British holidaymakers who haven’t been fully vaccinated will need to provide proof of a negative COVID PCR test to travel to Spain from Friday.

The Spanish government confirmed today that it was adding the UK to its list of ‘risk’ countries from 12 am on 2 July.

This means that all British tourists arriving in mainland Spain, the Canaries and the Balearics, the latter of which will be added to the UK’s green travel list tomorrow, must be fully vaccinated against COVID or produce a negative COVID test from Friday.

However, children under the age of 12 will be exempt.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez revealed yesterday that the country was planning to reintroduce tests for British holidaymakers due to a rise in coronavirus cases across the UK. At the time he said Brits would need a PCR test and this has been confirmed by the Spanish tourist office, which says only PCR tests will be accepted for arrivals from the UK from Friday, even though arrivals from other countries on Spain’s ‘risk’ list have the option of cheaper, faster antigen tests.

The PCR test must be taken within 48 hours of arrival in Spain.

Unlike Malta, Spain and the Balearics will accept electronic proof of vaccinations as well as a letter from the NHS confirming holidaymakers have been fully vaccinated for at least two weeks.