The Portuguese government has announced that travellers from another five third countries – Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe – can now enter Portugal for travel purposes.

“The Government approved an amendment to the rules applicable to air traffic within the scope of measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, extending the possibility of carrying out non-essential trips to our country to travellers from Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe,” the statement of Portugal’s government reads.

Such a statement suggests that the non-essential travel ban that was previously imposed against these countries has been officially removed. However, even though travellers from these areas are no longer subject to an entry ban, they still need to follow additional entry rules, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

The current entry rules explained on the official travel website of Portugal show that the country currently accepts only vaccination and recovery passes issued by one of EU/Schengen Area countries or by the authorities of a third country that has a reciprocal agreement with Portugal.

Portugal has a list of third countries whose vaccination and recovery certificates are recognised under reciprocal conditions. However, of all the five above-mentioned countries, only Cape Verde is part of it. This means that citizens of Cape Verde can now enter Portugal restriction-free as long as they hold one of the certificates.

On the other hand, the case is not the same for travellers from Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe as these countries do not have a reciprocal agreement with Portugal.

According to the government, travellers from these four areas need to undergo pre-arrival testing even if they have been vaccinated or recovered from the virus in order to be permitted entry.

“Passengers who do not have a Covid-19 Digital Certificate of the Union European Union or another recognised under the law must present, at the time of departure, proof of performance of a nucleic acid amplification test or rapid antigen test, carried out within 72 or 24 hours prior to the time of departure,” the government emphasised.

The rules explained by the official travel website of Portugal have caused confusion among travellers as the Portuguese authorities continue to require vaccinated and recovered travellers from several third countries to meet additional measures.

Since Portugal continues to apply restrictions based on travellers’ country of origin rather than on their vaccination and recovery status, some of the rules remain unclear. The authorities are yet to come out with an official statement regarding their restrictions.

Differently from mainland Portugal, Madeira has already lifted its COVID-19 restrictions for incoming travellers. Travellers reaching Madeira are no longer required to present a vaccination, recovery, or test certificate upon their arrival. They only need to register their entry.