat Moving Company PCR Test partners

We have partners in Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht. Please contact us by phone or fill in the contact form to book your PCR test.

2. Transfer passengers exempted from mandatory tests

You must show a negative COVID-19 test result if you are travelling to or returning to the Netherlands. The rules when changing planes depend on your situation.

- If you start your journey in a safe area or country and change planes in a high-risk area

Not leaving the airpoirt? You are not required to show a negative PCT test result.

If you leave the airport, however, the negative COVID-19 test requirement applies to you.

- If you start your journey in a high-risk or very high risk area and change planes in a safe country or area

The negative test result for travellers from a high-risk are applies to you. This means you must show a negative PCR test result based on a sample collected no more than 72 hours before boarding.

The result remains valid during the transfer and if there is a flight delay.

- If you start your journey in a high-risk are or country and change planes in the Netherlands

You do not need to show a negative PCT (NAAT) test result or rapid test result on arrived in the Netherlands.

3. Rapid test now only mandatory for travellers from countries where there is a virus variant of concern

There are various types of mandatory negative test results for travellers to the Netherlands. The type you need depends on the mode of transport you use.

If you are travelling to the Netherlands from a high-risk or very high-risk area, you need a negative NAAT (PCR) test result based on a sample collected no more than 72 hours before your arrival in the Netherlands. This applies to travel by:

• Airplane
• Ferry
• Other ship
• Private transport

Travelling by international train or coach

You need a negative PCT (NAAT) test result based on a sample collected no more than 72 hours before your arrival in the Netherlands if you use one of the following international train or coach connections:

• Intercity from Berlin

• ICE International from Frankfurt/Basel

• Thalys

• Eurostar

• Intercity Direct from Brussels

• FlixBus international routes.

You will be checked when you board or during the journey, before the first stop in the Netherlands.

Travelling from an area where there is a virus variant of concern

If you are travelling to the Netherlands from a high-risk or very high-risk area where there is a virus variant of concern, you have 2 options:

1. You have a negative PCR (NAAT) test result based on a sample collected no more than 24 hours before boarding abroad.

2. You have the following 2 test results:
- Negative PCR (NAAT) test result based on a sample collected no more than 72 hours before your arrived in the Netherlands
- Negative rapid test result based on a sample collected no more than 24 hours before boarding abroad

Countries where there is a virus variant of concern

• Argentina

• Bolivia

• Brazil

• Chile

• Colombia

• Dominican Republic

• Ecuador

• French Guiana

• Guyana

• India

• Panama

• Paraguay

• Peru

• Suriname

• Uruguay

• Venezuela

• South Africa
  
  You can click on each country for information about COVID-19

• > Read more about moving during COVID-19 pandemic
  > Book PCR test

Exemptions from negative test result requirement

1 June 2021

Travel by air (unforeseen circumstances)

Passengers are exempt if they:

• are on a flight whose final destination is not in the Netherlands but which has to divert to a Dutch airport due to unforeseen circumstances.

For example, if due to a storm an aircraft travelling from New York to Frankfurt must land at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport .

These travellers must still present a health declartion.

If you keep continue testing positive after a COVID-19 infection

Some people continue to test positive when they have had COVID-19, even if they no longer have any symptoms and can no longer infect others. They may still travel with the following documents:

• a positive NAAT (PCR) test result or antigen test result based on a sample collected at least 2 weeks but no more than 8 weeks before travelling;
• a positive NAAT (PCR) test result based on a sample collected no more than 72 hours before arrival in the Netherlands.

They must also show:

• a negative rapid test result on departure based on a sample collected no more than 24 hours before; or
• if the rapid test result is positive, a doctor’s certificate stating that they can no longer infect others. This certificate must have been issued no more than 72 hours before boarding.

It must be in Dutch, English, German, French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish and bear the logo or stamp of the doctor or institute.

Transport workers and seafarers

Transport workers and seafarers travelling to the Netherlands on passenger transport in connection with their work

This applies to seafarers who possess a seafarer’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 means:

• lorry drivers;
• crew members on container ships, bulk carriers (e.g. ore and coal), tankers (fuel and chemicals) and fishing vessels;
• 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.

Transport workers and seafarers travelling to or from their work in the Netherlands

This exemption also applies to transport workers and seafarers who are travelling to or from their work in the Netherlands. They do not need to present a negative PCR test result. Visit the website of the National Association of Transport Operators (TLN) (information in Dutch) for more information and an overview by country for the transport sector (information in Dutch).

Diplomats

The following people do not have to show a negative test result, but must show a health declaration:

• staff of diplomatic and consular missions or international organisations in the Netherlands, and the members of their official household, who have been or will be registered as such with the 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 travelling to or from work;
• heads of state and members of foreign governments;
• travellers in possession of a NATO travel order or a NATO-2 visa;
• travellers with a declaration from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport who are travelling in connection with the urgent transport of organs, tissues and cells for the purpose of medical treatment.

Cross-border workers, students and schoolchildren

Cross-border workers, students and schoolchildren do not need a negative test result to enter the Netherlands. They must, however, be able to show a health declaration.

Definition of cross-border worker, student and schoolchild

You live in the Netherlands.

• You work, study or go to school in another EU member state, Schengen country or the United Kingdom.
• You travel back to your place of residence in the Netherlands at least once a week.

You live in another EU member state, a Schengen country or the United Kingdom.

• You work, study or go to school in the Netherlands.
• You travel back to your place of residence in the other EU member state, Schengen country or the United Kingdom at least once a week.

Proof of status as a cross-border worker, student or schoolchild

You must be able to show the transport operator proof:

• of the country you live in (for example a rental agreement or a declaration from the municipality or another state body);
• that you work, study or attend school in another EU member state, Schengen country or the United Kingdom (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).

Freight hauliers returning from the United Kingdom

Freight hauliers returning from the United Kingdom do not need a negative rapid test result if they return within 48 hours. If they have spent more than 48 hours in the United Kingdom, drivers travelling by ferry must be able to show a negative rapid test result. This test must be based on a sample collected no more than 24 hours before they board the ferry. For more information see the website of the National Association of Transport Operators (TLN) (information in Dutch).

> Read more on the official Dutch government website (information in English)
> Read about moving during COVID-19 pandemic
> Read more about our moving services
> Read more about international moving services
> Book PCR test