What Is The EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate?

The EU Digital Covid Certificates began to be issued on July 1, 2021.

The aim of the digital certificate is to facilitate travel between each of the 27 EU Member States plus Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein and demonstrates whether one or more of the conditions below has been met.

This allows the user to avoid extensive airport controls, quarantine or additional testing.

The certificate demonstrates whether a person has:

• been vaccinated against COVID-19
• received a negative test result
• recovered from COVID-19

It is important to understand that the certificates are not a precondition of free movement within the EU. The digital certificates are only being used to facilitate travel between member states.

If you are unable to produce the certificate when travelling, you will still be able to enter the country (subject to any general restrictions that may be in force) although it may take a little longer to be processed at the border.

Travel documents such as a valid passport are still a requirement, regardless of whether you have a digital certificate or not.

What format does the EU Digital Certificate come in?

The certificates are free to obtain and come in both electronic and paper formats. The electronic version is provided in the form of an app that can be downloaded to a smartphone.

The digital version includes a QR code that contains essential information and includes a digital signature for added security and authenticity.

When travelling to another EU country, the QR code is scanned at the destination to determine the user's vaccination status, whether a negative test has been performed or if they have previously recovered from the virus.

Both formats are secure, reliable and are valid across all EU member states including Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. The certificates are issued in both the language of the origin country in addition to English.

What about personal data and privacy?

The certificate only contains key information that is relevant to COVID-19 including name, date of birth, when the certificate was issued and any other limited information such as vaccination status, test results or recovery.

Any personal data remains on the app and cannot be extracted and stored by the destination authorities.

Only the validity and authenticity of the certificate is checked. All private health information is retained by the issuing member state.

How can I get an EU Digital Certificate?

Spain was one of the first European countries to start issuing the certificates and began to do so on June 7, prior to the official launch date of July 1, established by the European Union.

Anyone who resides in Spain and who would like to obtain a digital certificate must do so via their own regional health authorities.

Below we list the official web pages for each Autonomous Community which detail how you can obtain your EU Digital Certificate:

Andalucia – ClicSalud
Aragon – Salud Informa
Asturias – SESPA Portal
Balearic Islands – IBSalut
Canary Islands – Gobierno de Canarias
Cantabria – Servicio Cántabro de Salud
Castilla La Mancha – SESCAM
Castilla y León – Junta de Castilla y León
Catalunya – La Meva Salut
Ceuta – Sede Electrónica Ceuta
Extremadura – SES Extremadura
Galicia – Sergas eSaúde
La Rioja – Rioja Salud
Madrid – Comunidad de Madrid
Melilla – Sede Electrónica Melilla
Murcia – Región de Murcia
Navarra – Carpeta Personal de Salud
Pais Vasco – Euskadi
Valencian Community – GVA Coronavirus Portal

You can also view an interactive map for each autonomous region at the following official link:

Interactive Map - Ministerio de Sanidad

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