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Do I need to fill out any Covid documents if I’m travelling between two places in Spain?

Spain lifted its regional border closures in May, but does that mean national or international tourists don’t need to fill in any health forms or meet other Covid travel requirements if they’re travelling within the country?

Published: 21 July 2021 10:35 CEST
Do I need to fill in any Covid documentation if I’m travelling between two places in Spain?
Photo: Pau Barrena/AFP

All people travelling to Spain currently have to fill in a health control form on the Spain Travel Health website or app, regardless of their age, nationality and the travel requirements they are asked to meet (full vaccination, PCR test, proof of recovery or no requirement). 

But what about for travel within Spain? 

Does a person driving from Andalusia to the Basque Country have to present any documentation to regional border authorities this summer? 

How about if you fly from Madrid to Barcelona, do you need to fill in Spain’s health control form?

The answer to this is that it depends. 

For travel within mainland Spain and to the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, there is no need to fill in Spain’s official health control form, whether you’re flying, driving or travelling by bus or train. 

You no longer have to show any documentation justifying your trip and there are no controls at the border as was the case during Spain’s state of alarm, although some municipalities with very high infection rates may impose their own perimeter closures.

The company you’re travelling with may ask you to fill in their own individual health forms, but there are no restrictions on travel within mainland Spain linked to whether you’re fully vaccinated or have a negative PCR to show. 

The only slight exception to the rule in Spain’s península is Galicia, where regional authorities on Tuesday asked people travelling from Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Castilla y León, Catalonia, the Valencia region, Extremadura, Navarra, the Basque Country and La Rioja to provide them with their contact details and other information through the Galician health website or by calling 881 00 20 21.

Then there’s the case of Spain’s two archipelagos: the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands. 

Both these regions do have restrictions for people travelling from mainland Spain which you can read about in the link below. These regions require people to show proof of vaccination, testing or recovery. 

READ MORE: Do I need a Covid test to travel to another region in Spain this summer?

The Balearic Islands also have their own health control form which travellers have to complete before travel to the Mediterranean islands.

In the case of the Canaries, if you’re not fully vaccinated, you have to send the results of your tests to the following address [email protected] or get the lab to do it, but you don’t have to fill in a separate health control form.

It may still be handy to have Spain’s Digital Covid Certificate on your phone if you’ve been fully vaccinated, which you can find out about more below, as some regions have expressed interest in using this as a health pass to access bars, restaurants and other establishments. 

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a soft launch of the new EU border system – the entry/exit (EES) system – on the assumption that it will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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