Rules for Spain/Balearics

[procrastinationstations]

Hello - had anyone travelled from stanstead to the Balearics and not needed a covid pass? 3 of us are vaccinated and 1 of us isn't (due to health issues).

They can have a PCR before-hand but it's very expensive and worried it won't come back in time etc....

The gov website says it's needed but friend travelled to Portugal where it also states all of the above are needed and didn't even get asked!

Thanks

You'd be taking a risk, the Spanish Health website says Covid Pass or proof of negative Covid test which seems to be a PCR 72 hours beforehand, for all over 12's.

I've been in and out of Spain over the last 10 months and after Passport Control there has always been a separate area before baggage collection that you have to go through where your temperature is taken and you have to show your Covid Pass.

This is the link to the Spanish Travel Health website:

www.spth.gob.es/

I live there and travel back and forth often with my unvaccinated son. They chack his covid test every time

You can pre-book a test in the airport result in 15 mins

It'd be much more expensive to get there and get sent straight back home again ...

You can use a cheaper LFT for Spain. Doesnt need to be a PCR. You wouldn't want to run the risk of being turned away at the Spanish airport

I've been to Spain (mainland) recently and we were not asked - there was an area for this and they were stopping folk at random, we just didn't get picked but we could easily have been.

The price of tests have dropped hugely now. If you're going away on a holiday, surely the cost of a test needs to be included in your budget, you just can't risk it.

We went to Lanzarote and they were checking a cross section of passenger for covid passes on entry. We had ours checked

Order LFTs

I just went to Mallorca last week. Counted as unvaccinated due to having my jabs abroad.

I was able to do a lft on the morning of my flight that I ordered online (cost about £14) and then I had to fill in a form and generate the QR code. Whole process was straightforward and took about 30 min

Our QR codes were checked at Palma airport for everyone in our party

Precisely, along with all the hassle and aggravation that would cause. Is it worth risking that for the sake of the cost of a test? Make sure you do the correct test as per the website I linked.

As maddy68 said her son has been checked every time. I've flown into several airports in Spain, some of them smaller ones used mainly for holiday travel, and everyone had to have their Covid Pass checked and could not have exited the airport without doing so.

I went to Menorca two weeks ago - I was with my mum in her wheelchair, just after passport control there was a medical team doing random covid pass checks and random temperature checks. We didn't get stopped (none of us with special assistance did), but my sister flew out the day after, and did get stopped - she said they were stopping lots of people.

Sorry - I didn't make myself very clear! I will definitely get them tested / I have lateral flow tests and wondered if this would be sufficient? It's the need to have a full PCR that I'm querying,

They will also have a letter from their health professional regarding the reason they can't be vaccinated.

Thanks for the replies.

You dont need a PCR for Spain. You can do an LFT bought from a private provider who will provide a certificate of the negative result.

I don't think your own lft will be enough

This from the UK Government:

a negative COVID-19 test: either a PCR taken within 72 hours prior to departure, or an antigen test taken within 24 hours prior to departure. See ‘If you’re not fully vaccinated’.

This from the Spain Travel Health site I linked earlier:

SpTH QR. If you do not have the EU Digital COVID Certificate or equivalent, you must complete the SpTH Health Control Form, manually entering the details of your vaccination, recovery or diagnostic test certificate.

If the document proves a diagnostic test: date of sampling, identification and contact details of the centre performing the analysis, technique used and negative result.

Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT), which detect the genetic material of the virus (e.g. PCR, TMA, LAMP, NEAR etc.), carried out within 72 hours prior to departure for Spain.

Antigen detection tests, which detect the presence of virus antigens, carried out within 24 hours prior to departure for Spain. The accepted tests are those approved by the European Commission, which can be found in the following link.

So it is either a PCR or a Lateral Flow but it has to be an official test and the details entered on the Spain Travel Health form as Caterina99 explained. You will need to complete the Spain Travel Health Form as it gives you a QR Code.

I'm so overwhelmed with life at the moment, I seem to be finding planning the holiday very complicated.

I haven't been abroad for 4 years and I can't even work out which suncream to take or how much a I'm normally so good at these things.

So, do we all need this form? I know we don't have EU covid certs but are we Schengen? I don't think so, but my head feels like it is about to explode.

Need to leave it for tonight and come back to it.

Only the person that isnt fully vaccinated needs to complete the form. The nhs covid pass is sufficient to prove vaccine status for the others

The vaccinated people need the nhs Covid pass. You can download the app and get a pdf you can download.

The unvaccinated person needs to do an LFT - not an NHS one. You will have to pay for it it's not expensive though.

No one cares why they're unvaccinated- you don't need the doctor's letter.

We're also travelling to Spain later this year and I'm trying to stay on top of the entry regulations.

For fully vaccinated travellers, must the date of the last vaccine be within 270 days of entry? I'm a bit confused by that requirement because my last booster was in December 2021 and we travel in October this year.

Does that mean our vaccination is out of date? If so, what are we expected to do please?

Went to canaries end of june and covid pass checked on leaving uk and glanced over in spain too

There is currently no expiry date on the booster. The 270 days relates to the time between the first 2 vaccines and the booster.

@procrastinationstations

So, do we all need this form? I know we don't have EU covid certs but are we Schengen? I don't think so, but my head feels like it is about to explode.

The answer is here in my previous post direct from the Spain Travel Health site:

SpTH QR. If you do not have the EU Digital COVID Certificate or equivalent, you must complete the SpTH Health Control Form, manually entering the details of your vaccination, recovery or diagnostic test certificate.

No we are not in Schengen but the NHS Covid Pass is AN EQUIVALENT to the EU one.

The ONLY person who needs to complete the Spanish Health Travel Form is the unvaccinated one and the details of their PCR OR Lateral Flow official test done by an accredited agency need to be filled in on it.

They can have a PCR before-hand but it's very expensive and worried it won't come back in time etc....

Why on earth would they risk their vacation for the sake of a bit of advanced planning and a little more money? If they can't afford the test, then they really can't afford the holiday.

We were in Spain a few weeks ago and everyone was checked.

It’s hit and miss if they check but when we went to portugal we were delayed by over an hour because 11 people turned up at the gate without the right covid paperwork. It was being checked as we we boarded.