COVID-19 Ταξιδιωτικές απαιτήσεις για υπηκόους του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου σε διακοπές στην Ισπανία κατά τη διάρκεια της πανδημίας

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Latest update: 20 Ιούλιος 2022

This page covers the travel requirements to fly on holiday from the UK to Spain and back including:

COVID-19 travel requirements to fly from the UK to Spain
1. Entry requirements to enter Spain for UK nationals on a holiday
2. How to get your NHS COVID Pass of vaccination to travel to Spain
3. Spanish health control form to fill out to get a QR code to enter Spain if you do not have your NHS COVID Pass
4. Exceptional conditions under which a quarantine might be needed for UK nationals travelling to Spain
5. COVID Pass for UK travellers that might be needed to access bars, restaurants, tourist attractions in Spain

COVID-19 travel requirements to fly back from Spain to the UK
6. UK entry requirements for UK nationals
7. Passenger locator form to fill out when travelling from Spain to the UK
8. Conditions under which a quarantine may be needed for UK travellers flying from Spain to the UK

Travellers at Barcelona Airport during the COVID pandemic

COVID-19 travel requirements to fly from the UK to Spain

1. Entry conditions to enter Spain for UK nationals

Fully vaccinated UK nationals can enter Spain on a holiday. Since 21 May 2022, UK nationals who are not fully vaccinated can also enter Spain on a holiday.

To travel to Spain on a holiday, you will need to show your NHS COVID pass showing that you are fully vaccinated, or that you had a negative COVID test, or that you recently recovered from COVID.

NHS COVID pass of vaccination

If you´re entering Spain with your NHS COVID pass of vaccination, your pass will have to show that you have been fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine authorized by the European Medicines Agency or the World Health Organization.

These vaccinations include:
1. AstraZeneca, also referred to as Vaxzevria
2. The Pfizer BioNTech Vaccine which is now being marketed as the Comirnaty Vaccine.
3. Johnson and Johnson Vaccine also known as Janssen vaccine
4. Moderna, also referred to as Spikevax
5. Novavax, also referred to as Nuvaxovid

To view the full list of vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency or the World Health Organization, you can check the following official websites:

European Medicines Agency official website
World Health Organization official website

From 1 February 2022, COVID-19 vaccination certificates are valid to travel to Spain 14 days after you have received the second dose of a 2-dose vaccine or 14 days after you have received the unique dose of a single-dose vaccine.

E.g. If you have the AstraZeneca, the Pfizer BioNTech Comirnaty , the Moderna or the Novavax 2-dose vaccines you will be considered fully vaccinated 14 days after you had you second dose administrated.

If you have the Janssen 1-dose vaccine you will be considered fully vaccinated 14 days after you had your unique dose administrated.

COVID-19 vaccination certificates are valid for travel for up to 270 days from your full vaccination date, which equals to approximately 9 months which you can travel using your NHS COVID pass. If more than 270 days have passed since your last vaccine dose, your NHS COVID pass vaccination certificate won´t be valid to travel to Spain on a holiday. Therefore, in order to be valid, your must get a booster dose, which will be reflected on your NHS COVID pass.

According to the UK government foreign travel advice for Spain, children under the age of 12, i.e. children aged 11 and under, do not need to be vaccinated against coronavirus to enter Spain. They won´t need to take a COVID test before travelling to Spain either. Therefore, children from the age of 12 onwards need to be fully vaccinated in order to travel to Spain on a holiday.

NHS COVID pass of recovery

UK nationals who are not fully vaccinated but have recovered from COVID in the past 180 days will be able to enter Spain with their NHS COVID pass showing they have recovered from COVID within the past 6 months. You will also need to show the positive COVID test certificate taken in the past 180 days from which your NHS recovery certificate is derived.

Note that the antigen tests accepted with a recovery certificate are the rapid antigen tests approved by the European Commission.

After 180 days of your positive PCR or antigen test, your recovery status is no longer considered valid. Therefore you won´t be able to enter Spain with your NHS COVID pass showing you recovered from COVID if you recovered from COVID more than 6 months ago.

COVID certificate of a negative COVID test

If you do not have a NHS COVID pass of vaccination or of recovery, you can also enter Spain with a certificate of a negative NAAT test (eg. a PCR test) taken within 72 hours of departure to Spain or of a negative antigen test taken within 24 hours of departure to Spain.

As entry requirements for Spain can change on a frequent basis during the coronavirus pandemic, we recommend you double check the information provided above on the Spanish Health Ministry page on travel and COVID-19 and on the UK government page on foreign travel advice for Spain.

2. How to get your NHS COVID Pass of vaccination to travel to Spain

Ensure to get your NHS COVID Pass showing your vaccination status before you travel to Spain.

You can either get a digital NHS COVID pass or a NHS COVID pass letter.

The two different ways for you to get your NHS COVID Pass are:

1. Digitally, through the NHS app or NHS website. In that case, your NHS COVID pass is referred to as a Digital NHS COVID Pass

2. As a letter sent to you in the post, if you are not able to get your Digital NHS COVID pass through the NHS app or NHS website. In that case, your NHS COVID pass is referred to as a NHS COVID Pass letter.

You can access and download your digital NHS Covid Pass of vaccination through the NHS app or NHS website.

Click here to download the NHS App on iOS and Android to get your NHS COVID Pass

Click here to go the NHS website to get your NHS COVID Pass

Your digital NHS COVID Pass of vaccination:

Your digital NHS COVID Pass of vaccination will be available through the NHS app or NHS website between 24 hours and 5 days of your vaccination, although it is usually available within 24 hours.

Once on the NHS app or website, you will be able download your NHS COVID Pass as a PDF document to save it on your device and print it, if you want to.

We recommend that before travelling to Spain, in addition of having your NHS COVID Pass on your smartphone, you also print a copy. You never know if your phone will run out of battery during your trip to Spain. You´ll want to avoid any stressful situation at the moment of showing your NHS COVID Pass to the Spanish Authorities to enter Spain if you only have your vaccination pass on your phone and you can´t use your phone.

Your digital NHS COVID Pass is valid for 30 days once you first access it through the NHS app or website.

We recommend that you log in to the NHS app or website even if your travel dates to Spain are still far away, just to make sure you can access your NHS COVID Pass of vaccination without any issue. You don't want to log in for the first time to the NHS app or website just a few days before your trip to Spain and have the unpleasant surprise of not being able to access your NHS COVID pass. This way, if for some reason you are unable to access your NHS COVID pass digitally, you will still have time to request your NHS COVID Pass by letter.

The 30-day validity period refreshes for another 30 days each time you log in to the NHS app or NHS website.

Therefore, make sure sure to log in to the NHS app or website before you travel to Spain and before you fly back to the UK to ensure your pass is valid during your travel dates.

Your NHS COVID Pass of vaccination letter:

If you cannot access your NHS COVID Pass from the NHS app or NHS website, you can request to receive it as a letter by the post.

You can request your NHS COVID Pass letter through the NHS website or by phone.

Click here to request your NHS COVID Pass letter through the NHS website

Click here to view the phone numbers to request your NHS Covid Pass letter by phone

You'll find the phone numbers under the section: Ask for a letter by phone.

You can only request your NHS COVID Pass by phone if you travel within 4 weeks' time. You won't be able to request your pass by phone if you're travelling in more than 4 weeks' time.

You should receive your NHS COVID Pass letter within 7 working days of the date you request your NHS COVID Pass letter.

Important: working days do not include the weekend and public holidays. Make your working days calculations right, and do not request your NHS COVID Pass letter at the last moment; otherwise, you won't receive it on time for your holiday to Spain.

The NHS COVID Pass letters are valid for 30 days from the date they are issued. The issue date will be indicated at the top of your letter.

We, therefore, recommend that if you're not able to get your digital NHS COVID Pass, you request your NHS COVID Pass letter at the right time for it to be valid for your flight to Spain and for your flight back to the UK, considering you'll receive it within 7 working days of the date you'll request it.

If you want to know more about what's included in your NHS COVID Pass letter, you can do that by reading the guides on the COVID NHS Pass letter on the UK Government website.

The guides are available in multiple languages including English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and more. You can select the language in which you want to know more about what´s included on your NHS COVID Pass letter by clicking on the language of your choice at the top of the page of the UK Government website.

3. Health control form to fill out to get a QR code when travelling from the UK to Spain if you do not have your NHS COVID Pass

If you do not have your NHS COVID Pass, within 48 hours before your flight to Spain, you must fill out a health control form on the Spain Travel Health website to get a QR code. You will need to show that QR code at the control points at the airport upon arrival to Spain.

If you are travelling to Spain with your NHS COVID Pass, you do not need to fill out a health control form on the Spain Travel Health website to get a QR code.

Health control lines to show QR code at Barcelona Airport

Children under 12 do not need to show a health control form QR code.

Note that the Spanish health control form is also referred to as the FCS form. FCS stands for “Formulario de Control Sanitario” in Spanish, which means health control form. The health control form and the FCS form are exactly the same form.

4. Is there a Quarantine needed for UK travellers flying from the UK to Spain?

Since 27 December 2021, UK Citizens do not need to quarantine upon arrival to Spain. Therefore you will not have to quarantine upon arrival to Spain from the UK.

5. COVID Pass for UK travellers to access bars, restaurants, tourist attractions in Spain

COVID measures and restrictions in Spain are taken by the Spanish Government but also by the regional governments of each region of Spain. It is the regional governments who decide whether a COVID pass is necessary to access specific places in their region or not.

Therefore, depending on the region of Spain where you travel to, you might have to show your NHS COVID Pass of vaccination to access establishments such as bars, restaurants, venues, tourist attractions, etc.

To see if COVID passes are needed to access specific places in the Spanish region you travel to, we recommend you to use the interactive map of the Spanish Tourism Institute official website. The map enables you to view the requirements for travel to Spain depending on your country of origin, but also the COVID related measures in place in each Spanish region, such as the use of COVID certificates for specific places.

Follow these steps to see whether you´ll need to show your NHS COVID Pass in the Spanish region you travel to:

1. Click here to land on the map of the Spanish Tourism Institute that shows the COVID related measures in place in each region of Spain.
2. Select United Kingdom as your origin country under the tab called: Select your country of origin.
3. A pop up window with information on travel to Spain from the UK will appear. Read all sections and then close the window.
4. Click on the second tab called: Travel to Spain, and select the region of Spain where you´re travelling to.
5. A pop up window with information on the restrictions in this specific region will appear. Read all sections. If COVID certificates are needed to access specific places, you will find the information under the section called: Restrictions (Capacity, Museums, Etc.).

6. COVID-19 travel requirements to fly back from Spain to the UK

There are no more COVID entry requirements in the UK. You can enter the UK whether you are vaccinated or not.

You no longer need to show a valid NHS vaccination certificate to enter the UK.

You no longer need to fill out a passenger locator form within 48 hours prior to your flight back to the UK.

You no longer need to book and take a COVID test upon arrival to the UK.

There is no quarantine either.

7. Passenger locator form to fill out when travelling from Spain to the UK

As stated above, you no longer need to fill out a passenger locator form on the UK government website to board the plane in Spain.

8. Quarantine for UK travellers flying from Spain to the UK

UK nationals returning to the UK from Spain do not need to quarantine upon arrival to the UK.

You can double check this information on the UK government page on Travel to England from another country during COVID-19.

Click here to read about these circumstances.