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Vaccine/Booster Requirements upon entering Spain

I'm looking for some clarification on the covid vaccine and booster requirements for US travelers entering Spain. The entry requirements for Spain state that a covid-19 test upon arrival is not required for fully vaccinated travelers who have 'documentation showing proof of a final dose of an accepted vaccine (essentially Moderna or Pfizer) at least 14 days and at most 270 days before arrival, **or a booster is required.'** I am a fully vaccinated and boosted traveler who got two doses of Moderna vaccine in March and April 2021 and booster shot in November 2021. It is unclear to me if the 14-270 day range is applicable to the two doses of the original vaccine shots or also to the booster shot? One interpretation of the Spain entry requirements is that if you have the two doses of the vaccine at least 14 days and at most 270 days you can enter Spain without testing, and if your original two vaccine shots are more than 270 days out you can have a booster at any time (no time expiration requirements) and still be admitted to Spain without testing.

However, the stricter interpretation of the entry requirements is that the 14 days to 270 days is applicable to both the original two vaccine shots and the booster, so if your booster was more than 270 days from date of arrival, you would be required to provide a negative covid test before entry to Spain. I am under 50 years old and not immunocompromised, so I am not eligible for a second booster shot at this time. Have any fellow travelers been to Spain in the past few months and would you be able to help me interpret the entry requirements in terms of whether the 14 to 270 day range is applicable for the original vaccine shots only and if you have a booster at any time will that be acceptable as proof of full vaccination without the need to present a negative covid test upon entry?

I would appreciate anyone's thoughts or experiences with this topic.

Posted by
5294 posts

According to U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Spain:

Vaccines are valid from 14 days after the last dose up to 270 days. If more than 270 days (9 months) have passed since receiving the last required dose of their COVID-19 vaccine, U.S. citizens must show proof of having received a booster shot. The booster shot certificate is valid since the day it was administered.

It looks like you’ve met the Covid-19 vaccine requirements for entering into Spain.

However, you still need to obtain Covid-19 vaccine QR code generated through the Spain Travel Health portal: https://www.spth.gob.es/faq

Here’s Spain’s Ministry of Heath website where you’ll find more detailed information.

Wishing you a wonderful trip!

Posted by
115 posts

However, you still need to obtain Covid-19 vaccine QR code generated through the Spain Travel Health portal: https://www.spth.gob.es/faq

Would you know how many days before your travel date you need to get this? and approx how many days it take to get one?

thx

Posted by
5294 posts

BG,
Please refer to this website: https://www.spth.gob.es/faq where you’ll find answers to FAQ’s such as yours.

You can start the form at any time, as long as you have your travel details and required information (flight #, destination, passport, etc), and save it. You can then complete the form by answering all health related questions up to 72 hours prior to your departure.

Posted by
7159 posts

To add the what Priscilla said, if you opt to begin filling out the form now and any flight information changes after you begin it, you’ll need to start a new form.

Posted by
646 posts

We are traveling to Spain in October. However, we will be flying from Lisbon, not the US. We are fully vaccinated and double boostered. Do we need to fill out this form?

Posted by
2267 posts

Regarding "how long it takes" to get the QR code from the SpTH app... It's immediate. In the app you attest to the veracity of the information you enter, but there is no uploading of documents or verification. When the QR is scanned at the airport you may be asked for the underlying docuemment—those are random checks.

Posted by
2 posts

To respond to Camille's question, my understanding is that everyone who does not hold the EU Digital Vaccination Certificate (which citizens of the US and Canada are not eligible to receive unless you obtained your vaccines in the EU or have dual citizenship in an EU country) needs to fill out the Spain Travel Health Form and obtain the QR code at the website link provided in another reply to this post. This would be the case if you are fully vaccinated, have the booster, no vaccine, etc. So unless things change by the time you travel to Spain in October (which could very well happen, as Portugal dropped all of their pandemic-era requirements in July) it seems to me you will need to fill out this Spain Travel Health Form.

Posted by
72 posts

Thanks for all the responses. Has cleared up some questions we had for our October trip.
After reading through the links provided by all of you, we still have a question.

We will be arriving in Spain on a flight from Glasgow having flown to Glasgow from the U.S. when filling out the required form should I use the U.S. or Scotland for flight?

Probably overthinking this….

Posted by
35 posts

Thanks for those who provided helpful hints. I was not aware of this additional requirement to enter Spain, other than show my physical vaccination card. So the following would apply to those of us coming in from the U.S, Canada or any Non EU country?
With the additional requirement of filling in health related questions 72 hours before flight?

QR SPTH . If you do not have the EU Digital COVID Certificate or EU equivalent, you must fill in the SPTH Health Control Form manually entering the data of your vaccination, recovery or diagnostic test certificate through the website https://www.spth.gob.es/ Will open in a new window or the Spain Travel Health application -SpTH- (Android, iOS, Huawei). The system will send you a QR code that you will have to present both prior boarding, and upon your arrival in Spain. In the health control, you may be required to present this document certifying vaccination, diagnostic test or recovery.

Posted by
19 posts

My two cents is I don't think you've met the requirement. My sister and I are going to Spain in September. Our interpretation is you need to have either your 2nd vaccine shot OR a booster within 270 days of departure. My sister and I were both double vaxxed in 2021. I had my 2nd booster in April of 2022 so I believe I'm good. My sister had her first booster in early Jan of 2022. She is just within the 270 days but to be safe, went ahead and got her 2nd vaccine last week. You are eligible to get your 2nd booster even though you are under 50 and not immunocompromised. My advice is to go ahead and get your 2nd booster both to meet the requirement and to give yourself better protection. Hope you have an amazing trip!

Posted by
695 posts

Traveled to Spain in June, and spent hours researching this.
Vaccines: if you got a booster, you are fine, there is no expiry date on the booster dose (3rd dose). The 270 days is if you only had 2 doses.
QR code: you need a QR code to enter Spain if you are not a EU citizen. It takes 5 min to get your code and can be done once you have all your info (seat etc).
Hope this help!