PROPERTY SEARCH

Date Published: 18/07/2022

ARCHIVED - British tourists travelling to Spain need 3 additional documents to get through e-gates

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The UK Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for tourists heading to Spain this summer

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - British tourists travelling to Spain need 3 additional documents to get through e-gates

In a much-needed move to speed up the process of passengers navigating passport control when they arrive in Spain, the authorities are now permitting travellers from the UK to use the e-gates usually reserved for EU citizens, rather than queuing in the much longer non-EU line.

However, to make this process smoother, the Foreign Office has advised UK holidaymakers to only use the Spanish border e-gates if “instructed to do so by airport staff” and has in recent days warned that Britons must have three additional documents to hand: proof of a return or onward ticket, enough money to cover their trip and proof of the address they will be staying at.

Proof of where you are staying can range from an invitation from family or friends to hotel booking confirmations or proof of address of your own property.

While UK travellers are no longer required to fill out a Passenger Locator Form, the Foreign Office has confirmed that visitors to Spain will still have their passport stamped to ensure they are complying with the visa-free travelling rules.

This is all, of course, on top of the Covid-19 entry requirements for British tourists, which include proof of vaccination, a Covid Recovery Cert or a negative PCR test (taken within 72 hours prior to departure) or an antigen test within 24 hours. These rules only apply to holidaymakers over the age of 12.

Foreign Office advice states: “You may also be subject to additional checks at the point of entry including a temperature check, visual health assessment, or testing on arrival.”

The travel update states: “You can use the staffed immigration booths or, if you are aged 18 and over, and are instructed to do so by airport staff, you may be able to use the e-gates, if these are in operation. Hand your passport to the border officer for stamping after you have passed through the e-gate.”

Also of interest: Brit tourist, 53, frowns in 4-star Mallorca hotel swimming pool

Image: Freepik

Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin and get an email with all the week’s news straight to your inbox

Special offer: Subscribe now for 25% off (36.95 euros for 48 Bulletins)