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COVID-19

When will Americans be allowed to travel to Spain again?

Some travel from the USA to Spain is allowed, but only in certain circumstances.

Published: 1 September 2020 11:21 CEST
When will Americans be allowed to travel to Spain again?
Photo by Benjamin Voros / Unsplash

Here's what is happening with Spain travel rules for Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.

The EU has published its list of 'safe' countries which it recommends members allow travellers to enter from – but the USA is still NOT on it.

So what does this mean for Americans?

Firstly, the travel rules are based around where you are coming from, not what passport you hold. So a US citizen travelling from France, for example, would be permitted to enter Spain because there are no health restrictions on the French-Spanish border.

Secondly there are exemptions in place for certain types of travel deemed essential, which includes people who have their permanent residence in Spain travelling home and students travelling for study (more detail below).

But for tourists and second home owners travelling from the USA, the Spanish borders remain closed.


Photo: AFP

Is it a final ruling?

The EU revises its list every few weeks, so it is subject to change as the evolution of the coronavirus developes. However since the first list was published on July 1st no new countries have been added and several have been removed.

The list is based on the virus circulation in each country.

The latest version of the list – updated on August 7th – has 10 countries on it. They are:

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Georgia
  • Japan
  • New Zealand
  • Rwanda
  • South Korea
  • Thailand
  • Tunisia
  • Uruguay

But Spain has also added those countries that have established a policy of reciprocal acceptance and these are:

  • China
  • Morocco

As the EU's list is advisory, member states are free to impose different rules if they want. For instance, Spain has already added China and Morocco to its list of permitted countries, because they have agreed recriprocity. So in theory they could lift the restriction on the USA if they chose to.

But there is no indication that that is about to happen.

What about the recent rise in cases in Spain?

If we look at the numbers alone, the limits placed on travel INTO Spain from the US don’t exactly make sense.

The 14-day accumulated incidence of coronavirus cases registered in Spain now stands at over 205 per 100,000 people, far exceeding the US average of 183 cases.

But as the safe country list is established by the EU it takes into account the EU average as a whole – which currently stands at 46 cases per 100,000 -rather than by individual country.

And as any lifting of the restrictions is likely to be on a recriprocal basis, it doesn't look likely to happen while the numbers in Spain are rising.

What is essential travel?

However, as we said, there are exemptions for what is considered “essential travel”.

The EU's definition of essential travel has been slightly loosened since July 1st and now includes some exemptions for students and employees, as well as a category for 'imperative family reasons'.

The EU does not define what counts as an 'imperative reason' but during Spain’s period of strict lockdown it defined essential family travel as providing urgent care for relatives.

People who can travel into the European bloc now include:

  • Citizens of an EU country
  • Non EU citizens who are permanent residents of an EU country and need to come home
  • Healthcare workers engaged in crucial work on the coronavirus crisis
  • Frontier workers and in some circumstances seasonal workers
  • Delivery drivers
  • Diplomats, humanitarian or aid workers
  • Passengers in transit
  • Passengers travelling for imperative family reasons
  • Persons in need of international protection or for other humanitarian reasons
  • Third country nationals travelling for the purpose of study
  • Highly qualified third-country workers IF their employment is essential from an economic perspective and cannot be postponed or performed abroad

Find more details on the exemptions here.

Spain has stressed that is keen to welcome people travelling to the country to study, so any American students planning to start a course here do not need to change their plans.

That includes anyone with a valid student visa, including those who are assigned to a  language assistant (auxiliar de conversación) post in Spain for the next academic year.

Travel rules

You will also need to fill in extra paperwork at the airport relating to the purpose of your trip and a contact locator form providing details for how you can be contacted if one of your fellow passengers later tests positive for Covid-19.

Finally check carefully with your airline on any extra rules, especially around masks. Some airlines specify that medical-grade masks must be worn and you can be denied boarding if you turn up at the airport without the correct type of mask.

Will travellers arriving in Spain have to quarantine?


An employee checks the temperature of passengers in Barajas airport, Madrid. Photo: AFP
 

No. Spain ditched the requirement for mandatory quarantine of anyone arriving in Spain at the end of June.

Does Spain require a Covid test from travellers on arrival?

No. Unlike some countries such as Italy which requests travellers from Spain to present a recent negative PCR test, Spain has no such requirement.

It will however demand a completed  health assessment form which can be downloaded HERE and your temperature will be taken on arrival.

Travel advice on restrictions for those travelling from Spain, go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs page HERE: 

Should I risk travel to Spain as an American? 

The American embassy in Madrid carries a warning to deter those who think they could attempt to get into Spain from the US.

“If you travel to, or transit, Spain and are not admitted, you will be placed in immigration detention for up to several days, until a flight on the same airline becomes available to take you back to your point of origin,” it states. 

Keep updated

The EU says it will revise its list every two weeks and this is due to happen on September 1st. The list is largely based on the health situation in individual countries, so how quickly the ban on Americans and other non-EU tourists is lifted really depends on the evolution of the health situation in their own countries.

Spain could introduce new rules on arrivals as the situation changes so check official travel advice before you travel.

Check Spain’s official tourism website Spain.info and the Spanish Embassy page in the US, as well as the US Embassy in Madrid. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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