A growing number of autonomous communities in Spain are getting approval from their local high courts to implement the requirement of the Covid Digital Certificate (or Covid health passport or pass) for domestic matters. 

The rules vary between regions but the requirement of showing a paper or digital certificate on your mobile phone reflecting full vaccination, testing or recovery is now applicable for many bars, cafés, restaurants, nightclubs, hospitals, care homes, weddings, other celebrations and large events across the country. 

MAP: Which regions in Spain now require a Covid health pass for daily affairs? 

But do people in Spain – visitors or residents – who have been vaccinated abroad also need to show this Covid certificate issued in Spain for daily affairs? Or can Covid health passes issued abroad be used instead?

Here’s what we know so far:

The Covid-19 health pass for daily affairs is new in Spain, having only been used and checked for international travel purposes until recently. 

That may explain why Spanish authorities have not yet made an official announcement about what foreign visitors have to show when on their holidays in Spain. 

Spain’s Certificado Digital Covid is usually issued by the country’s 17 different regional authorities, who are the ones who have to ask their high courts to approve their use for daily affairs. 

These documents, which can be downloaded on each regional government’s website, are no different from the Covid health passports used for travel.

Foreign tourists in Spain 

Unlike in France, where visitors have to convert their vaccine certificates or tests into a format that’s compatible with the French system, Spain recognises certificates issued “by the competent authorities” of other countries.

There is no expectation that tourists provide a Spain-issued Covid health pass as these are only technically available to people who were vaccinated by the Spanish public health system (more on that later). 

If asked for a Covid certificate for domestic matters in Spain, the same Covid certificate which tourists use to travel to Spain (and had to upload to the Spain Travel Health website or app to get a QR code) contains the information required to show your vaccination, testing or recovery status.

Vaccination certificates accepted by Spanish authorities have to be in either Spanish, English, French or German (if not it should be accompanied by an official translation into Spanish by an official body).

They also have to show the name and surname of the vaccinated person, the date of vaccination (indicating the date of the last dose administered), the type of vaccine administered and the number of doses administered. 

Spain recognises the NHS Covid Pass, other EU Digital Covid Certificates, vaccination certificates issued in the US and others that fulfil the criteria above. 

Will police officers be checking tourists’ Covid health passes? So far, only the Valencia region has announced it plans to deploy police officers to ensure businesses and customers are abiding by the new rules. 

But in general terms, it seems more likely that it will be managers and staff checking Covid health passes to allow access to indoor spaces.

They will no doubt skim through tourists’ digital Covid passes, look for the name of an approved vaccine and that “2 out of 2” doses have been administered and wave them in, rather than scanning any QR codes. 

So all things considered, if you’re a tourist in Spain who needs to prove full vaccination, testing or recovery to enter an indoor space, carry with you the Covid-19 health pass or vaccine certificate you used to travel to Spain. 

Residents vaccinated abroad 

Many foreign residents in Spain as well as Spaniards overseas have had to face the problem of not being able to access the Covid certificate of the region they’re in. 

The Local Spain reported on this last July, when the primary problem of not being able to download these documents was the difficulties it meant for travel. 

READ MORE: ‘We’re in limbo’: The foreigners in Spain who can’t get a Digital Covid Certificate for travel

It’s affected people who did get vaccinated in Spain but don’t have public health details as they use private health insurance, residents who were vaccinated in another country, tourists who got Covid-19 in Spain but couldn’t get proof of recovery and those who’ve run into other technical problems or misunderstood situations. 

Now the problem of not being able to get a Spain-issued Covid-19 health could – depending on their location – mean they can’t access certain indoor public spaces either.

Are there any potential solutions?

Some regional health departments such as the Valencian Community’s are willing to accept foreign vaccination certificates and provide those with public health details a Spanish Covid health pass, but this isn’t necessarily possible everywhere in the country. 

Sources from Spain’s Ministry of Health reportedly told Spanish online website Newtral.es that “the registration of a vaccination carried out abroad depends on the criteria of the healthcare professional” and is determined by whether the documents provided are “reliable to be considered as proof of vaccination”.

In other words, as we’ve seen at previous stages of the pandemic, people in this situation can be slightly at the mercy of what an individual health worker or health centre considers appropriate; a case of crossing your fingers and hoping for the best.

This was previously seen when people who had had Covid-19 needed a second dose to be able to travel to countries such as the US or the UK, but had to ask around at different vaccination centres in the hope that one health worker would break protocol.

Fortunately, the Spanish government eventually caught wind of this and people in this situation can now request a second vaccination as there’s a national rule in place.

Our hope is that by covering the limbo in which many people in Spain still find themselves in vis-à-vis Covid-19 health passes, Spain’s Health Ministry will take action.