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TRAVEL NEWS

Spain clarifies: UK visitors will NOT need to show PCR test but will require health form

Following Friday’s announcement that UK travellers will be able to visit Spain from May 24th without having to present a negative PCR test, Spanish authorities have sought to clarify doubts over whether this applied to all UK travellers or just those who have been vaccinated. 

Spain clarifies: UK visitors will NOT need to show PCR test but will require health form
Spain's PM said on Friday Britons will be welcomed "without restrictions and health requirements”. Photo: Manu Fernandez/AFP

News that Spain will finally allow Britons to travel to the country for non-essential reasons and without a PCR has been met with both joy and confusion. 

Many Brits have taken to forums and social media groups to ask if it was actually possible for them to travel to Spain without proof that they aren’t Covid-19 carriers or at least immune, especially in light of the increased prevalence of the Indian strain in the UK. 

Both Spain’s official state bulletin and the country’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez have said that in three days Britons will be welcomed without restrictions and health requirements”. Spanish authorities have attributed the lifting of previous restrictions to the UK’s advanced vaccination campaign and the importance of British visitors for the country’s tourism industry.

There’s also the fact that Spain is set to allow all other citizens from non-EU nations to visit Spain from June 7th, as long as they’ve been vaccinated, whereas this requirement hasn’t been included for British visitors by Spanish authorities.

A screenshot taken from Spain’s foreign office on Friday showing third countries whose citizens can visit Spain for non-essential reasons. 

Spain’s Foreign Office has since published the following statement confirming that PCR tests will not be required but they will need to fill in a health form.

“From 00:00 of May 24th, travelers from the United Kingdom will be allowed to freely enter Spain for non-essential purposes, such as tourism, and stay in Spain without a visa for a maximum period of 90 days within 6 months. 

(https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2021/05/21/pdfs/BOE-A-2021-8449.pdf)

“From May 24th, travellers from the United Kingdom will NOT need to present a negative COVID-19 test certificate (PCR), as long as they have remained in the UK in the last 14 days.

You can read the original statement by Spain’s “exteriores” office here

“Should you have visited other countries during this period, a PCR might still be required when you arrive in Spain. Please, check rules concerning third countries at the following link.

“It is mandatory for all residents in the United Kingdom travelling to Spain (including children of all ages) to fill in a Health Control Form (FCS). You can download the form from the following link.

“Please, be aware that the visa framework established as a consequence of Brexit, remains in force and therefore British citizens will still need a visa for purposes other than tourism, such as carrying out professional activities in Spain.”

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Member comments

  1. This is fine for UK nationals coming to Spain – BUT will they be able to get back
    into UK after leaving Spain?
    Whilst Spain is on the “amber list” THREE tests are needed. One in Spain and two
    during a ten-day quarantine in UK. The latter could be a financial obstacle as most
    test pairs cost over £150 per person (significant overhead on travel!).
    However the greater confront is arranging for the pre-departure test in Spain. I
    came back a few days ago and it took me quite a while to get the test arranged
    (as well as a €90 cost).How many regular tourists will want to spend their time
    in Spain researching PCR-test providers? This will apply especially if they have
    to engage in what, to them, is a foreign language.
    Are we likely to read stories of tourists being denied readmittance to UK or
    facing large fines?
    The situation is only slightly better for “green list” countries as they will still
    need to get a pre-departure test (Portuguese language certificate not valid!)
    and pay for a “day-two” test (at own expenses) after return.
    Are there any people who have been misled by announcements of “freedom”
    to travel from 17th May and the implication that green list is OK?

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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.

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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