Travel column with Katie Butler: No Covid tests required to enter England and Spain if you are fully-vaccinated

Katie Butler writes: It certainly seems that now the Christmas period is over we are all thinking about our next holiday.

Last week we touched on speculation that testing to return to the UK could be scrapped for the fully-vaccinated.

And on Monday of this week the Prime Minister confirmed this.

The Prime Minister said that as the Omicron cases are continuing to fall it is time to open up the country fully for business and travel.

This now puts England in line with Spain, whereby no tests are required to enter if you are fully-vaccinated.

Will I need a booster to be classed as fully-vaccinated?

Although this has not been mentioned with the most recent announcement and easing of restrictions to return to the UK, we expect that this may come into play in the near future.

In addition, the European Commission are introducing new rules that will become binding across all member states and under the new rules, vaccine passports will expire exactly 270 days after the final dose of an accepted vaccine.

This currently includes Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Novavax.

Can I travel to Spain if I am not fully-vaccinated?

Under the Spanish Government’s current measures, you can only enter Spain from the UK for tourism purposes if you can show proof of being fully-vaccinated at least 14 days prior to arrival in Spain.

If you are not fully-vaccinated then travel for a holiday is at the moment not permitted.

This also applies to children aged 12 and over who are not classed as vaccinated.

We do not know if this requirement will change back to allowing a negative Covid-19 test if you are not fully-vaccinated.

If you have a holiday booked to Spain and are concerned about what these requirements mean for you and your family, you should speak with your travel provider at your earliest opportunity.

I am vaccinated but only have the vaccination card I was given at my appointment. Where can I get an official vaccine document?

The NHS Covid pass lets you share your Covid-19 status records in a secure way.

You can get an NHS Covid pass digitally through the NHS app or online via NHS.UK.

For those who are not digitally enabled, you can call 119 and request a letter to be sent to you in the post

Great news for the travel industry as we start to see it getting easier to take a holiday.

Although it very much seems that the requirements will depend on vaccine status, at least for the here and now.

The news around travel is all about returning to the UK and not what you need to travel to every country. Remember to keep checking the requirements of your chosen destination.

■ If you have a specific travel question you would like Katie to answer in her column, please email: [email protected]Read more: https://www.dewsburyreporter.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/travel-column-with-katie-butler-confidence-in-overseas-travel-returns-after-easing-of-restrictions-3534394