EU travellers

On April 6th, the Spanish government dropped the requirement for those travellers with an EU Digital Certificate to fill out its Health Control Form before entering the country. If you are an EU citizen, you must show your EU Digital Covid Certificate in order to enter Spain. 

The EU Digital Certificate shows one of three things:

• That you have been vaccinated against Covid-19. According to the Spanish government, your vaccination certificate must have been issued at least 14 days after the date of administration of the complete course of vaccination. However, if you received your last vaccine does more than 270 days (nine months) ago, your certificate must show the administration of a booster dose as well. 
• You have a negative Covid test result. The diagnostic certificate must be a negative PCR or similar test (NAAT-type test) issued less than 72 hours prior to arrival in Spain, or a negative antigen test, issued less than 24 hours before arriving in Spain.
• You have a recovery certificate from Covid-19. The recovery certificate must be issued by the relevant authorities or medical service at least 11 days after the first positive test result. The certificate will no longer be valid 180 days after the date of your test. 

Spanish citizens and residents

If you are a Spanish national returning to Spain or a resident of Spain coming back after a trip, you can show your EU Digital Covid Certificate to enter the country. 

This shows that you have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, have a negative test result or that you have a recovery certificate. 

Spanish residents and nationals who haven’t been vaccinated against Covid-19 can enter with a negative Covid-19 test. This can be a NAAT or PCR test obtained 72 hours before arrival in Spain or an antigen test, taken within the last 24 hours. 

If you have an EU Digital Certificate or equivalent you will not have to complete Spain’s Travel Health Form. 

READ ALSO: Spain reduces validity of antigen tests for travellers from 48 to 24 hours

Non-EU travellers

The Spanish government on April 30th extended again temporary restrictions for non-essential travel from most third countries, until at least May 15th. That means non-EU/Schengen adults who reside outside of the EU and haven’t been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or recently recovered from the illness cannot go on holiday to Spain until at least the middle of the month.

If you are from one of the 37 non-EU countries which have joined the EU Digital COVID Certificate system, meaning that their equivalent certificates are accepted in the EU under the same conditions as the EU Digital COVID Certificate, as of April 6th you do not have to fill out Spain’s Health Control Form. Passengers from all other countries must complete it.

The list of countries with equivalent certificates includes places such as the UK, New Zealand, Israel, Singapore and Malyasia, but does not include the US, Canada or Australia. Click here to see the full list of countries included here or to check the validity of your certificate click here. 

The form can be found here if you do need to complete it. 

READ ALSO: Spain allows entry of non-EU travellers if they have recovery certificate

Unvaccinated non-EU/Schengen tourists aged 18 or over who do not have a recovery certificate can still not enter Spain. 

Children under 12 years of age are not required to present a health certificate of any kind.

Unvaccinated 12 to 17-year-olds from non-EU countries are allowed to enter Spain if they present a negative PCR test. 

Vaccine certificates must show:

• Your full name
• Date of vaccination
• Type of vaccine
• Number of doses that have been administered
• The issuing country
• The organisation that issued the vaccine certificate

The Spanish government states that the vaccine certificate must have been issued at least 14 days after the date of the final dose of the complete vaccination course.

If your last vaccine dose was administered more than 270 days (nine months) ago though, it must also show a booster shot. 

Spain accepts vaccines that have been approved by the European Medicines Agency EMA.

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. 

You may also enter Spain without being fully vaccinated or having a recovery certificate if you meet one of the Spanish government’s very specific list of ‘exceptional circumstances’. This includes those that have a visa or residency for an EU country, are a student in an EU country or are professional health workers. The full list of exceptions can be found here. 

READ ALSO: What are Spain’s new mask rules for travel?

Only those travelling from a country that is deemed safe with a low incidence Covid-19 can enter Spain without the need for a negative test or a vaccination certificate. The list of these countries changes regularly, but currently includes China (incl. Hong Kong), Macao, Taiwan, Bahrain, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Peru, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay. You can check the list here. 

The Spanish government states that those travelling from a country deemed high-risk must also present a negative Covid test, along with a vaccination or recovery certificate. No countries are currently on the high-risk list, but it is updated regularly and can be found here. 

With regards to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the EU has now barred all Russian-owned, Russian-controlled and Russian-registered planes from all of its airspace, including the airspace over Spain. They will not be able to take off or land anywhere in the EU, or fly over EU airspace. This includes commercial airlines and private jets.

All flight connections between Spain and Ukraine have been cancelled, and Ukraine has also closed its airspace. There is, however, no travel ban on Russia, so people can still travel between Spain and Russia on either a non-Russian airline or by road, rail or sea. 

Russia has retaliated by closing its airspace to airlines from 36 countries, including Spain, so Russian tourists may not be able to fly home again and may have to resort to other modes of transport. 

Commercial airlines are also avoiding airspace around Moldova and Belarus, following Russia’s invasion.

As non-EU nationals tourists from Russia must be fully vaccinated or have a recovery certificate in order to travel to Spain, although Spain does not recognise the Sputnik vaccine. 

British

Travellers from the UK follow the same rules as the rest of the third countries, meaning that those over the age of 18 can only enter Spain if they have been fully vaccinated or have a recovery certificate from the last six months. Those aged between 12 and 17 (who have not yet turned 18) can enter by showing a negative PCR test.

It’s not necessary to fill in a Health Control Form, you can show your NHS digital Covid pass to prove that you’ve been vaccinated or recovered instead. 

Read here to find out the full details for travelling from the UK to Spain. 

READ ALSO – TRAVEL: Spain to allow unvaccinated UK teens to enter with PCR 

Americans

In order to enter Spain, those aged 18 and over who are travelling from the US must show proof that they are fully vaccinated and have received the last required dose of their Covid-19 vaccine no less than 14 days, and no more than 270 days (nine months), prior to arrival in Spain.

Like those from other non-EU countries, they can now also show a recovery certificate issued in the last six months. Those aged 12-17 can enter by showing a negative PCR test. Read here to find out the full details for Americans travelling to Spain.