ENTRY requirements to Spain from outside the EU and the Schengen zone have been relaxed – travellers will no longer have to show a 'Covid certificate' upon arrival.
Passengers queuing for departures at Palma de Mallorca airport
A European Union regulation brought in last year replaced the 'traffic light' system, where some countries or regions were off limits altogether or required quarantine, with an obligation to show either proof of having been vaccinated, of having had Covid within the previous six months, or a negative PCR or antigen test taken not more than 72 and 24 hours before entering a country respectively.
The aim was to gradually remove barriers to free movement throughout member States and the wider EEA, although countries were given authority to retain restrictions on entry where public health concerns justified doing so.
Where this was the case, national governments were instructed to 'not go beyond what is strictly necessary to safeguard public health', and to lift the restrictions as soon as the country's epidemiological situation permitted – with the focus, in this respect, mainly on hospital admission figures rather than the percentage of 'positives' among the general population.
From June 1 this year, Spain dropped 'Covid certificate' requirements for the Schengen zone and the EU, including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.
This remained in place for non-EU countries – which, from early 2021, included the UK – and arrivals from nations still requiring a 'Covid passport' were also warned they may be subject to random health checks.
These might just involve a traveller's temperature being taken in passing, but they may also have been expected to undergo a medical examination, visual assessment, interview, or to take a PCR or antigen test.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com