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VACCINE

UPDATE: Which Covid vaccines does Spain accept for international tourists to visit?

Spain started welcoming vaccinated travellers from non-EU/Schengen countries on June 7th 2021, and the number of vaccines Spanish authorities accept for entry has increased since then. Here’s what you need to know.

Published: 26 May 2021 10:49 CEST
Updated: 19 July 2021 13:28 CEST
which vaccines does spain accept for entry
Will Russia's Sputnik vaccination be accepted for entry into Spain from outside the EU? Photo: FAJRIN RAHARJO / AFP

The Spanish government on Saturday June 5th published a state bulletin confirming that it would modify the entry rules for vaccinated non-EU/Schengen citizens from June 7th.

The state bulletin explained that June 7th was indeed the start date for vaccinated travellers from outside of the EU/Schengen zone to travel to Spain, as long as they have completed their Covid-19 vaccine treatment (ie had their final dose) 14 days before travel here and can provide proof that they have been vaccinated.

EU/EEA travellers who have been fully vaccinated 14 days before travel can also use their vaccine certificates to visit Spain without having to take a PCR or antigen test, a verification process which has been made easier by the EU’s Digital Covid Certificate. 

Which vaccines does Spain accept for entry?

According to a state bulletin published on Saturday June 5th, Spain will accept vaccines that have been “authorised by the European Medicines Agency or those that have completed the process of emergency use by the World Health Organisation”.

As things stand, there are four EMA-approved vaccines: Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. 

According to the World Health Organisation website, the vaccines listed for emergency use are currently the Chinese-developed Sinopharm and Sinovac inoculations and the more recently added Covishield. 

Covishield is the version of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced under licence by the Serum Institute in India. It is made to the same specifications as Vaxzevria, the version produced in Europe, but is not currently approved by the European Medicines Agency.

The inclusion of these three vaccines opens up travel to Spain for vaccinated people in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, where Sinopharm, Sinovac and Covishield have been more widely used. 

The notable absence from the list continues to be that of Russia-developed Sputnik V vaccine, which has so far received emergency use approval in countries such as Turkey and India but not by an international health body. 

According to the Moscow Times, the WHO and the EMA were both finishing their reviews of the vaccine for approval in late May but Reuters has suggested a decision could still be two months away. 

As things stand, a total of seven vaccines will allow international travellers from outside the EU and Schengen Area to visit Spain from June 7th: Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Sinopharm, Sinovac and Covishield.

What proof should I show that I’ve been vaccinated?

According to the Spanish government’s bulletin, it should be a vaccination certificate “issued by the competent authorities” of the country where you’ve been vaccinated.

It has to have been issued at least 14 days before your date of travel.

You have to have received the full vaccine treatment, which with the exception of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, means having had two doses of your vaccine.

The vaccination certificate has to include the following information:

  1. Name and surname of the vaccinated person.
  2. Date of vaccination, indicating the date of the last dose administered.
  3. Type of vaccine administered.
  4. Number of doses administered/complete vaccination treatment.
  5. Issuing country.
  6. Identification of the issuing body that provided the vaccination certificate.

The certificate has to be in either Spanish, English, French or German or if not it should be accompanied by an official translation into Spanish by an official body. 

Spain is set to launch it’s ‘Covid passport’ on June 7th, but it is unclear yet whether this will be available to travellers from outside of the EU/Schengen Area. 

What Spain’s latest state bulletin does state is that vaccinated travellers from third countries should “provide information and documentation of their epidemiological situation”, in this case a vaccination certificate.

It can be presented either in its original paper or digital version. 

You will also have to fill in a health control form before travelling to Spain which you can find here, along with lots more official government information on travel to Spain.

As of July 19th, third country nationals from Brunei, Canada, South Korea, China, United States, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Montenegro, Albania , Qatar, Moldova, North Macedonia, Rwanda, Serbia, Singapore, Switzerland and Thailand. can currently travel to Spain for non-essential reasons such as holidays without having to show a vaccination certificate. Check the latest list here.  

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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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