Spain to drop COVID entry requirements for travelers from non-EU countries

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spain will drop its last COVID-related entry requirements for travelers arriving from non-EU countries, according to legislation published in the official state gazette on Thursday.

The new rules will take effect on Friday and mean travelers no longer have to show vaccination certificates or undergo health inspections upon arrival.

Until now, Spain has required travelers from outside the EU to present proof of full vaccination, including a booster shot, if the traveler received their first doses more than 270 days before arriving.

If travelers were not up-to-date on their jabs, they had to provide a negative test result to get into the country.

Despite its dependence on tourism, Spain is the last EU country to scrap those entry requirements. France, Portugal and Germany lifted restrictions in the summer.

In late September, Spanish officials did stop asking travelers to fill out mandatory health forms.

“Measures to limit international movement should apply general principles of EU law, and not go beyond what’s strictly necessary,” reads the new legislation.

Although travelers within the EU have been able to travel freely to Spain for months, it has been more than two and a half years since international arrivals were able to enter the country without health restrictions.

Throughout Spain, however, face masks are still required on public transportation, including airplanes.