The Spanish authorities announced last week that the country would no longer apply COVID-19 entry rules for travellers from the European Union/Schengen Area but did not make any exemptions for those travelling from the United Kingdom. This means that all travellers from the UK are still subject to COVID rules when reaching Spain.

Passengers (except for children under 12 years of age and those in international transit) arriving from countries that do NOT belong to the European Union or are NOT considered Schengen associated countries must present one of these documents in order to pass the health controls on arrival in Spain: An EU Digital COVID Certificate or EU equivalent of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative certificate of an active infection diagnostic test or a recovery certificate after having this disease.

• A vaccination certificate is considered valid when reaching Spain only if the document proves that the holder completed primary vaccination no more than 270 days ago or received a booster shot. Nonetheless, certain exemptions apply. The Spanish authorities have noted that the vaccination certificate of persons under 18 does not have an expiry date.
• UK travellers who are able to present a valid vaccination certificate can enter Spain without needing to undergo testing or quarantine regardless of their reason for travel.
• As for the recovery certificate, the authorities note that such a document is only recognised only if it indicates that the holder recovered from the COVID-19 disease in the last six months.

Travellers from the UK who do not hold a valid vaccination or recovery certificate can also enter Spain without being required to follow additional rules, provided that they present a negative COVID-19 test result.

• Spain accepts both PCR tests (taken within 72 hours before arrival) and rapid antigen tests (taken within 24 hours before arrival).

Even though Brits are still required to follow entry rules when travelling to Spain, they can currently travel restriction-free to several EU/Schengen Area countries. Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland have dropped their entry rules for all travellers.

Nationals of the UK can enter these countries without being required to show any COVID proof, regardless of the reason for their trip.