That’s right. Italy now requires travelers wishing to enter Italy to present a pre-departure, negative Covid-19 test (taken within 48 hours of the flight) even if they are vaccinated! Self-tests do not qualify for this so be aware.

Safe travels, Dean & Andie

Spain has just changed its entry policy for visitors from the US. New Covid-19 restrictions now require travelers be fully vaccinated if they are coming for tourism. The vaccines they recognize are the usual: Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Sinopharm, Sinovac and Covishield. Full doses required, of course.

Visitors to Spain must now register their personal details through the Spain Travel Health portal. Once that’s successfully completed, their website will generate a QR code which must be shown upon arrival on your mobile phone (or printed.) The Spain Travel Health portal can be downloaded from the App Store.

Unvaccinated children under age twelve who are traveling with vaccinated adults are allowed to enter Spain without any additional requirements. Be aware that young people between age twelve and eighteen do have to be vaccinated.

Spain is not alone in making changes to their Covid polices: US citizens traveling to Italy must now present a negative PCR or antigen test taken in the 48 hours prior to their flight, even if they can provide proof of vaccination.

This applies to U.S. citizens traveling to Spain from the United States, including if they transit through a third country.

The new digital health pass with QR Code is now available to American citizens traveling to France but the method of application has changed. This has just been announced on September 3, 2021. Read on for more information.

First, there is some good news today. The new French ‘digital health pass’ is now recognized and accepted for scanning in all of the European Union countries!

A new online application for non-European citizens must now be accessed and submitted through their new website, even if you already sent in a request by email. It seems they were so overwhelmed by emails that they had no choice but to create a website to manage it all. Below is the official letter to travelers inviting them to create a profile on the new site which is indicated there through the link below. Once that’s done, you then begin the official submission of your proof of airline tickets, passport, and CDC vax card:

Dear Sir or Madam,

We are sorry to inform you that we are currently receiving a very large number of requests and will not be able to process them all. We remind you that a negative result of an antigen test taken at a pharmacy, available all over France, grants the user a health pass that is valid for three days (72 hours).

We inform you that a new application is available online for foreign citizens here: https://www.demarches-simplifiees.fr/commencer/passe-sanitaire-etrangers

Have your three pics ready before your start: Passport / CDC Card / screenshot of your airline tickets

Safe and happy travels, Dean & Andie