Vaccinated tourists now allowed to visit Catalonia

Vaccinated tourists from all over the world are now allowed to visit Catalonia as well as the rest of Spain.

The new norm came into effect on Monday after being published in the Spanish Official Gazette (BOE) on Saturday.

Travelers have to be fully vaccinated – that is, have both doses when applicable – at least 14 days before their journey.

This rule applies to the jabs accepted by either the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or the World Health Organization (WHO): Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Sinopharm, and Sinovac-Coronavac.

All tourists coming by air or sea will have to fill out a form on the Spain Travel Health website or app in order to "facilitate tracking those passengers that need to be contacted."

People over the age of six visiting after crossing the land borders and coming from countries with an especially high risk of Covid-19 will have to show a document such as a vaccination certificate, a negative Covid-19 test, a certificate of recovery after having had the disease, or the EU Digital Covid-19 certificate. Any of these work for travelers coming from the Union or the rest of the world.

Antigen tests, and not only PCRs, will now also be accepted when a Covid-19 test is needed to enter the country.

This means that from Monday, Spain will begin to test the EU Digital Covid-19 certificate, which confirms whether a passenger has either been vaccinated, has already had the disease, or has a negative PCR test.

The measure is set to boost the local tourism sector, which has been badly hit by the pandemic. On June 15, Barcelona's Terminal 2 will reopen.

In early May, the Catalan Tourism Board director, Octavi Bono, told Catalan News that they were confident the sector would recover – especially in the inland areas, the Costa Brava, and the Pyrenees, but maybe not as much in urban areas. 

Check out our recent podcast on the issue for more on tourism prospects: 

Brazil, South Africa, India

These rules will not affect those coming from Brazil, South Africa, and India due to the high rate of Covid-19 variants there.

In the latter, a ten-day quarantine is required upon arrival, which can be reduced to seven if they can provide proof of a negative test. This norm applies until at least June 12.

If coming from Brazil or South Africa, only Spanish nationals and residents in Spain are allowed. This applies at least until June 22.

Countries especially at risk of Covid-19 (from June 7 to June 20)

Either of the above documents will be needed if coming from one of these countries:

EU/EEA

Germany

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Czech Republic

Cyprus

Croatia

Denmark

Slovakia

Slovenia

Estonia

Finland (except for regions Åland and Länsi-Suomi)

France

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Norway (except for region Nordland)

The Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Sweden

 

All countries outside EU/EEA except for:

Australia

China

South Korea

Israel

Japan

New Zealand

UK

Rwanda

Singapore

Thailand

Hong Kong

Macau