With summer fast approaching, many of us might be considering booking that dream holiday this time of year. However entering another country is not as simple as it was two years ago, and travellers are now asked to check the latest travel rules before travelling from Wales or any other part of the UK to your holiday destination.
Here's everything you need to know about entry requirements for both fully vaccinated and not fully vaccinated travellers from the UK to popular holiday destinations, which are Spain, Greece, Dubai and France.
Read more: Cyprus Covid travel restrictions set to be eased - and latest rules for Spain, Turkey and Greece
Spain
Public health measures to reduce the transmission of Covid-19 remain in force across Spain and may vary in different regions. This month, the Spanish Government has updated information on the requirement to complete a Health Control Form for entry to the country.
The documentation you must present on entry when travelling from the UK to Spain is determined by your reason for travel. If you are traveling to Spain for tourist reasons you must show valid proof of one of the following:
being fully vaccinated (with both doses of a two-dose vaccine or one dose of a one-dose vaccine) at least 14 days prior to arrival in Spain.
having recovered from Covid-19 in the last six months. You can also use a medical certificate or recovery record to prove your Covid-19 status on entry to Spain.
Spain has a travel Health Control Form, which travellers must complete no more than 48 hours before travelling to the country, unless they have a digital Covid-19 certificate. For more details on this, click here.
You may also be subjected to additional checks at the point of entry including a temperature check, visual health assessment, or testing on arrival. Passengers may also be contacted and required to undertake a Covid-19 nucleic acid amplification test - NAAT (PCR or similar) at any point up to 48 hours after their arrival in Spain.
Failure to comply with the requirements could lead to a minimum fine of €3000. If you are travelling from a country where Spain has travel restrictions, check with the Spanish Embassy in that country before you travel to Spain.
Due to current travel restrictions, you may be questioned on arrival by Spanish border authorities to ensure you meet the legal entry requirements. Spanish border authorities only allow entry if they are satisfied that you meet the entry requirements, and reserve the right to deny passage.
Greece
Since mid-March, arrivals into Greece are no longer required to complete a Passenger Locator Form (PLF). However, travellers are required to follow other rules when arriving into the country. If you are traveling to Greece for tourist reasons you must show valid proof of one of the following.
If you're fully vaccinated, you must:
- show a valid vaccination certificate. There must have been at least 14 days, and not more than nine months, since the completion of your primary vaccination for Covid-19. Booster jabs are not subject to the same time restrictions.
- OR show a certificate of recovery from Covid-19.
- OR show proof of a negative Covid-19 PCR test, undertaken within the 72 hour period before arrival into Greece.
- OR show proof of a negative Covid-19 rapid antigen test from an authorised laboratory, undertaken within the 24 hour period before your arrival into Greece.
If you are not fully vaccinated, you must:
- show a certificate of recovery from Covid-19.
- OR show a proof of a negative Covid-19 PCR test, undertaken within the 72 hour period before arrival into Greece
- OR show proof of a negative Covid-19 rapid antigen test from an authorised laboratory, undertaken within the 24 hour period before your arrival into Greece
Dubai
Since the end of February, travellers to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) don't need to take a PCR test before they travel if they are fully vaccinated or:
- They hold a Covid-19 recovery certificate with a QR code dated within 30 days of departure.
- They are under 16 years of age for arrivals in Abu Dhabi or under 12 years of age for arrivals in Dubai.
- They have severe disabilities.
Residents, tourists and visitors travelling 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 then must present the certificate at check in if they are not fully vaccinated and do not hold a Covid-19 recovery certificate.
But there are also different rules depending on where in the United Arab Emirates you are travelling to. According to the Emirate airline website, travellers from all countries arriving into Dubai must fulfill one of these requirements:
- present a valid vaccination certificate(s) reflecting that the passenger is fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved by the WHO or the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and includes a QR code.
- present a valid negative Covid‑19 PCR test certificate issued within 48 hours after the sample was collected and issued by an approved health service provider with a QR code.
- present a valid medical certificate issued by 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 any UAE nationals arriving from all countries to Dubai are not required to present any PCR or vaccination certificate.
France
Since the end of March, fully vaccinated travellers from the UK aged 12 and over must provide proof of vaccination. You may also be asked to complete the EU-PLF form before boarding, which is a form that allows contact-tracing operations to be carried out in the event a confirmed case of contagious disease is detected as having travelled on a flight to the country. Further information on this can be found here.
If you're fully vaccinated, you must:
- show a proof of Covid-19 recovery and vaccination record at the border, which means your final dose must have been administered at least seven days prior to travel for Oxford / AstraZeneca, Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna or 28 days after a second dose of Johnson & Johnson. (NHS appointment cards from vaccination centres are not proof of vaccination).
- for travellers aged 18 and over, France will recognise you as 'vaccinated' for entry purposes if you completed your initial vaccine course within the last nine months.
- if more than nine months have elapsed since your initial course, and you did not have a booster during that nine month period, you will be considered as unvaccinated.
If you are not fully vaccinated, you must:
- show a negative PCR test result taken within 72 hours or an antigen test result taken within 48 hours pre-departure.
you may also be asked to complete the EU-PLF form before boarding.
