COVID-19 and expatriation in Hungary

Hello, I hope you don't mind me crashing the thread - it's my inlaws who live in Hungary, not me, but they are having some issues with getting the EU digital certificate and I wondered if you would know about that?

I don't know what the issue is precisely, but I do know they had the Sinovac vaccine and I suspected that their problems are because the Sinovac isn't European Medicines Agency approved. I wanted to ask whether anyone has had a similar issue, and what did you do? Do you just rely on testing? I also wanted to ask - as I understand it, the Sinovac vaccine isn't as effective as Pfizer, Moderna, AZ etc - is it possible now in Hungary to get an EMA approved vaccine as a booster if you already had Sinovac or Sputnik? My husband would like to be able to try to nudge them to get a booster if possible, but not much point frightening them about the Sinovac vaccine if they can't get anything else.

Thank you very much for your help.

gaensekueken wrote:

Hello, I hope you don't mind me crashing the thread - it's my inlaws who live in Hungary, not me, but they are having some issues with getting the EU digital certificate and I wondered if you would know about that?

I don't know what the issue is precisely, but I do know they had the Sinovac vaccine and I suspected that their problems are because the Sinovac isn't European Medicines Agency approved. I wanted to ask whether anyone has had a similar issue, and what did you do? Do you just rely on testing? I also wanted to ask - as I understand it, the Sinovac vaccine isn't as effective as Pfizer, Moderna, AZ etc - is it possible now in Hungary to get an EMA approved vaccine as a booster if you already had Sinovac or Sputnik? My husband would like to be able to try to nudge them to get a booster if possible, but not much point frightening them about the Sinovac vaccine if they can't get anything else.

Thank you very much for your help.

I think it's as you say - the Chinese and Russian vaccines are not approved by the EMA.

No-one knows what would happen if someone had the approved vaccines after the non-approved ones although I believe some studies are ongoing in Russia with the AZ vaccine.

When I got my 2nd jab yesterday, it was Pfizer.  I don't think they are using anything else now although some posters recently said they had Moderna.  I got my EU certificate the same day at a government office (kormanyablak).

Some countries are allowing Chinese and Russian vaccinated persons in and out but there are not many - Greece and maybe some others.

It's crazy, one reason we have not put any solid travel plans in place.
Slowly this thing will all pass, one more "round of panic" in the fall and hope by 2022 they move on to "scaring the living cr**" out of us some other way, perhpas a war? That would really be the nail in the coffin for most people, mentally and every other way.
I've almost already given up getting over excited about seeing my boy again in this lifetime, dam the gov. powers that be!
If we see him, that's great if not then so be it as long as he is safe it doesn't matter if I see him or not.
Went for my eye check up today at the eye clinic near our place.
Wow, it was super busy today. It always is but today it was packed.
My doc said now people feel like C-19 is behind them so they are getting their check up's.
One old women( actually everyone there is well past 60) played ,"drama queen" she was rolled in a wheelchair and got tired of waiting so she yelled out she was going to faint and fall out of her chair.
My husband ( sick humor that he has, me too) said to me, now I'd love to see that happen. She was faking it, looked heathier then half the people in the waiting area.
No matter she got moved to the front of the line.
Hmm, maybe I should rent a walker next visit? It was over a 2 1/2 hour wait.
Seeing how physically ruined most everyone was in the waiting area my husband and I had to agree that if C-19 was really that bad then most of those people should of been goners a long time ago.
I wonder if the virus is targeted to certain people only because believe me, I felt I was in a nursing home not a eye clinic today.
Something doesn't add up.
We read this morning that a 13 year old boy passed away in his sleep after getting jabbed 3 days beforehand.
Also heard that people getting vaxed in India were really only getting shot of salt water.
Now that is sad news.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

It's crazy, one reason we have not put any solid travel plans in place.
Slowly this thing will all pass, one more "round of panic" in the fall and hope by 2022 they move on to "scaring the living cr**" out of us some other way, perhpas a war? That would really be the nail in the coffin for most people, mentally and every other way.
I've almost already given up getting over excited about seeing my boy again in this lifetime, dam the gov. powers that be!
....
We read this morning that a 13 year old boy passed away in his sleep after getting jabbed 3 days beforehand.
Also heard that people getting vaxed in India were really only getting shot of salt water.
Now that is sad news.

The boy that died in the USA had an enlarged heart. It's unclear if the COVID jab had anything to do with it.  Probably nothing.  Don't know about India but sounds like someone there pulling a scam.   

All these restrictions have to come to an end sometime.  The world will has come to an end if these restrictions continue. There's no way it would be acceptable to anyone except the North Koreans.   So I think you'll see your boy soon enough.

I'm looking forward to the time when we have close to normality again.  I was so used to jetting off here and there.  Luckily I've just been muddling through but it's becoming impossible to do some jobs without going places.   I think there will be another wave but so long as the vaccine holds up, the effects should be limited.

I've heard that it is rare but some  young men, under age 24 can have this heart problem after a jab.
Forgot which vax was causing the problems, think it was Pfizer, not sure.
Must be linked to a growth hormone or something, just my wild guess.
India, who knows what's really ging on over there.
I'm sure their diet has something to do with so many people getting ill.
Tumeric is good but where on earth do they get any iron in their diets?
I was a bit mean in my comments about so many old people at the eye clinic yesterday.
I swear, there were a min. of 45 people waiting and all but one nervous guy were older then 60.
( He could stop tapping his fingers and feet, I had to move away from him)
Most looked like they would drop from some illness at any moment.canes, wheelchairs, Medical staff pushing people around, it was uncomfortable to see such misery.
My husband asked me why we were even there, we aren't that decrepit , yet.
He is funny, guess ones eyes can go at anytime.
I told him they all wish to,"see the light" before they actually do see it.
Still is irratating how that old ( maybe 70) women was yelling and moaning about going to faint and fall out of her wheelchair. Doubt she was going to crash hard, her chair actually looked a bit comfy...
Just saying most ot these people looked like one bad blow of the wind and they would be over with, hard to believe they lived through a pandemic.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I've heard that it is rare but some  young men, under age 24 can have this heart problem after a jab.
Forgot which vax was causing the problems, think it was Pfizer, not sure.
Must be linked to a growth hormone or something, just my wild guess.
India, who knows what's really ging on over there.
I'm sure their diet has something to do with so many people getting ill.
Tumeric is good but where on earth do they get any iron in their diets?
I was a bit mean in my comments about so many old people at the eye clinic yesterday.
I swear, there were a min. of 45 people waiting and all but one nervous guy were older then 60.
( He could stop tapping his fingers and feet, I had to move away from him)
Most looked like they would drop from some illness at any moment.canes, wheelchairs, Medical staff pushing people around, it was uncomfortable to see such misery.
My husband asked me why we were even there, we aren't that decrepit , yet.
He is funny, guess ones eyes can go at anytime.
I told him they all wish to,"see the light" before they actually do see it.
Still is irratating how that old ( maybe 70) women was yelling and moaning about going to faint and fall out of her wheelchair. Doubt she was going to crash hard, her chair actually looked a bit comfy...
Just saying most ot these people looked like one bad blow of the wind and they would be over with, hard to believe they lived through a pandemic.

Never heard about the heart problems.  The blood clots, yes, heard that.  The risks are really low. It's far more risky to get the disease where there's only a few outcomes - not notice and/or recover fully, die or have long-COVID.  Don't fancy those odds so having the vaccine will put the odds more in favour of not noticing and fully recover.    Back in COVID-land, it looks like death rates from COVID are way down and the vaccine is doing its job.   What's not to like?

India might have higher incidences of disease because of sporadic public health delivery, sanitation issues, overcrowding, lack of PPE, health education, use of traditional medicine and over reliance on cheap quackology.    Just guessing.

It's not unusual to to have lower levels of iron in one's diet and end up with anemia.   I've often been told I've got anemia after blood tests.   Easy to solve though by eating the right things or cheap multi-vitamins.  I don't know why I have slight anemia.  Mrs Fluffy has it too.  Eat more leafy greens. 

Humans are pretty resilient for the most part.  I am amazed how some people seem to survive the most catastrophic injuries in accidents and natural disasters and end up living long lives.  Even if the pandemic raged across the world unchecked, there would always be humans resistant to the disease.  Life just wants to be. 

Incidentally I was reading (for some reason) about whether JFK was alive after large chunks of his brain was spattered across the car.  Some brain injuries can appear disastrous but life clings on even with half the brain gone.  I was quite surprised that it could even be a question.

Re: British Entry Conditions...

Despite the rhetoric of "opening up" on July 19, EU or other non-UK vaccination certificates (i.e. non-UK double jabbed people) are not valid when entering the UK.  Only UK issued certificates are valid for jabbed travellers to re-enter the country.   

Therefore this means there is no change for expats returning to the UK from Amber countries.  Multiple PCR and quarantine still applies.

Not accepting EU or other certificates might be a bargaining position with the EU over quarantine impositions by EU countries - i.e. quarantine dropped on a reciprocal basis when mutual recognition agreed. Might be something to do with Merkel's previous statements.

Transit  looks likely to be unchanged although Virgin and BA are allowing uploads of vaccine certificates as part of the booking process.  It's an experiment/study so only to some destinations in the USA qualify.

My ,"odd but super sweet" friend in Las Vegas, Mona had her brains bashed out of her head by her husband who had tied her in a chair to watch him using the claw hammer on their 3 year old son...
She told me about 7 years back an ex-police officer sat on her Blackjack table and it was slow so they got to chatting. He said over his long career one case really bothered him. A women who's brains he had to scoop up and her son...
She told him a huge thank you and it was her! Talk about a small universe!
I had serious anemia when I was 40 and needed some, "female" surgery due to a tumr ( probably, well 99.(% sure) was caused by the free IUD I was given when my son was born.
I had an bad infection and later had a tumor.
Not cancer but close...
I was told I had such bad anemia I had to wait 3 months for surgery to build my blood back up.'They told me not to take suppliments but to eat natural foods..
The day of surgery I was almost snet home after they did yet once again a test to check my iron levels.
We try to purchase fresh calf liver at least once ever 2 weeks if not soner.
I OD on leavy greens.
It's no jke, I just about passed out at work being so anemic and I hardly could walk 12 feet without wishing to take a rest. A otherwise very fit 40 year old.
My new "fix" is ricola, love it in a fresh salad.
My husband said I'm trying to turn him into a goat!

Received this today (not exactly about COVID):

"The government has launched a national consultation on life after the epidemic. We are living in an age of dangers: we have to face not only epidemics, but also migratory pressures and economic challenges. We would like points of agreement to be established in Hungary on the most important issues in this regard. The consultation serves this purpose.

The questionnaire covers several topics: participants can also express their opinions on the minimum wage of HUF 200,000, the family tax refund, the Child Protection Act and certain migration issues.

The questionnaire can also be returned by post and completed online at:

https://nemzetikonzultacio.kormany.hu/

Your opinion also matters, please fill in the questionnaire yourself!"

Question would be, am I a Hungarian citizen (residence card and all)?

cdw057 wrote:

Question would be, am I a Hungarian citizen (residence card and all)?

There are questions about being a HU citizen over 18 etc.

What's unclear to me is if this is the referendum Orban referred to or if this is just a pre-cursor to an actual referendum?

To me, a referendum means anonymous voting in a physical voting centre, not asking people online.  What box ticking goes on in the voting booth is up to the voter, not the ID checker.   

Or are they just testing the water with this "national consultation"?   

Why even do this?  Why not just do sampling via market surveys using a survey company?

Another odd development from the UK:

Covid: Officers told not to check green and amber arrivals, union says

Sounds like a signal to just go and not be checked when arriving.

Just a travel and COVID update:

We went to Austria yesterday by car.  There was a 30 minute queue at the Hegyeshalom border but we were in a Hungarian car and just waved through with no passport or paperwork checks. 

It's been a couple of years since we were there and they've bought a new covered area for stopping traffic.   The blow up tent and the machine guns have  gone - so different level of "security theatre".

Our first stop was McDs in SCS (Shopping City Sud, near Vienna).   This is where it gets a bit weird.  If you've got a vaccine certificate you have to show it sit in.  Some people are masked up and others not.  Seems a bit of a throw back to days of ye olde Hungarian pandemic measures.  No scans.

In SCS itself, mixed picture - some masked, others not but lots of signs up saying masks should be worn.   No masks in places like H&M or Primark or Ikea stores.  Not a lot of people using hand gel at entrances and it's a bit half-hearted.  It's much more observed here (or used to be more observed).

We went in a supermarket in Wiener Neustadt and you must wear a mask in food shops.   That's a little strange.  Why does it matter in food shops but not in shopping malls?

We also stopped at a Chinese buffet (Sajado) but we weren't asked to prove our status.  Seems a bit hit and miss.   We could of course prove everything but the staff were all Chinese and maybe they couldn't read the documentation.  BTW, the robot server that brings your hot food is interesting - it's always happy and polite.

We came back late via Sopron and there were no checks whatsoever - drove through the border without stopping.  One good news thing is the highway is now more or less finished from Sopron to Gyor.  We could see border guards going into Austria stopped and a few cars but on the Hungarian side, there wasn't anyone at all.

You should have popped in for a brew.

SimCityAT wrote:

You should have popped in for a brew.

For some reason I always thought you lived in Linz.

Talking of tea, one thing I was surprised about was I could get large sized (50 bags) Twinings English Breakfast teabags in Billa Plus for about the same price as the 25 bag version here.  Twinings is an emergency measure in the absence of PG Tips.   My PG Tips ran out a month ago

I saw there were free copies of the newspaper Heute in SCS and it had a 25% discount coupons/stickers at Billa Plus so it was all good.

The Fluffyettes got completely togged out in Primark.   I can't argue with that.  Very cheap clothes and reasonable quality.  Not the same choices as UK Primark but still good. Shame no Primark here.

Remember, if anyone is in Budapest and wants to hang out, I'm here! Let's chat!

SCS is 30 mins away, and Wr Neustadt is 20 mins away.  I hate both places.

I may be reading these complicated rules wrong, but it looks like you would have had to show your vaccination cert at the hotel if you had spent the night.

The rule I do not understand is this:

"The following vaccines (including mix-and-match vaccines) are recognised: BioNtech/Pfizer, AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria and Covishield), Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sinovac, and Sinopharm. (Please be aware that this only applies to entering the country. Sinovac/Sinopharm are not valid for entering hotels, restaurants etc. within Austria.)"

So if you have taken one of the Chinese vaccines you can enter Austria but not stay at a hotel?

https://www.austria.info/en/service-and … -documents

zif wrote:

I may be reading these complicated rules wrong, but it looks like you would have had to show your vaccination cert at the hotel if you had spent the night.

The rule I do not understand is this:

"The following vaccines (including mix-and-match vaccines) are recognised: BioNtech/Pfizer, AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria and Covishield), Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sinovac, and Sinopharm. (Please be aware that this only applies to entering the country. Sinovac/Sinopharm are not valid for entering hotels, restaurants etc. within Austria.)"

So if you have taken one of the Chinese vaccines you can enter Austria but not stay at a hotel?

https://www.austria.info/en/service-and … -documents

You can but you must show a negative test result.

So if you've got the "wrong" vaccine you're treated as unvaccinated and can fall back on one of the other 3G alternatives: show a negative test or that you've recovered from Covid.

That makes sense. Though the different treatment of Chinese vaccines still doesn't.

zif wrote:

So if you've got the "wrong" vaccine you're treated as unvaccinated and can fall back on one of the other 3G alternatives: show a negative test or that you've recovered from Covid.

That makes sense. Though the different treatment of Chinese vaccines still doesn't.

Yes, that's right.

If it's not a vaccine recognised or approved by the EMA (European Medicines Agency) then it's as though you weren't vaccinated i.e. Chinese and Russian ones.  Some countries do however accept it - like Greece. 

Reports I've read in various places are that the Chinese vaccines do not produce enough of an antibody response or even zero response.  So that's why they say that. 

Looks to me like AZ, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson are the only ones worth having (as far as international acceptance  and travel goes).

On our trip to Austria, no-one queried the actual vaccine used (we have AZ and Pfizer amongst us).

SimCityAT wrote:

SCS is 30 mins away, and Wr Neustadt is 20 mins away.  I hate both places.

I don't like SCS myself nor WN. But they aren't bad in small doses - like once every 2 years (in our case). 

SCS annoys me because it's a lot of walking and that bizarre racetrack road system around it.  On the hand they do sell things we don't have here and parking is free.

SCS used to have this ridiculous claim it's the largest shopping centre in Europe.  Largest my eye.  I reckon the Trafford Centre in Manchester is far bigger.   I think mega-malls are looking all doomed anyway. Shopping at home for a lot of stuff is easier. 

And with COVID, no-one wants to be crowded in.  Now I said that SCS was surprisingly empty. Perhaps COVID was the reason.  It was quite busy in Primark and in Ikea.

Vicces1 wrote:

Remember, if anyone is in Budapest and wants to hang out, I'm here! Let's chat!

Were you at the fireworks last night?  It was quite a good show if nationalistic.  The technology was impressive.

BTW, there's the FREE Budaors air show today.

Today, I received the following message from Orban Viktor (not really it was the kormany.hu - my highlighting):


"The Hungarian people have successfully taken up the fight against the coronavirus epidemic in the last year and a half. Together, we managed to break the third wave of the epidemic, and we saved the lives of many thousands of our compatriots thanks to vaccinations. However, many countries around the world are still battling the virus, and new mutations are already banging on our doors.

The Hungarian government therefore prepared Hungary for the fourth wave. Thanks to the successful vaccine purchases, we can vaccinate everyone in Hungary who requests the vaccination. Elderly people who have not been vaccinated so far are visited separately by GPs, and we also make vaccinations available to students in schools. In parallel, we made it possible for all our compatriots to take the third vaccine.

Thanks to our efforts, we were the first in the European Union to vaccinate more than half of the population in Hungary with two vaccinations, so we have the most reliable data on how well vaccination protects against re-infection. According to the Hungarian experience, only one in five hundred people who have received the two vaccines will get the virus.

Please, if there are anyone in your family or acquaintances who have not yet taken the vaccine, be sure to register and take advantage of the vaccination! Only vaccination saved lives, and only vaccination can protect Hungary and the Hungarian people from another, fourth wave of epidemics.

We will succeed together!

Sincerely:

Viktor Orban"

fluffy2560 wrote:

Today, I received the following message from Orban Viktor (not really it was the kormany.hu - my highlighting):


"The Hungarian people have successfully taken up the fight against the coronavirus epidemic in the last year and a half. Together, we managed to break the third wave of the epidemic, and we saved the lives of many thousands of our compatriots thanks to vaccinations. However, many countries around the world are still battling the virus, and new mutations are already banging on our doors.

The Hungarian government therefore prepared Hungary for the fourth wave. Thanks to the successful vaccine purchases, we can vaccinate everyone in Hungary who requests the vaccination. Elderly people who have not been vaccinated so far are visited separately by GPs, and we also make vaccinations available to students in schools. In parallel, we made it possible for all our compatriots to take the third vaccine.

Thanks to our efforts, we were the first in the European Union to vaccinate more than half of the population in Hungary with two vaccinations, so we have the most reliable data on how well vaccination protects against re-infection. According to the Hungarian experience, only one in five hundred people who have received the two vaccines will get the virus.

Please, if there are anyone in your family or acquaintances who have not yet taken the vaccine, be sure to register and take advantage of the vaccination! Only vaccination saved lives, and only vaccination can protect Hungary and the Hungarian people from another, fourth wave of epidemics.

We will succeed together!

Sincerely:

Viktor Orban"

Hmm... Who's that knocking on the door?
70,000 plus peo
ple at the fireworks show with no social distancing and no masks.
Let's see what's next.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

...
Hmm... Who's that knocking on the door?
70,000 plus peo
ple at the fireworks show with no social distancing and no masks.
Let's see what's next.

I hope it's not the Taliban at the door.  Or Orban.  Maybe Santa? 

It was totally packed at the fireworks. No social distancing and no masks.

The airshow at Budaors was busy but there was plenty of distance between people.

Below are some experiences leaving HU and going to the UK on BA (British Airways).

The check in agents need paperwork to show COVID status.  It takes a long time to get through the check in process because of the paperwork chasing. 

You need an antigen test - cost me 7900 HUF to prove I was negative - received that  by e-mail within a few hours of the test (need to print it out to take to the airport).  And you need a booking for a PCR test for when you arrive.  The reference number of the PCR test must be inserted on the Passenger Locator Form before travel.

A Hungarian Immunity certificate is NOT good enough as the check-in agent doesn't have a method to check it.    The EU digital certificates (must be two of them - one for each jab) are acceptable.

Once airside, everything proceeds as normal except British people need to queue up at "All Passports" and one gets a stamp in the passport because of Brexit *groan*.

On arrival (at T5 LHR), there's a bit of a zoo at passports and it seems to me that's where it all starts to have gaps in the procedure.   The queues at passports are horrendous.   They keep you outside the passport area.  This queue snakes all around the building.  Once you get to the head of the queue, you end up in a large  hall with the real passport queue and the e-gates.

If you are not able to use the e-gates, you will be waiting perhaps 1-2h in  a queue.   

There's  a bit of interest that if one has two passports, and didn't use the same passport on the passenger locator form AND your passport is acceptable/valid, it'll just let you through anyway!   I believe if a passenger locator form cannot be found, the default is to give you entry anyway.  They don't have resources to check everyone and that's evident.

Only a few countries can use the e-gates NOT including EU citizens. To me, that seems ridiculous.  I don't see why say, citizens of Korea or Japan can use it and not EU passport holders. I think that's probably the EU itself, not the UK.

Leaving bags and exiting the airport, there's no longer a Blue EU arrival exit - just Red and Green.

It's quite a lot more hassle to travel to the UK and the testing costs are a real disincentive to travel.  It's added at least 30% to the cost of the journey.

In theory, there's no requirement for any testing upon return to Hungary for fully vaccinated people with an EU certificate. UK has no restrictions for people leaving but it remains to be seen if BA will have their own rules for boarding. They do not exactly advertise what they need. Most information is about arriving in the UK and not departing.

Americans can use the e-gates at Heathrow and they're almost magical: scan your passport, look at a camera, the gate swings open, and you're in!

Nobody asking the purpose of your visit, the length of your intended stay, etc. No stress.

Note that you don't get an entry slip at the gate, so you've nothing that shows your entry date. Even if you go to a desk, they no longer stamp passports for Americans (or Japanese and a few others).

zif wrote:

Americans can use the e-gates at Heathrow and they're almost magical: scan your passport, look at a camera, the gate swings open, and you're in!

Nobody asking the purpose of your visit, the length of your intended stay, etc. No stress.

Note that you don't get an entry slip at the gate, so you've nothing that shows your entry date. Even if you go to a desk, they no longer stamp passports for Americans (or Japanese and a few others).

Yes, that's right.  Quite a few countries - Australia, NZ, Canada, Singapore etc - are included.   The only thing is that the chip has to be working otherwise you get routed to a desk for further inspection.  There was a time at LHR when the e-gates didn't work very well but they've become far more reliable in the past few years.  I can see more and more countries being added eventually.  Be bilateral arrangements.   Thank god they got rid of the landing cards.  That was an absurd waste of resources.

As for the purpose of one's visit, it's none of their business!

Update on entry to HU from the UK (post-vaccination and Brexit):

At LHR, you need all the usual paperwork plus either a PCR test or the full EU vaccine certificate to get on the plane.  Baggage tags no longer have the EU green stripe edging due to Brexit.

Arrival in  HU, there's the usual rotund couple of police officers asking for PCR test papers.  As I have the HU card,  I just showed my HU Immunity Certificate and was waved immediately through. Of course the card doesn't show if you have had two vaccinations so is not a visual confirmation of more complete immunity.

At the passport desk, I showed my HU registration card (valid until the end of 2021), and my HU immunity certificate. My passport was stamped and I was through in less than a minute. Passport stamping is back again post-Brexit.  If one was travelling lot then pages would be full up fast.  For permanent residents, I don''t see  the need to stamp passports.

So very smooth to get through and far more efficient process here in HU than the UK (that's an unusual thing to say).

The main difference in BUD  arrivals is the Customs was out in force but I didn't see them stop anyone - just the usual intimidation.  At the same time plane from Turkey had arrived (full of HU tourists returning home) so hardly worth their time.

Bags took a long time so I reckon they'd had the sniffer dogs on them - UK treated as any other country.

Does anyone here have any experience in using a UK  NHS issued vaccination record/card to obtain a free EU format vaccination certificate at the HU Kormanyablak?

Reason I ask is that  one of my kids will come here to HU end of October and we may go to one or more of the surrounding countries.  It would be easier if we all had EU certificates.   As far as I know UK NHS certificates are generally not recognised here but it depends on the country if they would be acceptable.

Also, has anyone WITHOUT a TAJ card successfully managed to get the COVID booster shot?   

Mrs F says it looks like the same situation as before - no appointments possible, just turn up for it and hope for the best.

All I can say is that I was able to get the HU immunity card at my local Government Window office by providing my HU registration card and the UK vaccination appointment card. The officials were not interested/would not accept  the UK app info I had on my phone. This was back in June.  Ay be thi vs have moved on ?

fluffy2560 wrote:

Does anyone here have any experience in using a UK  NHS issued vaccination record/card to obtain a free EU format vaccination certificate at the HU Kormanyablak?

Reason I ask is that  one of my kids will come here to HU end of October and we may go to one or more of the surrounding countries.  It would be easier if we all had EU certificates.   As far as I know UK NHS certificates are generally not recognised here but it depends on the country if they would be acceptable.

Also, has anyone WITHOUT a TAJ card successfully managed to get the COVID booster shot?   

Mrs F says it looks like the same situation as before - no appointments possible, just turn up for it and hope for the best.

I know some have been able to do it in Austria, I will dig up the info for you Mr Fluffy and get back to you in the day.

Keith R wrote:

All I can say is that I was able to get the HU immunity card at my local Government Window office by providing my HU registration card and the UK vaccination appointment card. The officials were not interested/would not accept  the UK app info I had on my phone. This was back in June.  Ay be thi vs have moved on ?

Interesting.  What was it about the UK App that wasn't acceptable? 

The HU immunity card is useless at any airport (even in Budapest) but the EU certificates were fine everywhere.  That's because (as the check in agent told me) the card itself doesn't show the vaccination status.  The EU certificates do show status that BUT  rather oddly (at least to me) they don't actually show the batch number.  At least, not that I could find on there.

BTW, my visitor is not a HU resident and will be here a week.  So getting a card isn't so important as the EU certificate which is produced on demand.  If one has an EU certificate, then I think it's straight in here without a test. I believe the EU certificates are valid until July 2022 which would be handy for future visits.

I have a Green Pass on my mobile, it clearly states on it not to be used for travel. But I know a lot of people that have used it and it was accepted at the airport. What a minefield.

SimCityAT wrote:

I have a Green Pass on my mobile, it clearly states on it not to be used for travel. But I know a lot of people that have used it and it was accepted at the airport. What a minefield.

UK rules are changing too on the  4th October.  Even more confusion is bound to follow.

I reckon scrap all the pre- and post-flight testing and go on the certificates only.

BA are pushing an app to "approve" certificates pre-flight to save time at the airport BUT it's from a third party and from what I've read, it hardly works and is really OTT on intrusive questioning and uploading of details. I decided not to use it.

fluffy2560 wrote:

UK rules are changing too on the  4th October.  Even more confusion is bound to follow.

I reckon scrap all the pre- and post-flight testing and go on the certificates only.

BA are pushing an app to "approve" certificates pre-flight to save time at the airport BUT it's from a third party and from what I've read, it hardly works and is really OTT on intrusive questioning and uploading of details. I decided not to use it.

This only applies to England!

Wales, Scotland and NI have different rules. Which is crazy. I can fly into Cardiff and still do these tests. But if I fly into Bristol I don't.

SimCityAT wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

UK rules are changing too on the  4th October.  Even more confusion is bound to follow.

I reckon scrap all the pre- and post-flight testing and go on the certificates only.

BA are pushing an app to "approve" certificates pre-flight to save time at the airport BUT it's from a third party and from what I've read, it hardly works and is really OTT on intrusive questioning and uploading of details. I decided not to use it.

This only applies to England!

Wales, Scotland and NI have different rules. Which is crazy. I can fly into Cardiff and still do these tests. But if I fly into Bristol I don't.

I didn't know that.

It's literally all over the place as a policy. 

I think Wales is implementing COVID passports too.  I am sure they have good reasons but makes border dwellers suffer.

We recently travelled back from the Netherlands to the UK on the Rotterdam > Hull ferry; we had to take the PCR test 3 days before we arrived in Hull; complete the online passenger information form; then a final test 2 days after arrival, the only thing of note was it was bloody expensive; had it not been for a family bereavement, we wouldn't have travelled.

The rules were the same had we been travelling to Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland; we both have the NHS travel app.  Unlike our previous trips, we heard nothing from Test and Trace after we got back; Mrs C was back nursing the next morning; she was tested at work.

Cynic wrote:

We recently travelled back from the Netherlands to the UK on the Rotterdam > Hull ferry; we had to take the PCR test 3 days before we arrived in Hull; complete the online passenger information form; then a final test 2 days after arrival, the only thing of note was it was bloody expensive; had it not been for a family bereavement, we wouldn't have travelled.

The rules were the same had we been travelling to Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland; we both have the NHS travel app.  Unlike our previous trips, we heard nothing from Test and Trace after we got back; Mrs C was back nursing the next morning; she was tested at work.

Sorry to hear about the bereavement - rest in peace.

I used to do that Rotterdam-Hull trip quite a lot.  North Sea Ferries.  Like a little cruise.  Certainly helped with driving from Dover to the North West.

After my UK trip, I got my own PCR results for inbound Day 0-2 on the day I left (outbound) back to here a week later.  It was over the late August bank holiday.  Overall it was rather useless, too little, too late and £55 down.   

Makes me wonder if I'd proved positive on the day of departure if I'd just have come back anyway.  Would have been irresponsible to do that I suppose.  Seems to me unlikely I would have been positive if double jabbed.  Of course there are false positives too.