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Where can tourists and visitors in Spain get a Covid test and how much does it cost?

Depending on their Covid health status and their countries’ travel requirements, holidaymakers in Spain may need to get a PCR or an antigen test before they fly back home. Here’s what you need to know about where to get this type of Covid test, prices and more. 

Published: 13 July 2021 11:29 CEST
Updated: 14 April 2022 17:51 CEST
Where can tourists and visitors in Spain get a Covid test and how much does it cost?
Photo: Oscar del Pozo/AFP

If you’re holidaying in Spain this Easter, you may need a Covid test such as PCR or an antigen test to get back home. While some countries have relaxed all entry restrictions such as the UK, others such as the US still require all passengers to present a negative Covid-19 test result or documentation of recovery. Here’s everything you need to know about getting a Covid test in Spain. 

READ ALSO: What are the Covid travel rules between Spain and the UK in April?

What are the Covid-19 rules for travel between the US and Spain in April 2022?

Where can I get a PCR or an antigen test in Spain?

Private clinics, laboratories, pharmacies – and in regions such as Madrid – even dental clinics all offer PCR and antigen tests. 

If you’re staying at your hotel in Spain, you could ask the staff if they can recommend somewhere, and if you want to ask in Spanish, you should say ¿Dónde me puedo hacer una prueba PCR? (Where can I get a PCR test?) or ¿Dónde me puedo hacer una prueba de antígeno? (Where can I can an antigen test?).

Remember that self-administered antigen tests are not valid for travel. You will have to book one at a registered clinic or laboratory. 

There’s also using Google or Google maps to find the closest facility offering PCR tests.

Photo: Cesar Manso/AFP

How much does a PCR test cost in Spain?

According to the Spanish consumer association OCU, the average price of a PCR test in Spain is €120, although in some clinics it can be as high as €200. You can also find places online where you can book them for around half the average at €60. It’s worth shopping around online and booking in advance to get the best deal.

You may find results in English but it’s worth googling “precio de prueba PCR” (price of PCR test) and then your location to find all available nearby clinics and labs that perform the tests. 

In January, the Spanish government set the price of antigen tests bought at pharmacies to €2.94 each. Be aware though, they will cost considerably more if you book them at a clinic, usually around €25-€40. 

Is there anything else I should know about getting a PCR or an antigen test in Spain?

The PCR sample is collected from the patient’s nose and throat with a swab and sent to the laboratory for analysis. Sometimes it’s taken from the nose and not the throat or the other way round. The PCR test doesn’t hurt but it does feel fairly unpleasant. 

You’re likely to get your results back within 24 hours. 

If you test positive you will not be allowed to travel. In March 2021, the Spanish government announced that asymptomatic people or those with mild symptoms would no longer have to quarantine for seven days. 

If you do test positive, your test will not be repeated when you feel better. If you want to repeat it, you will have to do another PCR test and pay again.

If you develop Covid-19 symptoms while in Spain, the country’s official Travel Safe tourism page recommends “avoiding any physical contact with another person”. 

“Next, inform the local healthcare authorities immediately via the information helpline of the region you are in“. If they deem you have Covid symptoms, public health workers will offer you the PCR test free of charge.

“In all cases, Spanish emergency healthcare services are guaranteed and provided at hospitals and healthcare centres,” Spain’s Tourism Ministry confirms.  

A couple of regions in Spain such as Andalusia and Murcia offer access to free insurance with Covid-19 coverage for international travellers and tourists. Several other regions like the Canary Islands and the Balearics did offer this service but have not extended it. 

READ ALSO: Which regions in Spain offer free insurance to tourists who get Covid-19 while on holiday?

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TRAVEL NEWS

Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The EU's new Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport controls is due to come into force later this year, but among many questions that remain is the situation for non-EU nationals who live in the EU or Schengen zone.

Published: 27 April 2024 07:59 CEST
Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

Currently scheduled to start in autumn 2024 (unless it’s delayed again, which is not unlikely) the EU’s new Entry & Exit System is basically an enhanced passport check at external EU borders, including a facial scan and fingerprinting.

You can find a full explanation of the new system HERE.

Travellers crossing an external EU or Schengen border for the first time will be required to complete EES ‘pre-registration’ formalities including that facial scan and fingerprinting.

There are, however, several groups exempt from EES and one of them is non-EU nationals who have a residency permit or long-stay visa for an EU country.

So if you’re a foreigner living in the EU or Schengen zone, here’s what you need to know.

Exempt

One of the stated aims of EES is to tighten up enforcement of over-staying – IE, people who stay longer than 90 days in every 180 without a visa, or those who overstay the limits of their visa.

Obviously these limits do not apply to non-EU nationals who are resident in the EU or Schengen zone, which is why this group is exempt from EES checks. They will instead be required to show their passport and residency permit/visa when crossing a border, just as they do now.

In its explanations of how EES will work, the European Commission is clear – exempt groups include non-EU residents of the Bloc.

A Commission spokesman told The Local: “Non-EU citizens residing in the EU are not in the scope of the EES and will not be subject to pre-enrollment of data in the EES via self-service systems. The use of automation remains under the responsibility of the Member States and its availability in border crossing points is not mandatory.

“When crossing the borders, holders of EU residence permits should be able to present to the border authorities their valid travel documents and residence permits.”

How this will work

How this will work on the ground, however, is a lot less clear.

Most ports/airports/terminals have two passport queues – EU and non-EU. It remains unclear whether the non-EU queue will have a separate section for those who are exempt from EES.

It does seem clear that exempt groups will not be able to use the automated passport scanners – since those cannot scan additional documents like residency permits – but should instead use manned passport booths. However it is not clear whether these will be available at all airports/ports/terminals or how non-EU residents of the EU will be directed to those services.

There’s also the issue that individual border guards are not always clear on the processes and rules for non-EU residents of the EU – even under the current system it’s relatively commonly for EU residents to have their passports incorrectly stamped or be given incorrect information about passport stamping by border guards.

Brits in particular will remember the immediate post-Brexit period when the processes as described by the EU and national authorities frequently did not match what was happening on the ground.

The Local will continue to try and get answers on these questions. 

READ ALSO What will EES mean for dual nationals

What if I live in the EU but I don’t have a visa/residency permit?

For most non-EU citizens, having either a visa or a residency permit is obligatory in order to be legally resident.

However, there is one exception: UK citizens who were legally resident in the EU prior to the end of the Brexit transition period and who live in one of the “declaratory” countries where getting a post-Brexit residency card was optional, rather than compulsory. Declaratory countries include Germany and Italy.

Although it is legal for people in this situation to live in those countries without a residency permit, authorities already advise people to get one in order to avoid confusion/hassle/delays at the border. Although EES does not change any rules relating to residency or travel, it seems likely that it will be more hassle to travel without a residency card than it is now.

Our advice? Things are going to be chaotic enough, getting a residency permit seems likely to save you a considerable amount of hassle.

Delays 

Although residents of the EU do not need to complete EES formalities, they will be affected if the new system causes long queues or delays at the border.

Several countries have expressed worries about this, with the UK-France border a particular cause for concern.

READ ALSO Travellers could face ’14 hours queues’ at UK-France border

Where does it apply?

EES is about external EU/Schengen borders, so does not apply if you are travelling within the Schengen zone – eg taking the train from France to Germany or flying from Spain to Sweden.

Ireland and Cyprus, despite being in the EU, are not in the Schengen zone so will not be using EES, they will continue to stamp passports manually.

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland – countries that are in the Schengen zone but not in the EU – will be using EES.

The full list of countries using EES is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Therefore a journey between any of the countries listed above will not be covered by EES.

However a journey in or out of any of those countries from a country not listed above will be covered by EES.

You can find our full Q&A on EES HERE.

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