REMINDER: What are the Covid travel rules between Spain and UK in June?
Heading to the Spanish sun this summer? With pandemic rules and the added stress of travel chaos across Europe, here's everything you need to know about travel between the UK and Spain this summer.
What are the latest rules for entry to Spain from the UK?
Spain recently scrapped the need for travellers from the EU to show a Covid pass, meaning that EU/Schengen citizens and residents travelling to Spain no longer need to present any other proof of vaccination, testing or recovery to enter the country.
However, this has not been extended to Brits and travellers from other non-EU countries. Read on to find out what rules are still in place for travel between the UK and Spain.
On May 21st 2022, the Spanish government opened the country up to unvaccinated non-EU/Schengen tourists for the first time in more than two years.
That means those from the UK who haven’t been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or recovered from the illness in the last six months can now go on holiday to Spain, if they show proof of a negative Covid-19 test.
Vaccinated
Those who are fully vaccinated can enter Spain without the need to show a negative Covid-19 test or quarantine, regardless of the reason for travel. Your vaccination status must meet the Spanish authorities’ validity period requirements.
At least 14 days must have passed since being fully vaccinated before arrival in Spain. If you completed your vaccination schedule was more than 270 days (nine months) ago, you must also be able to show proof of having received a booster jab.
The additional dose needs to be visible on vaccination passes or certificates.
READ ALSO: Do I need a booster dose to travel to Spain in June?
The booster shot rule is applicable to UK tourists but not Spanish nationals, EU citizens and their non-EU family members or British residents in Spain.
Instead, if more than 270 days have passed since their initial Covid-19 vaccination, they must show proof of a negative PCR taken within the last 72 hours, a negative antigen test taken within 24 hours before travel to Spain or a medical certificate proving recovery from Covid-19 in the last six months.
For UK tourists heading to Spain who received their initial Covid-19 vaccination within the last 270 days, proof of a booster shot isn't required.
Aside from the two-shot Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines and single-shot Johnson & Johnson (or any other EMA or WHO-approved vaccine), Spain considers people who have recovered from Covid-19 and then been given one dose to be fully immunised.
Those under 12 don't require any proof of vaccination or a negative test. Fully vaccinated children aged 12 to 15 are able to get an NHS Covid Pass letter for travel to Spain.
Spain has dropped the requirement for travellers from the UK to fill out its Health Control Form. This means that you can now show your NHS certificate upon arrival at the airport instead. Read here to check the new health form rules.
READ ALSO: A step-by-step guide on how to fill out Spain’s Health Control Form
Unvaccinated
If you are neither fully vaccinated nor have recovered from Covid-19, you can now visit Spain by providing a negative PCR test, which must be carried out in the 72 hours prior to departure to Spain, or a negative antigen test, 24 hours prior to departure.
Your negative result can be uploaded to your NHS Covid Pass, so that you can show it on your smartphone before you board and when you arrive in Spain.
Covid tests accepted are those authorised by the European Commission and must have been performed by healthcare professionals, therefore self-tests are not valid.
Recovered
Spain’s Interior Ministry states that those who have recovered from Covid-19 in the past six months can visit Spain, even if they haven’t been fully vaccinated against Covid or if their Covid vaccination certificate has expired because they haven’t had a booster shot.
READ ALSO: Spain allows entry of non-EU travellers if they have recovery certificate
According to Spain’s Health Ministry, recovery certificates accepted as valid are those “issued at least 11 days after the first positive NAAT or RAT, and up to a maximum of 180 days after the date of sampling”.
NAATs – nucleic acid amplification tests – are usually PCR tests whereas RATs stand for rapid antigen tests. The Covid test must have been carried out by an accredited laboratory; self-test kits are not valid.
Rules and restrictions on the ground in Spain
Most of Spain's Covid restrictions have been relaxed, however you may find a few still in place. These vary a lot between different regions, so it will depend on where you travel to within Spain. These could include capacity limits at certain venues.
Face masks are no longer required outdoors or indoors, but they are still required on public transport and inside hospitals and other health centres.
READ ALSO: What are Spain’s specific mask rules for travel?
Travel chaos
As most Covid-19 travel restrictions have been lifted across Europe, travel is most certainly back on this summer.
This boom in demand has caused travel choas across the continent with staff shortages, strikes, flight cancellations and delays. Some airlines and airports that shed staff during the pandemic are having trouble rehiring employees, as well as facing demands for wage hikes and better working conditions.
READ ALSO: More travel chaos looming as Ryanair's Spain staff set to strike
There could be more travel disruptions to come as budget airline Ryanair cabin crew are set to strike from June 24th to July 2nd. They aim to push the Irish airline to reach a deal that guarantees decent work conditions for all personnel.
Ryanair is the only international airline that does not have a collective bargaining agreement that defines workplace conditions for its Spanish employees, according to the trade unions.
Despite the fact that Brexit granted UK holidaymakers this new third-country status in 2021, it’s only now in 2022 that the travel consequences of it are being felt as tourism starts to really take off after the Covid-19 pandemic.
READ MORE: What Britons could be asked to prove when visiting Spain
As a result, a common scene at Spain’s main airports in recent weeks has been huge crowds of travellers (many of them British) queuing for extended periods of time in order to get their passport stamped, rather than swiftly scanning them via airport e-gates. Thousands of passengers have missed their flights as a result.
Fortunately, Spain’s Interior Ministry has been willing to act relatively quickly to address the bottlenecks that are occurring, with two measures which should lead to fewer holdups (click link below).
READ ALSO: Brits through e-gates and more border guards - How Spain is tackling airport chaos
What are the new rules for travel from Spain to the UK?
The UK dropped all its Covid-19 entry restrictions from March 18th.
This means that no one entering the UK from Spain or any other country will need to take any Covid tests or even complete a passenger locator form.
The changes apply to both vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers, meaning that those in Spain who are not fully vaccinated, will not have to take pre-departure tests or a day 2 post-arrival test.
Mask mandates in the UK have also been dropped. The UK’s biggest airport London Heathrow has said that while mask-wearing is still encouraged, it will no longer be mandatory. Airlines British Airways, Tui, Jet2 and Virgin Atlantic have also stated that they have dropped mask rules under certain circumstances. However, if you're travelling to and from Spain, you will still have to wear a mask on the plane.
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Those who are fully vaccinated can enter Spain without the need to show a negative Covid-19 test or quarantine, regardless of the reason for travel. Your vaccination status must meet the Spanish authorities’ validity period requirements.
At least 14 days must have passed since being fully vaccinated before arrival in Spain. If you completed your vaccination schedule was more than 270 days (nine months) ago, you must also be able to show proof of having received a booster jab.
The additional dose needs to be visible on vaccination passes or certificates.
READ ALSO: Do I need a booster dose to travel to Spain in June?
For UK tourists heading to Spain who received their initial Covid-19 vaccination within the last 270 days, proof of a booster shot isn't required.
Aside from the two-shot Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines and single-shot Johnson & Johnson (or any other EMA or WHO-approved vaccine), Spain considers people who have recovered from Covid-19 and then been given one dose to be fully immunised.
Those under 12 don't require any proof of vaccination or a negative test. Fully vaccinated children aged 12 to 15 are able to get an NHS Covid Pass letter for travel to Spain.
Spain has dropped the requirement for travellers from the UK to fill out its Health Control Form. This means that you can now show your NHS certificate upon arrival at the airport instead. Read here to check the new health form rules.
READ ALSO: A step-by-step guide on how to fill out Spain’s Health Control Form
If you are neither fully vaccinated nor have recovered from Covid-19, you can now visit Spain by providing a negative PCR test, which must be carried out in the 72 hours prior to departure to Spain, or a negative antigen test, 24 hours prior to departure.
Your negative result can be uploaded to your NHS Covid Pass, so that you can show it on your smartphone before you board and when you arrive in Spain.
Covid tests accepted are those authorised by the European Commission and must have been performed by healthcare professionals, therefore self-tests are not valid.
Spain’s Interior Ministry states that those who have recovered from Covid-19 in the past six months can visit Spain, even if they haven’t been fully vaccinated against Covid or if their Covid vaccination certificate has expired because they haven’t had a booster shot.
READ ALSO: Spain allows entry of non-EU travellers if they have recovery certificate
According to Spain’s Health Ministry, recovery certificates accepted as valid are those “issued at least 11 days after the first positive NAAT or RAT, and up to a maximum of 180 days after the date of sampling”.
NAATs – nucleic acid amplification tests – are usually PCR tests whereas RATs stand for rapid antigen tests. The Covid test must have been carried out by an accredited laboratory; self-test kits are not valid.
Rules and restrictions on the ground in Spain
Most of Spain's Covid restrictions have been relaxed, however you may find a few still in place. These vary a lot between different regions, so it will depend on where you travel to within Spain. These could include capacity limits at certain venues.
Face masks are no longer required outdoors or indoors, but they are still required on public transport and inside hospitals and other health centres.
READ ALSO: What are Spain’s specific mask rules for travel?
Travel chaos
As most Covid-19 travel restrictions have been lifted across Europe, travel is most certainly back on this summer.
This boom in demand has caused travel choas across the continent with staff shortages, strikes, flight cancellations and delays. Some airlines and airports that shed staff during the pandemic are having trouble rehiring employees, as well as facing demands for wage hikes and better working conditions.
READ ALSO: More travel chaos looming as Ryanair's Spain staff set to strike
There could be more travel disruptions to come as budget airline Ryanair cabin crew are set to strike from June 24th to July 2nd. They aim to push the Irish airline to reach a deal that guarantees decent work conditions for all personnel.
Ryanair is the only international airline that does not have a collective bargaining agreement that defines workplace conditions for its Spanish employees, according to the trade unions.
Despite the fact that Brexit granted UK holidaymakers this new third-country status in 2021, it’s only now in 2022 that the travel consequences of it are being felt as tourism starts to really take off after the Covid-19 pandemic.
READ MORE: What Britons could be asked to prove when visiting Spain
As a result, a common scene at Spain’s main airports in recent weeks has been huge crowds of travellers (many of them British) queuing for extended periods of time in order to get their passport stamped, rather than swiftly scanning them via airport e-gates. Thousands of passengers have missed their flights as a result.
Fortunately, Spain’s Interior Ministry has been willing to act relatively quickly to address the bottlenecks that are occurring, with two measures which should lead to fewer holdups (click link below).
READ ALSO: Brits through e-gates and more border guards - How Spain is tackling airport chaos
What are the new rules for travel from Spain to the UK?
The UK dropped all its Covid-19 entry restrictions from March 18th.
This means that no one entering the UK from Spain or any other country will need to take any Covid tests or even complete a passenger locator form.
The changes apply to both vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers, meaning that those in Spain who are not fully vaccinated, will not have to take pre-departure tests or a day 2 post-arrival test.
Mask mandates in the UK have also been dropped. The UK’s biggest airport London Heathrow has said that while mask-wearing is still encouraged, it will no longer be mandatory. Airlines British Airways, Tui, Jet2 and Virgin Atlantic have also stated that they have dropped mask rules under certain circumstances. However, if you're travelling to and from Spain, you will still have to wear a mask on the plane.
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