Spain could lift pre-travel test requirement for Brits next week

Speaking during a visit to Alicante on Monday (10 May), tourism minister Maria Reyes Maroto said she was hopeful the country would be bumped up onto the UK government’s green list promptly.

Currently, Spain is on the amber list; this means anyone returning to the UK from Spain will have to self-isolate at home for 10 days and take tests on days two and eight.

The UK government will allow some limited international travel from Monday (17 May) to a dozen green list countries and territories, only four of which are viable holiday destinations at this time – Portugal, Israel, Iceland and Gibraltar.

However, its stance will be to discourage travel to amber and red list countries for leisure purposes when international travel restarts from 17 May.

The Foreign Office is currently advising against all but essential travel to mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands, but not to the Canary Islands; it says its advice is based on the current assessment of Covid risks in the Balearics and on the mainland.

The Telegraph has reported the next iteration of the UK government’s green list will likely focus on those countries that narrowly missed out on the initial list, potentially pushing any return to Spain back to late June at the very earliest, but more likely early July.