VDK Travel
Ban on tourist travel. Business travel remains possible.
January 26, 2021
From 27 January to 1 March only essential travel abroad is allowed. This applies to all individuals with a main residence in Belgium.
These essential reasons are described in detail in the Ministerial Decree of 26 January 2021.
In short the essential reasons can be categorised as follows:
Compelling family reasons e.g. visiting a partner or child, attending a wedding or funeral of a close relative
Humanitarian reasons e.g. medical reasons, assisting an elderly person
Study reasons
Inhabitants of border regions e.g. for essential purchases
Professional reasons
Other urgent reasons e.g. taking care of an animal, relocation
From today until 1 March anyone wishing to engage in essential travel based on one of the above reasons will be required to fill in a sworn declaration in advance. Click here for the PDF document containing this declaration and for an exhaustive list of all essential reasons. There is also on online version available here.
IN CONCRETE TERMS
Tourist travel of a non-essential nature is strictly prohibited from 27 January until 1 March 2021. This means travelling to any foreign destination for a sun or snow vacation is not possible for the time being.
However, business travel remains possible, even to red zones. They are included in the list of essential reasons i.e. travel for professional reasons. This is described in detail in Annex 2 of the Ministerial Decree of 26 January 2021
Naturally business travel is only possible if the intended destination allows travellers from Belgium and on condition of full compliance with the security measures in force at your destination. Consult the website of the Foreign Ministry for all recommendations in this regard
Individuals with their main residence in Belgium who are required to travel abroad for professional reasons must now fulfil the following obligations:
1) Complete the Passenger Locator Form (PLF) prior to their return to Belgium (compulsory since 1 August 2020)
2) Filling in the BTA certificate number on the above-mentioned PLF prior to the trip (compulsory since 4 January 2021)
3) Filling in the sworn declaration prior to the trip (compulsory since 27 January 2021)
Attention: For 1) this implies travellers must be able to present proof of submission or a copy until 48 hours after their return to Belgium. For 2) and 3) this means travellers must be able to present proof of submission or a copy throughout their trip.