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TRAVEL NEWS

UPDATE: When will it be possible to travel to the US from Spain in 2021?

Although Spain has been open to some American visitors for a while, the United States’ entry rules for arrivals from Spain have been far stricter for the last 18 months. This, however, will soon change.

Published: 31 August 2021 13:43 CEST
Updated: 1 October 2021 15:58 CEST
Passengers board an American Airlines plane to Spain
The White House believes travel from Spain to the US will open up to vaccinated travellers in “early November”. Photo: Cooper NEILL / AFP

What are the current rules for travel from Spain to the US?

The White House announced on Monday September 20th it was lifting its international travel ban after a long 18 months where mostly only US residents and nationals have been able to enter the United States.

This will remain the case during October, but everything points to the situation drastically changing in November 2021.

On September 20th, the White House announced the US would lift Covid travel bans on all passengers for all 22 Schengen Zone members (most EU countries and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) as well as the UK, Ireland, Iran, South Africa, Brazil and India.

Spain is of course a member of the Schengen Area and is included in these latest travel changes.

Although exact details of the requirements are yet to be published, it is expected that travellers arriving in the US from these countries will have to show proof they are fully vaccinated AND a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of travel to the US.

White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients told reporters the new “consistent approach” would take effect in “early November”.

Quarantine will not be required on arrival.

US authorities currently accept Pfizer/BioNtech, AstraZeneca, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), Moderna, Sinovac/Coronavac and Sinopharm inoculations.

Even though the vaccination requirement will have to be met by most travellers, unvaccinated US nationals in Spain who want to fly back will be able to do so if they present a negative Covid-19 test.

The travel restrictions were brought in by Donald Trump in 2020 when Presidential Proclamation 10143 suspended entry to the United States for foreign nationals who have been present in the 26 countries that comprise the Schengen zone, including Spain, up to 14 days prior to their arrival at the United States port of entry. 

Some immediate family members of US citizens, and other individuals specifically identified here have been able to travel to the States during this time, but so far other people living in Spain have not, causing misery and problems for many. 

READ ALSO: Where can tourists and visitors in Spain get a PCR test and how much does it cost?

What about the rules and restrictions for travel from the US to Spain?

On Friday, September 3rd Spanish health authorities removed the United States from the list of third countries whose travellers are exempt from Spain’s Covid travel restrictions.

In late September, Spain extended these restrictions for travellers from third countries until November, meaning unvaccinated Americans cannot currently travel to Spain in October 2021. 

This came just days after the EU recommended Member States introduce tighter restrictions for travellers from the US and a handful of other third countries with worsening Covid figures.

To find out what these new requirements mean for vaccinated and unvaccinated American travellers who want to visit Spain, click here.

Member comments

  1. We arrived in Spain on 28 September 2021. We accessed the Spain Health App within the 48 hour window, answered the required questions and immediately received the Spain Admission QR Code. We were required to show the Spain QR code and our US Covid-19 vaccination record prior to receiving our boarding passes in the US. We transferred @ CDG Paris and were required to show the US & Spain documents prior to receiving our boarding passes to Spain. Upon arrival in Spain, we were directed to a station for review of our documents. The process was very fast and we were swiftly moved through the area and on to secure our luggage. We had applied for the France Health Certificate online on 3 September 2021. Today (1 October) we received the approve France Health Pass with the QR codes. The delay from France was unexpected but thankfully we now have them.

  2. Just correcting your article where you say “The travel restrictions were brought in by Donald Trump in January 2021”, please note that President Trump lifted the ban on EU travel to the USA on 18 January 2021, effective date of 26 January 2021. President Biden rescinded the lifting of the ban upon taking office. From the NYT per https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/18/us/coronavirus-travel-ban-europe-brazil.html: Trump lifted coronavirus travel restrictions from Europe and Brazil; Biden team says it won’t last… Published Jan. 18, 2021…President Trump on Monday ordered an end to the ban on travelers from Europe and Brazil that had been aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus to the United States, a move that was quickly rejected by aides to President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who said Mr. Biden will rescind the move when he takes office on Wednesday. In a proclamation issued late Monday, Mr. Trump said that the travel restrictions, which applied to noncitizens trying to come to the United States after spending time in those areas, would no longer be needed on Jan. 26, the date on which those passengers will be required to present proof of a negative coronavirus test before boarding a flight.

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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.

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