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Spain will allow EU travellers with vaccine passports to sidestep Covid tests and quarantines

Spain will allow EU citizens and residents to enter Spain without having to quarantine or present a negative Covid test if they instead show a “digital green certificate” or vaccine passport, ministry sources have confirmed. 

Published: 16 April 2021 11:05 CEST
Tourists arriving in Spain
Photo: JAIME REINA / AFP

The EU has announced that its ‘Digital Green Certificates’ – also referred to as vaccine passports – will be ready by June, allowing tourists to travel more easily throughout the bloc, including to Spain. 

This would mean that travellers with the certificates would be able to enter Spain without having to produce a negative PCR test or quarantine, General secretary of Digital Health Alfredo González said on Thursday.

“It will allow for more people to arrive in a safer manner,” he said and “will facilitate the mobility of people in the European Union, guarantee public health protection and permit social and economic activity to resume free of charge”.

González explained that the certificates would be in a digital or paper format and feature a QR code, containing all the essential information on the traveller. 

The European Commission website, states that the Digital Green Certificates will have information on whether the traveller has been vaccinated or not, if they have received a negative test result or if they have recovered from Covid-19.

“This certificate is not a passport, it’s not a travel document, and it’s not a requirement for travel,” González continued.

“It will respect data protection, safety and privacy. It is designed not to be discriminatory, and that is one of the major advantages,” he explained, hoping that the certificates will give a boost to summer tourism in Spain.

He said that Spain has already started the process of implementing the certificate to be ready in time for June.  

Sources from Spain’s Tourism Ministry also showed their enthusiasm for the certificates when they told El País: “We are optimistic and with this certificate, we are taking a giant step”. 

The EU Commission has said that national authorities will be in charge of issuing the certificates. It has not been decided yet how those in Spain will get one, whether they will be issued by hospitals, test centres or health authorities.

“When travelling, every EU citizen or third-country national legally staying or residing in the EU, who holds a Digital Green Certificate, should be exempted from free movement restrictions in the same way as citizens from the visited Member State,” the commission stated on its website.

Due to the pandemic, Spain saw fewer than 20 million visitors last year, the worst year for tourism seen in the last 50 years. Authorities are hoping that with the help of the Digital Green Certificates, the country will see double that number of foreign visitors this year.

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EU

How would a ‘youth mobility scheme’ between the UK and EU really work?

The EU and the UK could enter into a 'youth mobility' scheme allowing young people to move countries to work, study and live. Here's what we know about the proposal.

Published: 18 April 2024 17:09 CEST
How would a 'youth mobility scheme' between the UK and EU really work?

Across the 27 countries of the EU, people of all ages can move countries to work, study, spend a long visit or chase the possibility of love – and all this is possible thanks to EU freedom of movement.

That freedom no longer extends to the UK. As a result of Brexit, a UK national who wants to move to an EU country, or an EU citizen who wants to move to the UK, will need a visa in order to do so.

However, a new ‘mobility scheme’ could re-create some elements of freedom of movement, if the EU and UK can come to an agreement.

The European Commission on Thursday announced proposals for a ‘youth mobility scheme’.

Who would benefit?

First things first, it’s only for the youngsters, older people will have to continue with the time-consuming and often expensive process of getting a visa for study, work or visiting.

The Commission’s proposal is for a scheme that covers people aged 18 to 30. 

Their reasoning is: “The withdrawal of the UK from the EU has resulted in decreased mobility between the EU and the UK. This situation has particularly affected the opportunities for young people to experience life on the other side of the Channel and to benefit from youth, cultural, educational, research and training exchanges.

“The proposal seeks to address in an innovative way the main barriers to mobility for young people experienced today and create a right for young people to travel from the EU to the UK and vice-versa more easily and for a longer period of time.”

How would it work?

We’re still at an early stage, but the proposal is to allow extended stays – for young people to be able to spend up to four years in the EU or UK – under a special type of visa or residency permit. It does not, therefore, replicate the paperwork-free travel of the pre-Brexit era.

The Commission states that travel should not be ‘purpose bound’ to allow young people to undertake a variety of activities while they are abroad.

Under the visa system, people must travel to a country for a specific purpose which has been arranged before they leave – ie in order to study they need a student visa which requires proof of enrolment on a course, or if they intend to work they need a working visa which often requires sponsorship from an employer.

The proposal would allow young people to spend their time in a variety of ways – perhaps some time working, a period of study and then some time travelling or just relaxing.

It would also not be subject to national or Bloc-wide quotas.

It seems that some kind of visa or residency permit would still be required – but it would be issued for up to four years and could be used for a variety of activities.

Fees for this should not be “excessive” – and the UK’s health surcharge would not apply to people travelling under this scheme.

Are there conditions?

Other than the age qualification, the proposal is that young people would have to meet other criteria, including having comprehensive health insurance, plus financial criteria to ensure that they will be able to support themselves while abroad.

The visa/residency permit could be rejected on the ground of threats to public policy, public security or public health.

Will this happen soon?

Slow down – what’s happened today is that the European Commission has made a recommendation to open negotiations.

This now needs to be discussed in the Council of Europe.

If the Council agrees then, and only then, will the EU open negotiations with the UK on the subject. The scheme could then only become a reality if the EU and UK come to an agreement on the terms of the scheme, and then refine the fine details.

Basically we’re talking years if it happens at all, and there’s plenty of steps along the way that could derail the whole process.

Don’t start packing just yet.

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