Luxembourg's Ministry of Health, together with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, have announced that Luxembourg residents will be able to take a COVID-19 test as required by certain countries upon entry, following the upsurge in the COVID-19 pandemic in recent weeks.

In order to make it easier for Luxembourg residents who have to travel to one of these countries to take the necessary steps to obtain a COVID-19 test before their departure, the Luxembourg government has, since 17 July 2020, set up a system which allows residents to register to undertake such a test free-of-charge as part of large-scale nationwide screening campaign via MyGuichet.lu.

This service will remain applicable for travel until 2 August 2020 to a country that explicitly requires a negative COVID-19 test. Among the countries of the European Union, such an obligation currently exists for travel to Germany, as well as to the Portuguese islands of Madeira and the Azores. A negative test is also necessary for people from Luxembourg transiting through Slovakia to another country (note: a negative COVID-19 test does not waive the obligation to self-isolate and have to perform a test on site during a stay in Slovakia itself). A negative COVID-19 test carried out within 48 hours also allows people from Luxembourg to transit through Lithuania to another country while the stay in Lithuania is prohibited for travelers from Luxembourg.

In order to transit through Germany or Switzerland, a negative COVID-19 test is not required. It will simply be necessary to be provided with the supporting documents requested by the local authorities.

Likewise, a negative COVID-19 test is not required for Luxembourg residents who travel to Portugal via France and Spain. Likewise, there is no obligation to test COVID-19 for stays in France and Spain.

Travel to Italy and Greece also does not require negative COVID-19 tests for entry. The same goes for entering Austria at this stage.

Given the evolving nature of the situation, Luxembourg residents are encouraged to consult regular updates on the measures put in place on entry by third countries which are communicated on government websites. Travelers are also responsible for obtaining information from the competent local authorities (see websites of the embassies of the countries concerned) on the terms in force at the time of travel.

For trips scheduled from 3 August 2020, a new system will be put in place at the beginning of next week, according to the ministries.