Hungary Opens Borders for Serbian Citizens – No Quarantine or COVID-19 Tests Required

Hungary has become the first member of the European Union to abolish the Schengen entry ban introduced earlier in March on EU Commission’s recommendation, for the nationals of a non-EEA country.

As of Monday, May 25, Hungarian border authorities have permitted Serbian citizens to cross the borders and come to the country without any restrictions or requirements as quarantine and PCR negative test results.

The decision was taken by the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó after talks with Serbian Minister for Integration Jadranka Joksimovic and István Pásztor, President of the Hungarian Association of Vojvodina (VMSZ).

According to Minister Szijjártó, Serbian citizens can now enter Hungary without a quarantine obligation and Hungarian citizens can travel to Serbia.

“The opening of the border will provide an opportunity for families and communities on both sides of the border to reunite, as well as help to give new impetus to economic relations, the head of the ministry said,” the Minister said regarding the move.

He also emphasized that the countries of Central Europe showed that they are capable of controlling the spread of the virus, which they did on time by imposing restrictions on passenger traffic, among others.

A press release issued by the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade notes that the measures introduced previously in the fight against the pandemic have now permitted the country to return to normalcy by giving priority to the protection of life and health. It also points out that the border will only open to those who want to enter Hungary in a law-abiding manner.

“Those who arrive illegally will still not have the opportunity to do so, Hungary will seize every means to prevent this,” the press release reads.

Minister Szijjártó thanked the President of the Hungarian Association of Vojvodina István Pásztor, for doing a lot to allow the graduating students from Vojvodina to enter Hungary, to make commuting possible, and playing an important role in the current opening.

“This is proof that the Hungarians of Vojvodina can count on the VMSZ because the party successfully represents their interests. He added that he is confident this will continue to be the case in the future,” the Minister also said.

Whereas, the Serbian Integration Minister Jadranka Joksimovic stressed that opening up on both sides of the border is very important, recalling that last Friday Serbia decided that travellers could enter Serbia without any restrictions, thus they will not have to go into quarantine or present a negative test, as in the previous two months.