Visiting Mum & Dad

The situation regarding Covid and Tourism is being reviewed on 9th May in Spain. I have no hard news of what will happen then.

My Gut Feeling:- The Review will be put back to late May and perhaps put back even further then.  Vaccinations are proceeding in Spain, but for various reasons still only a minority of people resident in Spain have been vaccinated. The main issue is whether people with "essential" reasons will be allowed into Spain - I feel exceptions will be made, but I don't know how this will be policed.

My Next Gut Feeling:- Spain may be opened in June for EU citizens. I reckon travel for non EU citizens will open  late June or early July. Only 20% of Spaniards are dependent on tourism. Covid has hit hard in Spain and I believe their tourism prospects will proceed with an abundance of caution.

Please Note:- The above is my gut feeling on 1st May 2021 and I hope I'm wrong.

check travel to spain on Gov.uk for information on permitted travel as for tests that could change both in the UK and in Spain after the dates that both countries lift various restrictions.  Vaccinations will probably be a necessity for any travel.  The letter i believe comes from the people you are visiting and their local police stating why you are coming.  You also have to download a form from the internet to take to the airport one for each person travelling there are big fines at the moment in the UK if you don't have this with you when you go to travel.    

I, m more optimistic than Mathew, I, m expecting spanish review on 9th to allow passage to fully vaccinated with certifying document or negative test. They can play this card as the magority of brits can't travel till the 17th at the earliest,and by then a wider EU review will be in place. Whoever is nearest buys the panama, s{cigars} 

James 

I coped this from the facebook section of this forum:-LM Lawyers Valencia

2h · 

NON-EU TRAVEL BAN INTO SPAIN EXTENDED

TOURISM MINISTERS HOPE TO REOPEN SOON FALLS FLAT

Source: BOE No.103 Orden INT/420/2021As the Tourism Minister had given some hope earlier this week of reopening Spain soon this latest news comes as a shock not only for travellers but also is a another huge blow to the tourism sector who were preparing to reopen soon.The Official State Gazette (BOE) released by the Interior Ministry late on Friday 30th April has 2 updates:

1) Extended the travel ban for non-EU countries on entering Spain.

2) Reduced the people exempted from this ban.

NEW END DATE: Midnight 31st MAY

The BOE states " The effectiveness of Order INT/657/2020 is hereby extended until May 31."

REASON

The BOE only mentions states "for reasons of public order and public health due to the health crisis".

This could be due to either new strains detected, such as in India, or in an effort to get the health situation more under control before the start of the summer. This order is based on the EU recommendation on non-EU countries entering Spain.

CONFLICTING INFORMATION

This BOE comes from the Ministry of the Interior however the Ministry of Health which has been the main source for travel updates has not updated this information on their website yet. The last update on 28th April adding India to the quarantine list and still indicating the travel ban until May 9th.

The Ministry of Exterior, Spanish Consulates have yet to update their information.

The Minister of Tourism had declared earlier in the week his plan to reopen to tourism by June with trails of a new EU Green Digital passport/certificate to begin in 46 airports in May. It is unclear if this will proceed.

EXEMPTIONS or ESSENTIAL REASONS REDUCED

Previously there were 10 exemptions to the travel ban which has now been reduced to 4.

"Only the exceptions set forth in letters d) [Transport professional], e) [Diplomats, etc.] and i) [Fuerza mayor or humanitarian] shall apply, except in the case of a) persons residing in Spain or Andorra, or Spanish citizens and their spouse or partner with whom they maintain a union similar to the registered conjugal one in a public registry, and those ascendants and descendants who live under their care, provided they travel with or go to meet with them"

WHO CAN TRAVEL INTO SPAIN?

-YES: Spanish citizens & residents and their immediate family

-YES: EU citizens

-YES: UK citizens who have a lived in Spain before 2021 and therefore a right to residency under the Withdrawal Agreement should be able to enter with the documentation indicated on the Gov UK website.

-YES: Citizens of Australia, New, Zealand, China, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Rwanda.

-NO: Citizens of UK, USA, Canada or any other non-EU country not mentioned above, cannot enter unless residents or with a visa.

-YES: Any person with a valid Visa

QUARANTINE 10 DAYS

"Additionally, it is necessary to face the risk derived from new variants and from the epidemiological situation suffered by some third countries, which has forced the Ministry of Health to establish the quarantine measure for people (Spanish or Spanish Residents) arriving on flights from any airport located in those countries to any airport located in the Kingdom of Spain, with or without intermediate stops."

This adds India and to the list of restriction currently affects the Brazil, South Africa, Botswana, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania.

If you have any questions let us and we will tray and answer all your doubts

I regret to say James you're wrong. See preceding post from me. 

Believe me, I wish I had called it wrongly, but as usual I didn't. 

(My modesty and good luck at Punchestown this week prevents me from gloating)

Mathew, I had already read the reference you have posted, but my opinion is that like all governments, different departments have varying views. Like I said before, wait and see, then we can pay up on the wager. Stay safe, I, m 2 jabs in. 

James

This thread is more serious than it looks with ultra-important family visits at stake. I would hope my prediction regarding the opening up of Spanish tourism from the UK and elsewhere is wrong. I hope the original poster(s) can travel and within any restrictions.

James, as for wagers regarding Panama cigars, please take that up with somebody who wears a Panama hat and if you win I hope you get paid (unlikely). I'll do my low gambling elsewhere where if I win, I get paid. 

Now for my daily swim in the Atlantic. . . 

Out of interest, who advised you to get the letter from police?  The letter is only necessary if applying for a Schengen Visa.  UK passport holders still maintain Schengen visa free travel.

If necessary I will find a link to the Carta de Invitación and post it, but it is not a straightforward affair.  Whoever hosts the person needing the letter has to use the official form to make application to the police giving a lot of assurances, information etc and it’s not a swift process … but please let us know who said you needed a letter of invitation because as I said, that is reserved normally for Schengen Visa applications, which you don’t need.

Thankyou everyone for the advice on this topic. Hoping to fly over the end of June