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COVID-19 digital health certificate with flip flops, towel and mask Spain Reopens To Fully Vaccinated Non-EU Travellers Spain News

From Monday, June 7, Spain will once again allow visitors from outside of the EU and Schengen Zone to enter the country, providing they can prove they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Travellers must have a certificate to prove that they have had either both vaccinations, with the second vaccine received at least 14 days before travelling, or that they have had the single dose of the Janssen vaccine which also gives full protection.

These new rules were published in Spain’s BOE (Boletín Oficial del Estado), on Saturday, June 5.

In the meantime, non-vaccinated Europeans, who have already been allowed to enter Spain with a negative PCR test that has been taken within 72 hours of travel, will instead, from June 7, be able to take a cheaper antigen test.

Spain officially lifted its restriction for UK visitors on Monday, May 24. This allowed all non-essential travel, without the need to quarantine or provide proof of test results. A health declaration form was however required.

Restrictions have also been lifted on cruise ships. They will once again be allowed to enter Spanish ports from June 7.

Although these are the new rules in Spain, at the latest review of travel destinations the UK government recently removed Spain from its ‘green list’ and placed it firmly on its ‘amber list’.

On Saturday, Spain’s Health Minister Carolina Darias tweeted: “As of Monday, passengers coming to Spain will be permitted entry with a PCR, antigen test or certificate of vaccination or recovery. The excellent vaccination data will allow us to continue moving forward. Spain is a safe destination.

And on Friday Spain’s Tourism Minister, Reyes Maroto said that she did not understand the UK government’s refusal to allow certain areas of Spain where Covid-19 cases are low, like the Canary Islands, to not be on its green list.

As a result of the uncertainty, major travel operator TUI has taken the decision to cancel all of its flights to Spain until June 13.

We will all have to wait for another three weeks before the UK government once again revises its decision on travel destinations. This is valuable time for those in the hospitality sector, who are hoping they can recover some of the losses seen in 2020 when tourist arrivals fell by a massive 80% compared to 2019. This is the lowest figure registered since 1969.

The Spanish government has set a target to draw in 45 million tourists by the end of 2021. But according to official statistics, up until the end of April, the country had only seen 1.8 million.

So what exactly will this new certificate look like?

Under the new rules that come into force today, all visitors travelling from outside of the Schengen free-travel area will need to use the EU’s Digital Covid Certificate. This will come into use from July 1.

The certificate will confirm whether the holder has been fully vaccinated or if they have taken an antigen or PCR test. It will also state whether or not the traveller has already had Covid-19 and recovered.

As previously, anyone visiting Spain will have to fill out the travel health control form. This can be done on Spain’s Travel Health (SpTH) app or website www.spth.gob.es

The Spanish government has stated: "Two control points will be established in ports and airports. Those who come from countries or areas not included in the list of risk countries will have access to a quick control with the QR code obtained through SpTH. In addition, once the EU Covid Digital Certificate comes into force, those who are holders of this document will also have access to this quick control.

"Those who come from areas that are included in the list of countries at risk will have to undergo a random control, which will take into account their place of origin and the level of incidence. In the validation of the vaccination certificate, Spain will only accept the vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as those recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO).

"These procedures will be mandatory for everyone whose final destination is Spain, as well as for those who are in transit. The latter will not be subject to control; the purpose, in this case, is to increase the international traceability of the virus. All persons under 6 years of age will be exempt from these procedures."

The vaccinations that are accepted by the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization are Janssen, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sinopharm and Sinovac-Coronavac.

According to the BOE publication, minors travelling with fully vaccinated adults will also be allowed to enter Spain.

Source
https://www.spainenglish.com/2021/06/07/spain-open-to-fully-vaccinated-travellers-from-outside-eu/
https://english.elpais.com/society/2021-06-07/spain-reopens-to-global-tourists-provided-they-can-prove-they-have-been-vaccinated-against-covid-19.html