Spain weekly update on entry requirements from third countries [8-14 November 2021]

Requirements for entry in Spain from third countries are subject to Order INT/657/2020 from the Ministry of Interior, which is the application of EU Council Recommendation 2020/912 introducing exceptions to non-essential travel restrictions in the European Union. These exceptions are classified in an annex that lists countries that are considered safe or unsafe according to their specific COVID-19 epidemiological situation.

Upon the last update on Spain’s list of risk countries, all third countries are considered at risk except for Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, China (including the territorial authority of Taiwan and special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong), South Korea, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Namibia, Rwanda, and Ukraine.

The list is in accordance with Council Recommendation (EU) 2021/1896 of 29 October 2021, which means that the Spanish government has accepted the EU Council recommendation to lift non-essential travel restrictions for Argentina, Peru, Colombia, and Namibia.

The new list came into effect at midnight November 8th, 2021, and it will be valid until midnight November 14th, 2021.

Typically, the EU Council resorts to reliable COVID-19 statistics from each country to advocate for or advise against the suspension of travel restrictions. The Council takes into account the latest infection rates (being 75 cases per 100,000 inhabitants the limit), the COVID-19 tests positivity rates (being 4% out of 300 tests per 100,000 inhabitants the limit), the detection of variants of interest of variants of concern (such as the Delta variant), the progress of vaccination campaigns in the country, etc.

The EU Council checks these statistics every two weeks, but the Spanish authorities revise the list of risk countries on a weekly basis.

Of course, not only third countries are affected by Spain’s non-essential travel restrictions. Most countries in the EU are considered at risk by the Ministry of Health of Spain. This is because the Ministry of Health adds to the list of risk countries the areas that are labeled as dark red, red, orange, and grey areas by the EU Council.

The list of EU countries that are considered unsafe for travel to Spain includes Austria, Germany, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Iceland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Slovenia, Slovakia, The Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Hungary, 15 regions of Italy (Bolzano/Bozen, Abruzzo, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Marche, Trento, Puglia, Sicilia, Toscana, Umbria, and Veneto), and 17 regions of France (Guyane, Martinique, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Bretagne, Centre-Val de Loire, Corse, Grand Est, Guadeloupe, Hauts-de-France, Ile-de-France, La Réunion, Normandie, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, Pays de la Loire, and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur).

People coming to Spain from these countries must present the EU Digital COVID Certificate (DCC), which is valid in all EU member states. The DCC can certify a recent COVID-19 recovery, a complete COVID-19 vaccination schedule with any vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency and the WHO, and/or a negative diagnostic test of any kind (PCR and other nucleic acid amplification tests must be taken 72 hours before arrival, while rapid antigen test must be taken 48 hours before arrival).

Nationals of third countries excepted from travel restrictions are not eligible for the DCC but they must still present the same sort of certificates in the Spanish borders (COVID-19 recovery, negative test, or vaccination). It’s important to note that vaccination is always mandatory but it’s only valid if the regimen was completed at least two weeks before arriving in Spain.

Given that they’re not part of the European Union, residents of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland can’t apply for the DCC either, so they need to be fully vaccinated (and be able to prove it) and provide a nucleic acid amplification test with negative results before getting a green light to enter Spain.

Apart from this, every person trying to get access to the Spanish territory must fill a Health Control Form via mobile app, Spain Travel Health web if the traveler is taking a plane to Spain, or Maritime Spain Travel Health web if the traveler will come on board a ferry. Completing the form will supply the passenger with a QR code that must be presented when departing and when arriving in Spain as there will be health controls in the borders.

Travelers are not obliged to fill the form if they’ll be entering Spain by land, but that’s pretty much the only exception. Children under 12 years old are exempt from vaccination certificates but not from this form.

Other exceptions for the form include certain professionals (such as physicians, health researchers, military personnel, pilots and other transport professionals, high-level athletes, diplomatics, etc.), holders of long-term visas issued by EU and Schengen countries, and people with family emergencies who will be able to travel to Spain with no restrictions under humanitarian reasons.