HEALTHPLAN MAGAZINE

From July 2, Spain’s entry rules for anyone travelling from the UK will change.

Anyone from the UK who wants to enter Spain from and including that date will be required to provide proof of being fully vaccinated or have a negative covid test.

Throughout the month of June, British holidaymakers and returning residents didn’t need to show any evidence of their Covid health status but on June 28, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that this would all change on July 2. An official state bulletin was then published the very next day, confirming a more detailed outline of the new rules.

The decision was made to tighten the entry restrictions by the Spanish government, as the UK sees an increase of the Delta variant.

Sánchez’s announcement came just days after the UK government decided to include the Balearic Islands on its ‘green travel list’, which allows returning British tourists to no longer quarantine for ten days on their return. However, the rest of Spain will remain on the amber list until the next review.

According to the UK’s government website, Spain will require that anyone travelling to the country from the UK from July 2, 2021, must provide one of the following (excluding children under the age of 12)

• Proof of being fully vaccinated, at least 14 days prior to arriving in Spain (the dates of vaccinations must be stated) and the vaccine must be authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

At present, there are four EMA-approved vaccines and they are Pfizer, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

• A negative COVID-19 test taken within 48 hours (not 72 hours as previously) prior to arrival (e.g. PCR, TMA, LAMP, NEAR)

Documents can be in either English, French, German or Spanish and can be in paper or electronic format. All documents must specify the name and surname of the passenger.

Spain will also accept vaccines that have been “authorised by the European Medicines Agency or those that have completed the process of emergency use by the World Health Organisation”.

According to the WHO website, the vaccines listed for emergency use are currently the Chinese-developed Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccinations.

Vaccination documents must also include;

• Name and surname of the vaccinated person.
• Name of vaccine administered.
• Date of vaccination, stating the date of the last administered dose.
• Number of doses administered/complete vaccination treatment.
• The country the vaccine was administered in.
• Identification of the issuing body that provided the vaccination certificate.

According to the Spain Travel Health website “the diagnostic test document should include the date of sampling, identification and contact details of the centre performing the analysis, technique used and negative result, done within 48 hours prior to arrival in Spain.”

• Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT), which detect the genetic material of the virus (e.g. PCR, TMA, LAMP, NEAR, etc.).
• Rapid antigen detection tests (RAT), which detect the presence of virus antigens.

The accepted tests are those approved by the European Commission.

All overseas visitors, no matter what country they travel from, must complete a health control form on the Spain travel health website. This will give the visitor a document with a QR code that they can show at the airport. This is available in paper or digital format, or both.

Bear in mind that Brits cannot use the EU-wide Digital Covid Certificate to travel to Spain, nor do they have the option of showing a certificate of recovery from Covid-19 as a means of proving their health status.

As the majority of Spain remains on the UK’s ‘amber’ travel list it is important to remember that on returning to the UK, you must follow the amber list rules if you’ve spent time in any of Spain’s regions, except for the Balearic Islands as they are now on the ‘green’ list.

The UK government website states that ‘If you are coming from an amber-list country, even if you’ve been vaccinated, you need to follow these rules before you enter England’.

• Take a COVID-19 test before flying back to the UK
• Book and pay for day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 travel test - to be taken after arrival.
• Complete a passenger locator form

On arrival in England you must:

• Quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days
• Take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8

Children aged 4 and under do not need to take the day 2 or day 8 test.

It is possible to end quarantine early if you pay for a private COVID-19 test through the Test to Release Scheme.

Covid tests are available for you to take at most of Spain’s main airports and many labs and private health clinics in towns and cities offer antigen tests.

Prices for the tests vary from 35 - 75 euros, depending on the clinic or lab offering the antigen test and also the region in which you are in.

PCR test prices in Spain can range from 90 - 180 euros. Try googling “precio de prueba PCR” (price of PCR test) and then your location to find the best price at nearby clinics and labs.

From June 26, new face mask rules in Spain will come into effect with face coverings no longer required outdoors if a 1.5-metre distance can be maintained. The carrying of a face mask will remain compulsory at all times.

Source

https://www.thelocal.es/20210521/explained-what-are-the-new-rules-for-travel-between-spain-and-the-uk/