If you are travelling to a country in the European Union for a holiday in the coming weeks, do not get caught out by rules on how long Covid-19 vaccinations last for.
Many travelling to EU nations including Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece will be showing an NHS vaccination pass to get into the countries without having to take a test or quarantine. In some EU countries, notably Spain, being fully vaccinated or able to show you have recovered from Covid is the only way most tourists from the UK are be allowed in. Others, including Portugal, Italy and Greece, do allow tourists from the UK in with a Covid test regardless of their vaccination status.
To qualify as fully vaccinated under EU rules, you must have had two shots of a two-jab vaccine, or had a one-jab vaccine, and waited 14 days from the date of the final jab. But if the final shot of your initial Covid vaccine was more than 270 days ago, you are not considered fully vaccinated under EU rules.
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This means that unless you have a booster jab, you are no longer be considered as fully vaccinated in EU countries and your NHS vaccine pass for international travel will not be accepted. There is no time limit on how long the booster jab lasts and usually no waiting time after receiving one before it counts on your record. If you have had a booster, you are considered fully vaccinated, regardless of when you had the top-up jab.
There are allowances for children. While Spain will only allow adult tourists to travel from Britain if they are fully vaccinated, children aged 12 to 17 can enter if they produce a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival.
Some EU countries allow adults who are not fully vaccinated to enter if they can produce negative test results. Others, like Malta, require tourists from the UK who are not fully vaccinated to quarantine for 14 day s after they arrive.
Taken from today, it was Friday, July 16, 2021, 270 days ago. If you completed your initial Covid-19 vaccine course in July or August last year, you will likely need a booster jab to be considered fully vaccinated for holidays in the EU over the coming weeks.
You can check for the rules of the country you are travelling to on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's website.
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