Mandatory self-quarantine and the exemption for cultural and creative professionals

**UPDATE**

The Dutch government has decided to lift the EU entry ban for the Netherlands as of 17 September 2022.

The government's decision means that as of 17 September 2022, no COVID-19-related restrictions or requirements apply to travellers entering the Netherlands, including those from countries outside the EU/Schengen area. Read more

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If you are planning to travel to the Netherlands, you might be obliged to self-quarantine for 5-10 days. This depends on where you are coming from, the infection rate and the virus variant that is dominant in your area.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs regularly updates a map of the world (only in Dutch) that indicates if there is a no, medium, high or very high risk of infection in (parts) of a region or country.

If you travel from a country or area that is indicated as:

• a very high-risk area (for example Georgia, Ukraine, Serbia, Singapore and the United Kingdom) you have the obligation to self-quarantine (even if you have been fully vaccinated). You will need to fill in and sign a quarantine declaration form before travelling to the Netherlands. You might benefit from the exemption for creative and cultural professionals (more below).
• a very high-risk area where there is a virus variant of concern (currently only countries in the Southern part of the African continent) you have the obligation to self-quarantine (even if you have been fully vaccinated). You will need to fill in and sign a quarantine declaration form before travelling to the Netherlands. Please note that you can not benefit from the exemption if you are travelling from an area where there is a virus variant of concern. You will have to self-quarantine for at least 5 days and get tested on the 5th day.

The period of self-quarantine is 10 days, but if you arrange to get tested at the Municipal Health Service (GGD) on the 5th day you may end quarantine upon a negative result. Please check all the rules here.

Yes, there is an exemption in place for cultural and creative professionals that travel from a country or area with a high rate of infections, indicated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a 'very high risk area'.

Please note that the scope of this exemption is limited to:

• Foreign or Dutch cultural professionals who are travelling to the Netherlands or returning from abroad, who have been invited to make a necessary contribution to the activities of a cultural and creative organisation.
• The going ahead of the organisation’s activities must be dependent on these specific individuals’ physical presence and participation.

If you are travelling from a country or area where there is a virus variant of concern, you can not benefit from this exemption.

The inviting organisation needs to explain why the presence and participation of the professional is indispensable for the overall continuity of its activities. Or in other words, would the absence of the professional in question mean that the cultural organisation’s planned activities were to be postponed or even cancelled? The travelling professional should be more or less vital for the organisation's activities.

The travelling cultural or creative professional should be able to show an invitation letter or declaration written by the Dutch cultural or creative organisation. The letter should be written on the organisation’s official letterhead and include:

• the date of the activities (both repetitions and stage dates for example) for which the professional is invited;
• an argument why the professional’s presence and participation is needed.

More information about this and other exemptions can be found here (only in Dutch). For further questions on mobility and the coronavirus, please contact DutchCulture’s Mobility Info Point.