The Spanish government has said that British visitors will not need to undergo a 14-day quarantine – as the country’s three month state of emergency comes to an end. It has called on the UK government to allow the same for Spaniards.
The Madrid government has previously said it was considering a quarantine period for UK visitors, but on Saturday evening it announced they would be ‘freely’ welcomed back to Spain.
“We will allow British visitors to enter Spain just like the rest of the European Union as from 21 June freely and without the need for a quarantine,” Spain’s foreign minister, Arancha González Laya, told BBC News.
“We’re discussing with the UK authorities to see if they would do the same on their side. We nevertheless are doing this out of respect for the 400,000 British citizens that have a second residence in Spain and are dying to benefit from their homes in our country.”
The foreign minister explained that British visitors would be subject to the same ‘triple check’ as other European visitors, meaning they will be required to provide their origin, temperature and contact details in case they need to be traced.
She added: “We want to make sure we welcome visitors but do so in safety and security for them as well as for Spaniards.”
From 1st July, visitors from so-called “third countries” – those outside the EU and the Schengen area – will be allowed back to Spain. Portugal will also open its border with Spain on the same day.
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