Abu Dhabi: With vaccination rates increasing across the world, many UAE residents are currently firming up their summer travel plans. A number of countries already offer quarantine-free travel for UAE residents, and many others are easing travel procedures further for vaccinated residents.
Being vaccinated against COVID-19 is itself not a prerequisite for travel because most destinations simply require travellers to present a valid negative PCR test result, either before boarding their flight or upon arrival. However, those who are fully vaccinated can avail added benefits, including exemptions on quarantine and follow-up PCR testing, apart from having an added layer of protection during the pandemic.
Vaccines in the UAE
A total of four COVID-19 vaccines are approved in the UAE at present, and they are available for residents free of charge. They are the Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sputnik V and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines. Across the country, health centres operated by the Ministry of Health and Prevention, Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) and Dubai Health Authority offer COVID-19 vaccines, as do a number of private facilities, and vaccination certificates are accordingly provided for use during travel.
It is good for residents to know which vaccines are approved in a country before travelling there if they wish to avail the benefits provided to the vaccinated. The best way to ensure which COVID-19 vaccine is accepted at the time is of course to check with the country’s missions in the UAE.
The following list, however, provides preliminary information based on the current global situation as you plan out your travel. It is based on the COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker resource maintained by the McGill University in Canada. In the absence of a single accepted resource on vaccine development and approval, the website uses WHO sources, country reports and data released by pharmaceutical development trackers.
Current list of countries which accept the four vaccines available in the UAE
Here is a list of countries that currently accept each of the COVID-19 vaccines available in the UAE:
Sinopharm: Angola, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Comoros, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Georgia, Guyana, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Maldives, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Congo, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. The vaccine is approved by the WHO for emergency use.
Pfizer-BioNTech: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, South Korea, Moldova, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Vatican, Vietnam, and Palestine. The vaccine is approved by the WHO for emergency use.
Sputnik V: Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Moldova, Congo, Russian Federation, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Palestine, and Zimbabwe.
Oxford-AstraZeneca: Albania, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Ivory Coast, Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Eswatini, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Moldova, Romania, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Sudan, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Uganda, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen, and Zambia. When produced in India as Covishield, this vaccine is also approved in Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Ivory Coast, Dominica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Grenada, Hungary, India, Jamaica, Lebanon, Maldives, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, The Bahamas, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine. This vaccine is also approved by WHO for emergency use.
