Fiona Govan
THE Spanish government has extended a ban on all non-essential travel to Spain from outside the EU and Schengen area for another month.
Confirmation of the extension due to the continued coronavirus pandemic was published on Friday April 30 in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
The extension continues the recommendations by the EU that have been in place since June 30 last year.
In addition, the notice confirms a ban on all travellers from those places where dangerous new variants of Covid-19 have been detected. These include India, Brazil, South Africa, Botswana, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Peru and Colombia.
Under this rule only Spanish citizens or those with residency in Spain are allowed to enter and must quarantine for ten days on arrival.
Because of Brexit, citizens from the United Kingdom are now considered third country nationals and must follow the same rules as other non-EU member states.
This means that only those arriving from the UK who are residents in Spain or have a reason to travel that falls under the exceptions of the ban, such as for work or study, will be allowed to enter after presenting a negative PCR test.
Travellers are advised to check the latest travel advice for Spain on the UK Gov website before making any plans.
The extension of the travel ban on Brits by Spain comes as the UK is preparing to loosen restrictions to allow foreign travel.
The British government is currently saying it will lift the ban on foreign holidays for people in England from May 17 as part of the next easing of coronavirus restrictions.
Although there are moves by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on coronavirus to ‘maintain curbs on international leisure travel’ beyond that date.
Britain is likely to introduce a traffic light system that will distinguish between low risk countries and high risk countries with no quarantine requirements imposed on those returning from “green light” countries.
Spain has said it will be ready to welcome international travellers under a vaccine passport type scheme from June, if a deal can be made with the EU and is involved in discussions with the British authorities to make a bilateral agreement.
READ MORE:
- EXPLAINER: What we know about Spain’s plans to welcome tourists with ‘vaccine passport’ from June
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- ANALYSIS: Will UK’s new travel traffic light system allow holidays to Spain this summer?
