Officials in Spain have confirmed travellers will require evidence of a negative PCR test or a complete vaccine programme when arriving from the United Kingdom.

The country becomes the latest to tighten requirements for British travellers, following moves by Portugal and Malta.

Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said, while the country looks forward to welcoming British holidaymakers, data coming from the United Kingdom shows concerning infection rates.

The measure is expected to come into effect on July 2nd.

This new legislation is for arrivals for the whole of Spain, including the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.

However, while most of Spain remains on the amber list for UK travellers, the Balearic Islands have been added to the green list.

This means visitors arriving to the UK from the Balearic Islands from 04:00 tomorrow will not need to quarantine on their return to the UK.

Despite this change in entry requirements to ensure the protection of both local residents and visitors, Spain said it sought to reinforce the value of its UK visitors and stressed that British guests “remain welcome”. 

Rory Boland, Which? Travel editor, said: “Changes to entry requirements for UK travellers to Malta, Portugal and Spain over the past few days demonstrate just how volatile international travel rules are at the moment.

“The cost of these changes will once again mostly fall at the feet of consumers, many of whom will either have to pay to rebook their flight or holiday or pay extra for tests to gain entry to their destination.

“Many holidaymakers set to travel this summer will soon have balances due on their holidays, often for trips booked several months ago.

“Holiday companies should be flexible about these and not force customers to pay for trips that don’t look likely to take place.

“Booking travel currently carries considerable risk, and anyone booking a holiday should look for a good package holiday provider with a flexible booking policy that covers changes to traffic light statuses and entry requirements.”

Image: Florian Wehde