Spain: The Only EU Country With Remaining COVID Restrictions

More than two years into the pandemic, Europe is finally open for tourism with no restrictions – or most of it.

It certainly feels like the pandemic is over, especially now that a majority of countries worldwide have decided it is time to move forward by scrapping COVID-related travel restrictions.

Sadly, not the whole of Europe is ready to leave Covid in the past just yet. Officially, Spain is the last European country to require pre-departure tests for unvaccinated third-country nationals, including British holidaymakers, who wish to visit the country.

In contrast, Spain dropped all entry rules for anyone arriving from the EU or Schengen area.

At present, Spain requires non-EU visitors to provide valid health certificates. This can be either a vaccination card, proof of recovery, or a negative PCR or Rapid Antigen test.

The Spanish authorities stated that all travellers should make sure that their COVID certificate is valid in order to be permitted entry to the country. A vaccination certificate is considered valid if the traveller has completed primary vaccination in the last 270 days or has received a booster shot.

Health screening is in place at all Spanish airports and ports to ensure passengers comply with these rules, which are set to stay until at least 15 November.

How Unvaccinated Travellers Can Enter Spain

Technically, unvaccinated travellers can get around the vaccination requirement if they are willing to take the long route.

It should be mentioned that unvaccinated travellers and/or have not received a booster and are due to enter Spain at some point on your European itinerary, arriving via another Schengen hub may help you bypass most of these rules, as they don’t apply to third-country nationals crossing over from other Schengen countries.

What are your thoughts on this issue? Talk to us in the comment section below.

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