Spain Tightens Entry Restrictions for High-Risk Countries
In the light of the recently-detected COVID-19 variant, the Spanish government has implemented stricter entry requirements that apply to all the people who wish to visit Spain after staying in one of the countries where Omicron cases have been already recorded.
Travelers who visited one of the high-risk countries are obliged to hold a negative PCR test result to be taken within 72 hours of arrival time along with the completed Spanish Locator Form. These requirements apply to all travelers, including those who have received a full dose of the COVID-19 vaccine or those who have recovered from the coronavirus.
Content:
Spanish Passenger Locator Form
The Spanish Passenger Locator Form was introduced due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic with the aim to reduce the spread of the cases as well as enable easy contact with the infected persons.
The form includes all essential health and travel-related information of travelers entering Spain by air or sea, and is obligatory for all arrivals, no matter their nationality, age, or travel purpose. All applicants, including those who only transit through Spain, must fill the SpTH within 48 hours of the planned arrival in the country.
Hig-risk Countries List
The current Spanish high-risk list comprises the following countries:
- Zimbabwe
- Eswatini
- Botswana
- Namibia
- South Africa
- Mozambique
- Lesotho
Persons coming from one of the countries included on the high-risk list will need to present a SpTH QR code and negative test certificate. Failure to do so will result in being denied entry to Spain.
The Spanish authorities have also reminded that 29 member countries of the Schengen Area will continue to be on the list of countries whose infection coronavirus cases are systematically registered.
All travelers coming from the high-risk countries, including 29 Schengen Area countries, must present vaccination proof (the vaccine must be one of those recognized by the Spanish authorities). Alternatively, they can provide the certificate of recovery from the coronavirus disease.
Approved Vaccines in Spain
The Spanish authorities accept all vaccines approved by the World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency. The list of all approved vaccines in Spain comprises:
- Vaxzevria - AstraZeneca
- Janssen - Cilag International NV.
- Sinovac - CoronaVac (Vero Cell), Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd.
- Covaxin
- Vaccine AstraZeneca (Covishield), Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd.
- Vaxzevria - AstraZeneca
- AstraZeneca/SK Bio, SK Bioscience Co. Ltd.
- Comirnaty - Pfizer/BioNTech Manufacturing GmbH.
- Vero Cell - Sinopharm/Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd.
- Spikevax; mRNA-1273, Moderna Biotech
Travelers arriving from Schengen Area not holding neither a vaccination proof nor the certificate confirming the COVID-19 recovery must show a negative test in order to be allowed to enter Spain.
Other changes
Apart from the abovementioned changes, Jordan was removed from the safe third countries list, which means that passengers from this country need to meet additional entry requirements to be allowed on the territory of Spain.
Another country affected by tightened restrictions by the Spanish authorities is the United Kingdom. UK nationals can now enter Spain only with a valid vaccination proof or recovery certificate. Holding a negative coronavirus test is in their case no longer allowed.
