When the U.K. government announced that there would be more countries on the green list, which allows a return to the U.K. with no quarantine, travelers and holiday companies rejoiced. However, since then, the rules being introduced for British travelers to enter certain countries have changed multiple times in some cases. Sadly many Brits started to cancel trips when the announcements were made. Those trips may now be lost completely to the floundering travel industry.
The constant changing of entry rules at short notice is also likely to put some passengers off travelling altogether. Although if you were planning a trip to Europe, don't lose heart as there is some brighter news on the horizon. The countries that have changed their rules recently have eased them slightly. The NHS app is also making good progress to be integrated with the E.U. Green pass and being able to show test results and previous Covid infections.
The latest change came from Malta, which caused a wave of cancellations when it announced that it would only accept Brits who are fully vaccinated and those under 12. Over 12s who have not been innoculated will have to quarantine for 14 days if they wish to enter Malta. Then Malta stated that they would not accept the NHS app or the certificate you can download from the app as proof of vaccination. Instead, they insisted that travelers present the letter that can be requested online, on the app, or by calling 119. These letters take at least five working days to arrive, with reports of it taking up to 14 days. For those traveling this week, it would be impossible to source the document in time.
The FCDO, Visit Malta, and the British High Commission for Malta all added wording to their official communication stating that the NHS app would not be accepted. Now the Maltese government has done a u-turn while insinuating that they had planned to take the NHS App all along from when they allow the E.U. Green Pass on 1 July. The Health Minister was reported by the Times of Malta as saying, "We will be accepting EU COVID certificates as of tomorrow, and the U.K. certificate works with this system too, despite it not being part of the E.U. "Once we join the E.U. system, we will be able to read the [U.K.] digital certificate."
Portugal, meanwhile, relented on its initial stance that they too would not allow children over 12 to enter without quarantine if they were not vaccinated. On Sunday evening, Portugal had announced that with almost immediate effect that only Brits that were fully vaccinated would be allowed to enter Portugal without quarantine. Initially, this also included children over 12 who are currently not eligible for the vaccine in the U.K. except in exceptional circumstances.
On Wednesday, Portugal declared that it would accept children up to 18 years old when with accompanying adults who have proof of complete vaccination. It is not yet clear from official sources if there is a specific definition for an accompanying adult. The proviso for children up to 18 is those aged 12 and above must comply with the testing requirements to avoid self-isolation. The conditions for testing are for a negative RT-PCR Test (or similar NAAT test) 72h before boarding or a Rapid Antigen Test 48h before boarding. Children under 12 years old are exempt from testing requirements. The complete requirements are set out on the Visit Portugal website.
