A new Order of the Ministry of the Interior of Spain 452/2022 of 20.05.2022 came into force according to the information published on the website of the authorized Visa Application Center of Spain BLS International. Following this Order, Spain changed the temporary restrictions on travel from third countries.
Thus, starting from May 21, 2022, applicants from third countries (including the Russian Federation) will be able to visit Spain with their valid passport and visa, provided that they have one of the following documents confirming their covid status:
· vaccination certificate, which is recognized by the European Union (Russian vaccines are still not recognized at the moment);
· certificate of recovery, which is recognized by the European Union;
· certificate with a negative PCR test conducted not earlier than 72 hours before departure to Spain.
These documents must be provided in the hard copy, in Spanish, English, French or German, must necessarily contain the name of the applicant, a QR code and the following information:
· Vaccination certificate – the date of vaccination indicating the date of the last administered component of the vaccine, the number of components administered/the full course of vaccination approved by the European Medicines Agency, the World Health Organization or in case of vaccination certificates not approved by these organizations, the last component administered must be one of the approved vaccines. Vaccination certificates issued by the competent authorities of the country of origin in 14 days after the date of administration of the last component of the full course of vaccination (primary vaccination), are recognized as valid provided that no more than 270 days have passed from the date of introduction of the last component of the full course of vaccination. The certificate of the full course of vaccination for persons under 18 years of age does not have an expiration date. From that moment on, the certificate of vaccination issued by the competent authority of the country of origin, must contain data on the conduct of revaccination (persons aged 18 years and older). These certificates will be considered valid from the date of administration of the revaccination component. The course of vaccination is considered complete according to Spain's COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy.
· Certificate of recovery – the date of the first positive test, the country of issue, and it must also be indicated that the applicant has been ill and is not currently a carrier of infection. You can present a certificate of recovery if more than 11 days have passed since the first NAAT test or rapid antigen detection test (RAT) with a positive result. This certificate will be valid for 180 days from that date.
· Certificate of negative PCR test - the date of taking the material, identification and contact details of the institution that conducts the analysis, the method used and the negative result.
In addition, all citizens who do not have a valid electronic vaccination certificate of the European Union or its equivalent must first fill-out the sanitary control form on the website or in the Application of Spain Travel Health (SpTH). After filling out the form, SpTH generates an individual QR code, which the applicant must present at boarding, as well as after arrival at the request of sanitary control officers along with documents confirming the data entered in the SpTH form.
In connection with these changes in legislation, the Visa Application Center of Spain began to accept documents for tourist visas from all applicants. Previously, there were certain restrictions, and the possibility of applying was actual only for those who had a vaccination certificate recognized by the European Union, or previous Schengen visas with a validity of more than 1 year, which have expired during the pandemic.
We can also highlight the following points as for the innovations in the list of documents required for a tourist visa:
1. An extract from the bank with the movement of funds over the past three months is to be provided as a financial document now (previously a statement with information about the balance on the account was enough).
2. Medical policies issued by Russian insurance companies may be considered invalid due to the currently introduced by the European Union restrictive measures. A health insurance policy issued outside Russian Federation may be requested.
We also remind you that starting from Nov 8, 2021, every applicant over 12 years who applies for a visa is obliged to personally provide his biometric data at the Visa Application Center, regardless of having previously submitted bio data (the 59-month rule does not apply in case of Spain).
For more information, please contact the consultants of the Confidence Group company.
* The texts of the newsletters are intellectual property of Confidence Group, protected by the copyright laws of Russia. The information may not be reproduced in any form whatsoever without linking to this web site or to pages of this website.
