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TRAVEL NEWS

What are the rules for travel between Spain and France this autumn?

What are Spanish and French authorities’ requirements for people travelling between the two countries at this stage of the pandemic? Do the rules change on either side and does it make a difference if you’re in transit or driving rather than flying?

Published: 19 October 2021 12:28 CEST
Spanish police check travellers' coronavirus documents before allowing them to continue their journeys into Spain. Photo: Ander Guillenea/AFP
Spanish police check travellers' coronavirus documents before allowing them to continue their journeys into Spain. Photo: Ander Guillenea/AFP

As things stand in mid October 2021, Spain and France’s epidemiological situation have greatly improved when compared to earlier stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In Spain, 90 percent of people aged over 12 have at least one dose (37 million out of the country’s 47 million inhabitants have been fully vaccinated) and the fortnightly infection rate is below 50 cases per 100,000 people.

In France, 67 percent of the country’s 64.8 million people have completed their Covid vaccination, and although cases are rising over the past month, the infection rate isn’t as bad as during previous coronavirus waves.

With these figures in mind, what does it mean for travel between the neighbouring countries?

What are the rules for travelling from Spain to France?

According to the Spanish foreign ministry’s latest update on October 15th 2021, all travellers over 12 years of age who enter France from Spain by any means of travel must show a Covid health pass or certificate proving one of the following:

  • You’ve been fully vaccinated (more details below)
  • You’ve tested negative for Covid-19 on a PCR or antigen test carried out in the 24 hours prior to the trip
  • You’ve recovered from Covid-19 in the last 6 months (more than 11 days and less than 6 months ago)

The Covid health pass, also referred to as the Digital Covid Certificate, is issued by the health authorities of each region in Spain and is the most commonly used and easiest means of displaying one of the three conditions above.

READ MORE:

France’s vaccine requirements for entry

French authorities consider travellers to be fully vaccinated if they’ve received vaccine doses approved by the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA): Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen). 

For travellers vaccinated with Pfizer/Comirnaty, Moderna, or AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria /Covishield, the vaccination programme is considered complete if the second dose was administered at least 7 days before the trip. 

For those who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson inoculation, 28 days must have passed before travel from Spain to France. 

In the case of people who have received the required doses of a vaccine approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) but not the EMA, it’s a bit more complicated. This is the case currently for those vaccinated with Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines. 

France will consider their vaccination schedule complete 7 days after receiving an additional dose of an mRNA vaccine recognised by the EMA. 

For people who’ve had Covid vaccines not recognised by the WHO or the EMA, the vaccination schedule will not be considered complete until two doses of an mRNA vaccine have been received.

France considers people who recovered from Covid-19 and received one vaccine dose afterwards to be fully vaccinated/immunised.

Flying from Spain to France

Before boarding the plane or during the flight to France, each passenger must fill out an affidavit certifying that they do not have Covid-19 symptoms and haven’t been in contact with a positive case of Covid-19 in the last 14 days.

If required by French border officials, they will have to undergo a PCR or antigen test upon arrival at the airport of entry into France. 

The form is provided by the airline. 

Many airlines only accept surgical face masks and not cloth masks, so keep that in mind as well.

Driving from Spain to France 

The same rules about being fully vaccinated, tested or having recovered from Covid-19 apply if you’re crossing the French border by land (see more above under requirements). 

However, there are some exceptions for which having to show a Covid health pass does not apply:

  • Crossings by land for less than 24 hours and within a radius of 30 km from the place of residence. 
  • Crossings by land for professional reasons of an urgent or frequent nature which makes it impossible to get tested. 
  • Travel by road transport professionals carrying out work duties ie. lorry drivers.

In all cases, compliance with these conditions has to be proven with documentation.

France’s affidavit of being Covid-free is required for all entries, not just by air, although in practice this may not always be requested at the land border between Spain and France.

READ ALSO:

Road transit through France

If you’re setting off from Spain and driving through France in order to get to the United Kingdom or another country in Europe, you will still have to meet France’s general entry requirements from Spain.  

This means you have to show either proof of full vaccination, a negative Covid-19 test from the past 24 hours or proof that you’ve recovered in the last 6 months.

Other points to keep in mind before travelling from Spain to France 

Since July 7th, PCR and antigen tests are no longer free for foreign tourists, except for non-residents who require a test by medical prescription, those who’ve been identified as a “contact case”.

It’s important to travel with your Spanish public health card and your European Health Insurance Card. 

If you develop Covid-19 symptoms while in France, call the 24h helpline 0 800 130 000 and only in cases of extreme urgency call 15 (SAMU) or 112.

People in France need to show a health pass to enjoy usually routine activities such as sipping a coffee in a café or travelling on an intercity train.

You can use your Spanish QR code to upload to France’s TousAntiCovid app which acts as the health pass.

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about Covid-19 health passes in France

A man displays smartphones showing the AOK pass app at the arrivals area of Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport
Travellers flying from Spain to France will have to show proof of their Covid-19 health status. Photo: ERIC PIERMONT/AFP

What are the rules for travelling from France to Spain?

Spain’s entry rules are similar to those France currently has in place – to enter the Spanish territory travellers have to present either proof of full vaccination, Covid testing or recovery.

However, Spanish health authorities don’t classify whole EU countries as being “at risk” for Covid infections but rather regions, which means that people travelling from areas that are considered low risk in France don’t technically have to show a Covid health pass or certificate reflecting the above conditions. 

Currently, Spain’s Health Ministry classifies Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Corse, Guadeloupe, Ile-de-France, Occitanie, Pays de la Loire and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur as being “at risk”. (list updated weekly can be checked here).

The exception to Spain’s Covid-19 travel requirements are children under 12 years of age, travellers in airport transit, transport workers, cross-border workers and residents of the Spain-France border area for journeys not exceeding a radius of 30 km from their place of residence.

In any case, all passengers arriving in Spain by air or sea, including those arriving in transit to other countries, must complete a Health Control Form before departure and obtain their QR code to present it at boarding and at health controls on arrival in Spain.

It’s called Spain Travel Health and it can be accessed on this website or on their app.

READ ALSO: The most common problems with the Spain Travel Health app and some potential solutions

What if I’m travelling to Spain from France on land?

If you’re crossing the border by car, train or bus, the same rules apply as for travel by air or sea.

If the area which you’re travelling from in France to Spain is classified as “at risk”, if you’re stopped by Spanish border authorities, they may expect you to produce a Covid health pass or certification.   

As stated earlier the health control form is for arrivals by air or sea, which means that people who drive from France to Spain do not have to complete the health control form.

What are Spain’s vaccine, testing and recovery requirements for arrivals from France?

For travellers who have been fully vaccinated, the inoculation must have been completed at least 14 days before their entry to Spain, with no time distinction made between vaccines.

Whether you use a Covid health pass or another form of vaccination certificate, it must mention the date of vaccination carried out, the vaccine administered and the country of vaccination.

Spain accepts EMA-approved or WHO vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Astra-Zeneca, Janssen / Johnson & Johnson, Sinovac and Sinopharm.

For travellers who haven’t been fully vaccinated and need to get tested, they must present a negative result for an antigen test (within 48 hours before travel) or a PCR test (within 72 hours). Saliva and rapid tests do not count. 

The testing certificate must include the identity or travel document number of the person tested.

If the traveller entering Spain from France has recovered from Covid-19 recently, they’ll have to present a certificate of recovery, valid from the 11th day after the first positive diagnostic test for a total period of 180 days (6 months). 

It’s key that the document includes the date of the first positive test, the type of test carried out and the country where this certificate was issued.

Spanish authorities consider that those under the age of 65 who recovered from Covid-19 and had one vaccine dose are fully immunised and therefore get a vaccination certification, whereas those over 65 who had Covid must have had two vaccine doses or one-dose of the Johnson & Johnson inoculation to receive full vaccination status.

However, there is no evidence that Spanish airport authorities will apply this criteria to foreign visitors in possession of a valid EU Digital Covid Certificate who are over the age of 65 and only received one vaccine dose, especially if the document is authorised by another EU/EEA country.

The EU Digital Covid Certificate can serve as proof of vaccination, a negative test result or proof of recovery for Spanish authorities. 

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For members

TOURISM

Ecotax and cruise bans: Why Spain’s mass tourism measures haven’t worked

Regions and cities around Spain have tried several ways to slow down the negative effects of mass tourism on local communities, largely without any luck and not addressing the major problem underpinning it.

Published: 3 May 2024 09:27 CEST
Ecotax and cruise bans: Why Spain's mass tourism measures haven't worked

The Spanish tourism sector continues to grow, but so does opposition to it.

Increasingly in Spain in recent years, anti-tourist sentiment (sometimes veering into anti-digital nomad sentiment) is on the rise, and much of it is born from frustrations about mass tourism and gentrification and their impact on Spaniards.

READ ALSO: Why does hatred of tourists in Spain appear to be on the rise?

In 2000, 46.4 million tourists visited Spain. In those days, travellers (often from Northern Europe) flocked to the coasts to stay in the hotel blocks right on the beach. The classic Spanish holiday, if you will.

But things are changing. By 2023, that figure had nearly doubled to 85.3 million.

Yet during those 23 years hotel accommodation grew by just 7 percent. This statistic, cited by Juan Molas, President of Spain’s Tourist Board and cited in Spanish daily El País, reveals a lot about the Spanish tourism sector and why efforts to try and combat mass tourism (or its negative effects, at least) have failed so far.

Molas’ statistic begs an obvious question: where do the rest of those tourists now stay, if not in traditional hotels?

Increasingly, in short-term accommodation such as tourist rentals and, in recent years, Airbnbs.

READ MORE: ‘Get the f*ck out of here’ – Málaga plastered with anti-tourism stickers

There have been regular protests against mass tourism around Spain in recent months, notably in places like the Canary Islands and Málaga.

Anti-tourist graffiti has appeared in places such as Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, the Canary and Balearic Islands, places that face the brunt of mass tourism in Spain. Locals complain that the proliferation of tourist rental accommodation depletes the affordable housing stock, inflates the local property market, and prices them out of their own neighbourhoods.

Often, these sorts of tourist rental accommodations are unlicensed and illegal. In Madrid, for example, there are tens of thousands of tourist apartments in Madrid available through platforms such as Airbnb and Booking, and yet recent findings show that barely five percent have a municipal tourist licence in order to operate legally. 

“Neither the central administration, nor the regions, nor the town councils have done their homework on the illegal [accommodation] offer, which is the most important scourge of tourism in Spain,” Molas says.

Though the problem seems obvious to many, including experts like Molas, some regions of Spain have focused on other ways to try and limit mass tourism… and they haven’t really worked so far.

READ ALSO:

Tourist tax

Tourist taxes made big news in recent weeks when Venice began charging tourists on day trips to visit the tourist hotspot.

In Spain, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands are the only two regions that have implemented tourist taxes so far, although not with the express aim of reducing the number of visitors.

Rather, Catalonia taxes overnight stays while the Balearic Islands taxes possible environmental damage. Visitor arrivals have continued to rise despite the taxes.

In the thirteen years since the tax was introduced in Barcelona, tourist numbers have risen from 14.5 million to 18 million. Importantly, a moratorium on hotel construction has been in place in the Catalan capital since 2017, which has led to an exponential growth in tourist rental accommodation in the city.

In the case of the Balearic Islands, the annual number of tourist arrivals has increased from 13 to 14 million in the six years in which the so-called ‘ecotax’ has been in force on the islands.

Limiting cruise ships

Coastal and island resorts in Spain have also tried to combat mass tourism by limiting the number of cruise ships allowed to dock there.

In 2022, Palma de Mallorca became the first destination in Spain and the second in Europe, after Dubrovnik in Croatia, to make an agreement with major cruise ship companies to establish a limit of three cruise ships per day, and specified that only one of them could bring more than 5,000 passengers ashore.

In places like Mallorca but also in Barcelona, enormous cruise ships previously docked and released thousands of tourists into the city at once.

But once again, like with the tourist taxes introduced, a limit on cruise ship numbers, although welcome, misses the point — cruise ship customers sleep on the ship, not in the real problem underpinning Spain’s mass tourism model: accommodation.

Tourist accommodation

Varying legislation restricting Airbnb-style rentals has already been introduced in recent years in cities such as Valencia, Palma, Seville, Tarifa, Madrid, Barcelona, and San Sebastián, with varying degrees of success. 

The number of short-term rental accommodation has exploded in Spain. They are particularly popular with remote workers and among digital nomads with the foreign spending power to price out locals. Recent data shows that in the old town of Seville, over half of residential homes are used for tourism. In the area of ​​Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, 28.3 percent are tourist apartments, while the figure stands at 18.3  percent in the centre of Valencia.  

READ MORE: How Spain’s Asturias region plans to limit short-term holiday lets

Tourist taxes and limits on cruise ship numbers are welcome. But they appear to be doing little to tackle the true underlying problem with Spain’s mass tourism model.

For now, measures are being rolled out largely on a regional level, but it may require the national government to step in and legislate, as it did when it scrapped the Golden Visa earlier this year, although again the effectiveness of this measure has also been questioned. 

READ MORE: Is Spain’s decision to axe golden visa about housing or politics?

Increasing the social housing stock more generally would also go some way to alleviate the pressure on Spaniards struggling to pay rent or even find a home.

Tourism is a double edged sword in Spain. The tourism sector has long made up a significant proportion of Spanish GDP and provided employment for locals, but the model it currently has is outdated, it inflates property markets, angers Spaniards, and creates tension between tourists and locals.

In 2023, international visitors spent €108 billion in Spain, 17 percent more than in 2019. Spanish travel industry association Exceltur forecasts that in 2024 it will surpass €200 billion for the first time.

READ ALSO: ‘The island can’t take it anymore’ – Why Tenerife is rejecting mass tourism

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