The Spanish tourist board in London made an announcement yesterday (April 6) that the country would be opening up to unvaccinated British tourists. However it has now said that the announcement was a 'miscommunication' following a 'misinterpretation of the rules'.
The announcement initially said that UK holidaymakers would be able to enter Spain with nothing but a negative pre-departure test. But this is not actually the case. UK travellers aged 12 and above will still need to show proof of being fully vaccinated or have a certificate of recovery from Covid dated within the last 180 days.
There is only one exception to the rule, applying to those aged 12-17 who can enter unvaccinated provided they have proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival.
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Deputy director of the Spanish tourist board in the UK Pedro Medina said in a statement: 'We apologise unreservedly for the miscommunication earlier today which was due to a misunderstanding of the new entry requirements.'
The tourist office added: 'If more than 270 days have passed since the final dose, certification of a booster vaccination is also required, except for teenagers aged 12 to 17 inclusive.' Those who want to enter with a recovery certificate need to have the document obtained from official authorities with a test carried out by qualified personnel.
This means that self-testing kits are not valid and the test must be from an EU-approved list of providers. It had initially been said that Spain would likely relax its entry requirements at the end of March but instead, the restrictions have been extended till the end of the Easter holidays.
