With summer fast approaching, many of us may be thinking about booking our dream vacation around this time of year. However, entering another country is not as easy as it was two years ago and travelers are now being asked to check the latest travel regulations before traveling to their holiday destination from Wales or any other part of the UK.
Here’s everything you need to know about entry requirements for fully vaccinated and non-fully vaccinated travelers from the UK to popular holiday destinations such as Spain, Greece, Dubai and France.
Continue reading: Cyprus Covid travel restrictions are set to be eased – and the latest rules for Spain, Turkey and Greece
Spain
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Public health measures to reduce transmission of Covid-19 remain in force across Spain and may vary in different regions. This month the Spanish government updated information on the requirement to fill out a health check form to enter the country.
The documents you need to present upon arrival when traveling to Spain from the UK depend on your reason for traveling. If you are traveling to Spain for tourism reasons, you must present one of the following valid documents:
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be fully vaccinated (both doses of a two-dose vaccine or one dose of a single-dose vaccine) at least 14 days before arrival in Spain.
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have recovered from Covid-19 in the past six months. You can also use a medical certificate or recovery log to prove your Covid-19 status when entering Spain.
Spain has a travel health check form that travelers are required to fill out no more than 48 hours before entering the country unless they have a Covid-19 digital certificate. More information can be found here.
You may also be subject to additional checks at the point of entry, including a temperature check, visual health assessment, or tests upon arrival. Passengers may also be contacted and asked to take a Covid-19 Nucleic Acid Amplification Test – NAAT (PCR or similar) at any time up to 48 hours after their arrival in Spain.
Failure to comply with the requirements can be penalized with a minimum fine of €3000. If you are traveling from a country where Spain has travel restrictions, check with the Spanish embassy in that country before traveling to Spain.
Due to current travel restrictions, you may be interviewed by Spanish border authorities upon arrival to ensure you meet legal entry requirements. The Spanish border authorities will only allow entry if they are satisfied that you meet the entry requirements and reserve the right to refuse transit.
Greece
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Since mid-March, travelers entering Greece no longer have to fill out a Passenger Locator Form (PLF). However, travelers must follow different rules when entering the country. If you are traveling to Greece for tourism reasons, you must present one of the following valid documents.
If you are fully vaccinated you must:
- show a valid vaccination certificate. At least 14 days and no more than nine months must have passed since the completion of your basic immunization against Covid-19. Booster jabs are not subject to the same time restrictions.
- OR show a certificate of recovery from Covid-19.
- OR provide proof of a negative Covid-19 PCR test performed within 72 hours prior to arrival in Greece.
- OR provide evidence of a negative rapid Covid-19 antigen test from an authorized laboratory, performed within 24 hours prior to your arrival in Greece.
If you are not fully vaccinated you must:
- show a certificate of recovery from Covid-19.
- OR provide proof of a negative Covid-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival in Greece
- OR provide evidence of a negative rapid Covid-19 antigen test from an authorized laboratory, performed within 24 hours prior to your arrival in Greece
Dubai
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Since the end of February, travelers to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are not required to take a pre-travel PCR test if they are fully vaccinated or:
- They hold a Covid-19 Recovery Certificate with a QR code dated within 30 days of departure.
- You are under 16 years of age on arrival in Abu Dhabi or under 12 years of age on arrival in Dubai.
- You have severe disabilities.
Residents, tourists and visitors traveling from or through the UK and arriving in the UAE must still have a negative Covid-19 PCR test taken no more than 48 hours before departure. They must present the certificate at check-in if they are not fully vaccinated and do not have a Covid-19 recovery certificate.
But there are also different rules depending on where you travel in the United Arab Emirates. According to the Emirates airline website, travelers from all countries arriving in Dubai must meet one of these requirements:
- Present valid vaccination certificate(s) showing that the passenger is fully vaccinated with a WHO or United Arab Emirates (UAE) approved vaccine and includes a QR code.
- Provide a valid negative Covid-19 PCR test certificate issued within 48 hours of sample collection and issued by an approved healthcare provider with a QR code.
- provide a valid medical certificate from the relevant authorities that the passenger has recovered from Covid-19 within 1 month from the date of recovery to the date of arrival.
However, it must be noted that UAE nationals entering Dubai from all countries are not required to present a PCR or vaccination card.
France
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Since the end of March, fully vaccinated travelers from the UK aged 12 and over have been required to provide proof of vaccination. You may also be asked to complete the EU-PLF form prior to boarding, a form that allows contact tracing to be carried out if it is determined that a confirmed case of a contagious disease has traveled to the country on a flight. More information can be found here.
If you are fully vaccinated you must:
- Show proof of recovery from Covid-19 and vaccination record at the border, meaning your last dose was at least seven days before travel for Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna or 28 days after a second dose from Johnson must have been administered & Johnson. (NHS vaccination center appointment cards are not proof of vaccination).
- For travelers aged 18 and over, France will recognize you as ‘vaccinated’ for entry purposes if you have completed your first vaccination course within the last nine months.
- If it has been more than nine months since your first vaccination and you have not received a booster vaccination during those nine months, you are considered not to have been vaccinated.
If you are not fully vaccinated you must:
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