Spain is preparing to lift its requirement for UK travellers to provide a negative COVID PCR test upon arrival as early as 20 May, the country’s tourism minister confirmed.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Reyes Maroto said an upcoming review of EU resolution 912/2020 will allow for more flexible travel terms for countries outside of the European Union, paving the way for British travellers to return to Spain.
In the next few days, the EU Council is expected to update its recommendation on travel to member states from third countries.
The UK is expected to be included in the free-to-travel list.
Following this review, possibly as soon as 20 May, Spain will adapt its national legislation to welcome UK residents.
Currently, however, Spain is on England’s amber list and the UK Government says people should not be travelling to amber countries.
Ms Maroto said the Spanish Government maintains a permanent dialogue with the UK authorities and continues to highlight a regional approach.
She reiterated her expectation that Spain will be added to the UK’s green travel list in the coming weeks and said PCR tests may not be required for British travellers given the country’s current epidemiological data and COVID-19 vaccination rate.
She said: “We know what we have to do to enable British travellers to return to Spain. To continue to lower the accumulated incidence rate of COVID-19 and continue with our vaccination roll-out.”
