International Travel - Tips & Tricks

[gldenwetgoose 20,260]

I've got no idea whether this thread will be of any interest or whether it'll die a death...

But it seems we are getting through the Pandemic to the point where international leisure travel is perhaps going to be back on the cards this spring and summer.  There are still limitations and hoops to jump through, but my thinking is that we've got enough international members to be able to help each other out a little as we plan our trips.

So my starting point for this thread is to try and share a little of the 'how to' knowledge I've gained of travel during the pandemic.  My trips have been between the UK and mainland Spain, so that's where my knowledge is based.  In time perhaps people would like to add for other countries.

- Don't take the info as gospel - check for yourself.  Apart from anything else, requirements can change pretty quickly.

- This is a politics free zone - so not the place to vent frustration at government policies etc.

- Most countries treat fully vaccinated much differently to those people not. My experience relates to vaccinated and that's what I'll cover.  Not being 'anti-vax', just talking about what I know.

Hope that's all ok and useful to people...

[Kupar 12,478]

Thanks - this will be helpful I'm sure. In due course this year I can add experience of European international rail travel - but nothing to add from me right now.

[gldenwetgoose 20,260]

So let's start things off as a double vaccinated UK citizen travelling to Mainland Spain:

Hola Benidorm, Fuengirola, Barcelona, Seville and all those other wonderful places...  Here we go!

 

For the entry into Spain there's a couple of things you'll need to do as well as digging out the passport and packing the bikini.

- First thing to do is use the UK NHS website or the NHS app to get a COVID PASS.  There are two versions and you need the one for travel. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-pass/

The result is an NHS document with details and a QR code for each vaccination. I'd recommend downloading as a pdf and storing it somewhere you can access (on your phone, tablet etc) - and somewhere you can get it even if you don't have access to the internet.  Maybe print it out.

 

 

- The really important thing is that you need to fill in a Spanish Government Passenger Locator Form and that can only be completed within the 48hrs before you're due to set foot on Spanish soil. You can start it before then - but I had a problem last time retrieving it - so I'd suggest instead filling in maybe 36hrs before you're due to land.  It's quite straightforward and the form is all in English, you access it at:  https://www.spth.gob.es/

One point to note is that it will give you the option to upload your NHS COVID PASS and now that we're outside the EU it needs to be the 'other' option.  The problem I've found is that the webpage rejects your pass if it doesn't have two QR codes it won't be accepted - and it can't cope with a third QR code for the booster jab.  There is an option though to select if you cannot upload and that is the way through that problem

The outcome of the Spanish Travel Locator form is that you will get another PDF document with a QR code on it.  Save it and print it in the same way as for the NHS COVID PASS - you'll need both when you arrive in Spain.

 

So - those are the two things needed to travel...   If you use Ryanair like I have to, on their app you can upload both documents onto your boarding pass - you may have to show them at the gate before boarding.

On arrival in Spain you will have your passport stamped (now the UK is not in the EU).  You also need to make sure they stamp it when you leave too.

Then (at least at the airport I travel to) there are medical / border staff who will look at both the Spanish Locator Form and the NHS Covid Pass and do a temperature check.  Then you've arrived...

 

I heard something the other day to suggest Spain would be ensuring the most recent vaccination / booster is within 270 days or 9 months, so that's a point for the future.

Also you should make sure you have at least six months remaining on your passport.

 

Hope that helps...

[gldenwetgoose 20,260]

And now, as your holiday draws to a close you'll need to think about returning to the UK  England.

I'm assuming your travel to England will be after 11th February 2022 (in which case it got easier) and also assuming you're double-jabbed - because as above that's what I know.

 

- Before arriving in England you'll need to complete a UK Government Travel Locator Form which you can do on the website https://www.gov.uk/provide-journey-contact-details-before-travel-uk

Similar to Spain, the form can only be completed within 48 hours of arriving - so you may well need to do it on your phone or tablet whilst overseas.  The form will ask for details of your flight etc and also where you'll be staying on arrival in the UK.

Travelling from Spain (which is what I know) there is no need to have a pre-flight test before flying to the UK.  Also from Feb 11th 2022 there is no need for a 'Day2' test on arrival in the UK.

(If you are arriving before 11th Feb, you'd need to book or order your Day2 Test which can be a simple home LFT - but you need a booking reference to put onto the UK Travel Locator Form - that should no longer be needed after 11th Feb).

Once the UK Passenger Locator Form has been completed you should get the completed PDF with its QR code.  As described previously, store this somewhere where you can access it along with your NHS COVID PASS document.

 

The way it's worked for me is that when boarding at the gate in Spain, the airline have checked the UK Passenger Locator Form and NHS COVID Pass against my passport.

On leaving Spain it's important the Border Force stamp your passport too, otherwise you'd have trouble entering the country in the future.

 

On return to the UK airport it's just a simple passport check at UK immigration.

[Alfresco 11,008]

Thanks @gldenwetgoose, it is making me think that the cruise holiday I've got booked for June might work a whole lot differently to previous cruises.   Previously if boarding in the UK with a British Nationality & Passport, there was no passport control etc when disembarking at European ports of call and we didn't even need to take our passports ashore (although it was advised to carry a copy of it just in case).   Now, I'm guessing that we will need to deal with passport control at each European port of call and could potentially need to do Passenger Locator forms for each port as we go through the holiday.   That's not going to be much fun!  I wonder whether they will do something on a ship wide basis like the ship lodge the passenger list with the local authorities in advance of arrival?

[gldenwetgoose 20,260]

Interesting question @Alfresco - I know that for Spain there is a different web portal for maritime compared to air arrival, and that maritime approach seems to mainly describe ferry arrival.

The immigration passport stamping is also interesting, in that entering an EU country now from the UK we are in effect entering on a tourist visa rather than part of the free movement area.  As such we're restricted to how many days we can stay in one visit, so my passport is filling up nicely with entry and exit stamps.  I've heard of problems where people have failed to get an exit stamp and then on next entry they're denied because it appears they exceeded the duration in country.

Possibly all that passport checking could mean slight queues and delays at each port visited on disembarking and also embarking?

[Alfresco 11,008]

4 hours ago, gldenwetgoose said:

Possibly all that passport checking could mean slight queues and delays at each port visited on disembarking and also embarking?

I'm sure it will invoke some delays, but hopefully the cruise lines will let us know in plenty of time as they will be used to dealing with the large number of people disembarking at each place.