The European Commission has agreed a travel pass that would allow European citizens and residents — vaccinated or not — to travel freely across the 27-nation region by this summer. The pass, a type of vaccine passport, is to help facilitate travel between member states.
The European Parliament and the Council on the Regulation have agreed the terms of the EU Digital Covid Certificate, which was previously known as the Digital Green Certificate.
The free certificate will show details of vaccinations, test results and recovery from Covid, and will be in force from 1 July.
“We are delivering on our commitment to have the EU Digital Covid Certificate up and running before the summer,” said President Ursula von der Leyen.
“European citizens are looking forward to travelling again, and today’s agreement means they will be able to do so safely very soon.”
So what does that mean for British holidaymakers? Here’s what we know so far.
When can Britons travel abroad?
Recreational leisure travel was allowed to restart from 17 May, according to a “traffic light” system.
There are currently 12 countries on the “green list”, with Portugal the only mainstream holiday destination, and 43 on the “red list”, which mandates hotel quarantine.
Everything else is on the “amber list”, which includes most of the rest of Europe. Amber arrivals must quarantine for 10 days at home and take two post-arrival PCR tests.
Does that mean I can travel to Europe?
The EU travel pass only applies to citizens and residents of EU member states, a category which no longer covers the UK.
However, a handful of countries, heavily reliant on tourists from the UK, have stated their intention to reopen to British visitors, regardless of vaccination status.
Greece, Cyprus and Portugal are all open to British tourists, either with a negative PCR test or proof of vaccination, with Spain due to follow suit shortly.
However, only certain destinations in Europe are on the UK’s green list, which will dictate the re-entry requirements back into the UK.
The European destinations on the green list for UK travellers are: Portugal (and Madeira, but not the Azores); Iceland; and Gibraltar. Portugal and Gibraltar mandate a PCR test taken within the 72 hours prior to arrival, while Iceland is open only to Britons who have been fully vaccinated.
All green list travellers must provide a negative test result before departure for the UK (this can be a lateral flow/rapid antigen test) and take a PCR test within two days of arriving back into the UK. They do not need to quarantine.
How can I prove I’m vaccinated?
UK travellers can prove their vaccination status via the NHS app.
It’s also possible to get a paper version by calling 119.
The NHS says that paper vaccine cards, handed to people when they get their jab, will not suffice for evidence - although Iceland has said it will accept these as proof.
Will I need to have had both vaccine doses?
This is a sticky point – although vaccination certification or “passport” schemes may well enable the restarting of tourism, they require the traveller to have received both jabs in order to qualify. Current predictions are that every adult should have been offered both vaccine doses by August.
More than 20 million people in the UK have now had their second jab, and are considered fully vaccinated.
For this cohort, summer holidays may be more feasible if countries are demanding vaccination certification for seamless entry.
