The Covid Passport or Covid Certificate is already an essential document in our life. In addition to the fact that in some Autonomous Communities in Spain they are already asking for it to access interiors, also you need it to travel throughout Europe and to many countries outside the European Union. But you also need another identification document that locates you to travel and in this article we explain how to get it according to your destination.
We have already explained how you can easily download your Covid Certificate, how to always carry it with you, in each and every one of the available ways, and even how you can check if it works correctly for you, before you can see yourself in a bind when you need it (for example, when you have to get on a plane).
This is the document that complements your Covid certificate
Today we remind you that to travel through Europe, in addition to this Covid certificate, Each country has a document to keep the people who arrive more or less located. These documents are also mandatory for travel and each country has its own. Spain included (and we will also explain in depth how it works). The ideal thing is to fill out these documents one or two days before boarding the plane (you can also do it at the last minute, but better not, in case you get technical errors).
This localization document is available on the Internet. Each country has a website enabled for it. We are going to show you some web pages of the countries where Spaniards travel the most.
Normally, this document will ask you for personal information (name, telephone or email, your permanent address, or even your profession in some cases …), information about your trip (what is your flight number and your seat, origin, if you have been in other countries in the last 14 days, where are you going to stay in your destination …) and also data about your health situation (If you are vaccinated or vaccinated or, if you are not, you have to indicate if you have an antigen or PCR test with a negative result or if you have a document that proves that you have recently had this disease).
In many cases, they will also ask you if you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid in the last 14 days. You also declare that everything you say in the document is true.
When you fill in all the information, you will be given a QR code or a number identification (that depends on the technology that each country has developed). To get on the plane or the bus or train if you are going to make an international trip (in the case of travel by land it is not always requested, you will have to inform yourself about the policy of the country you are traveling to) and, later when you arrive in the country of destination will ask you for this document.
This locator must always be accompanied by another certificate that shows that you really have the vaccine, the test with a negative result (they usually require it to be in English and each country has different rules on when you have to have it done, normally, at most, 48 hours before) or a medical document showing that you have had the disease in the last months. To travel in Europe, the vast majority of countries (or maybe all) They require you to have the complete guideline (two doses or one in case you have recently had the disease) and that the second dose has been administered at least 14 days before (this information will have to be compared with the specific requirements of the country).
Be careful, because taking into account that with the December holidays, with Christmas, mobility increases, along with the sixth wave that registers record numbers in infections, there are countries that are now requesting greater measures. For example, for these days Italy asks travelers, together with the locator to enter the country, even if they have the complete schedule of the vaccine, also show a negative test result. In addition, we have to tell you that they will not always ask you for this document to access the plane or when you arrive at your destination. But there is a good chance of this happening.
As they explain from Germany, you must give these data because “the competent authority must be able to verify certificates of quarantine, viral test, vaccination or cure of the disease, as well as exceptions to the rules for people entering the country. Their travel and contact details are collected and transmitted for these purposes. “Supposedly, if someone reports having covid a few days before a flight, the rest of the passengers should be located and informed as a tracking method.
SpTH: this is the certificate to enter Spain
Even if you were born in Spain, whenever you are going to enter here you have to fill in information on the SpTH website or in the Spain Travel Health app.
According our personal experience only allows you to do it with the Chrome browser. Although looking for technical information in this regard, we have not found anything that says that other browsers do not work. We only share our experience with you in case it can be useful and avoid possible problems in the process. And you also have the mobile application available.
In the case of Spain, after providing your information, you receive a QR. You must take it with you (before boarding the plane and when you arrive in Spain) and also have your Covid Certificate or the Covid test carried out in the last hours with a negative result at hand.
The website with information on the requirements to travel in Europe
There is a website created by the European Union (it also has a mobile application) with a lot of information for travelers. It’s called Re-open EU. There is information on the incidence in each country or region of Europe, by color. If you look at the data that is written behind the map, they specify the date the map was made. For example, the map posted here, which is that the web shows today, is from December 16.
Then, in this same portal, you can see the measures in force in your country of destination or information about your travel plan, which means that you indicate which is the origin and which is the destination.
- About the “Travel plan” information, one of the options on the webIt must be remembered that, since the Omicrón variant has been known, which from what is known so far is much more contagious than others, there are countries in the world that have been given greater restrictions in terms of mobility. In any case, this website only collects information from you if you are traveling within the European Union. For example, from Spain, to France, to Romania or Croatia.
When you indicate where you are leaving and where you are going, they give you these information: “What are the rules if I am going to travel abroad from this country and when I return from another country?” and “What are the rules for entering this country from an EU member state or from a Schengen associated country?”
- On the option “Measures in force” you can find much more specific information, not only for your trip, but for your stay in the country. The website tells you what documents you need to enter the country you want to visit. It tells you which are the measures that govern the country, taking into account that each national or regional government has its own. You also have concrete data on the health situation with various links to information such as vaccines, the EU’s fight against disinformation and other matters. And finally you have useful information for travelers with emails that you can write to.
It should be said that, as the measurements are constantly changing, we recommend that, in addition to this website, Look at specific information about the country you are going to in case something has changed in the last hours and this European portal has not picked it up.
Documents that you must fill out for other major European countries
If you are going to travel to another country in Europe, in addition to the need to have your SpTH on your return to Spain, you must have another locator document. The best thing you do to know how to get that document, is to access your search engine and write a term that helps you know what each country is asking for. For example: “passenger location form + the name of the destination in English”. As we said, the norms change often, and therefore, the best source is directly the official one of the country, such as that of the health ministry of each nation.
Here are the links to obtain the document in some of the main countries of the European Union and also for the United Kingdom. Remember that some countries may request this type of documentation even if you are only going to stop there on your flight. Look, therefore, each place in detail:
- Italy, France, Malta or Slovenia. Click on this link and once inside the portal, access the blue box that says “Start here” to get your Passenger Locator Form. After this, you have a tab where you must indicate which of these four countries you are going to go to. Press the option that is and your process begins to fill in the information that they are asking for. This website is in several languages but not in Spanish. If you don’t speak a foreign language, you can use Deepl or Google Translate.