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TRAVEL NEWS

The exceptions for inter-regional travel in Spain this Easter (and the forms you’d need)

Travelling between Spain’s regions will be highly restricted for locals and residents from March 26th to April 9th, but as on previous occasions during Spain’s state of alarm, there are a handful of justifiable reasons to cross regional borders over Semana Santa. 

Published: 23 March 2021 13:11 CET
Updated: 28 March 2021 09:15 CEST
The exceptions for inter-regional travel in Spain this Easter (and the forms you’d need)
Photo: Josep Lago/AFP

After weeks of negotiations, Spain’s 17 regions agreed on March 10th to keep their regional borders closed to people based in Spain over the Semana Santa period, whilst allowing tourists to choose where they want to spend their holidays in Spain. 

The country’s two archipelagos – the Canaries and the Balearics – were the only ones given some leeway initially, but since then the Atlantic islands have announced they’ll also close their borders (and even restrict non-essential travel between islands on level 3).

The Balearics’ government, concerned about the influx of tourists arriving currently, are considering a similar move.  

So it’s safe to say that if you’re based in Spain, Easter breaks should be taken close by, in either your island, city, province or region, depending on where you are. 

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That’s unless you want to run the risk of getting a stiff fine, which depending on the region can go from €100 to €600,000. 

But there are of course exceptions if the reasons for travel this Semana Santa are not related to leisure or other non-essential reasons.

The justifiable reasons for inter-regional travel in Spain this Easter are: 

Health reasons : going to a health centre or other medical establishments.

Work : professional, business, institutional or legal obligations related to one’s job.

Education: attending class at universities or other educational centres, including nursery schools.

Return home: according to the Spanish government, returning to your usual or family home is allowed, which doesn’t include second homes people have in the countryside in another region. 

Care : assisting and caring for elderly people, minors, dependents, people with disabilities or other vulnerable people.

Banks and petrol stations: travelling across regional borders to go to your closest bank or insurance company is allowed, as is refuelling your vehicle in a neighbouring territory. 

Legal matters: any required or urgent matter at a public institution, court or notary is a justified reason for travel across regions over Easter.

Renewing official documents: travelling across borders for permit and ID renewals as well as other official documentation is allowed, although in most cases foreigners in Spain have to deal with these official matters in their town or province. Resolving other administrative procedures that cannot be postponed is also a justified cause. 

Exams : having to sit official exams or tests that cannot be postponed is a justified reason for travel this Easter.

Emergency : due to force majeure or a situation of need. This is of course subject to interpretation but the most important factor will be to be able to justify your emergency with documented evidence. 

Other reasons: any other activity of a similar nature, which is duly accredited.

If you meet any of these criteria you will be able to travel between regions this Easter, although you will most likely have to fill in and print a “justificante de viaje”, a declaration form that explains the extenuating circumstances that justify your journey. 

Not all of Spain’s autonomies have made this document available yet, so write the words in inverted commas above in a search engine, plus the name of your region, ahead of your journey to see if it has been made available by then. It it will also most likely be necessary to take along with you other documentation which support your reason for travelling. 

Here are some of the regions that have made the certificate available.  

Aragón

Catalonia

Canary Islands 

Navarra

Basque Country

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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