# Spain passport and COVID checks, summer 2022



## alpinist (Feb 8, 2009)

Apparently you just need an NHS certificate to enter Spain now, with the Spanish health locator form no longer necessary.

Is it the border / passport police now looking at these certificates or a second line of staff? Imagine the queues if border police are doing this!

So just curious if anyone has travelled recently and how it works.

Our experience flying to Malaga a while ago was border police did passports then in the baggage collection another set of staff checked the locator form. Is this still in place for all COVID documents?

And given news of delays in Dover, I'm curious how they do it there when you usually just hand passport through the car window. Are French police also checking COVID documents now or is there a second line of medical/admin staff somewhere?


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

I came through Alicante last Saturday. Covid certificate check is after baggage collect. Passport control takes a good 30 to 40 minutes but it depends on how many uk flights have arrived. Everyone has passport checked manually and stamped if not residents. EU folk go through e gates.
I feel us UK nats are just going to have to accept that now we voted to leave EU free movement has gone and that means that exit and entry is going to be more complicated. The idea that EU countries are so desperate for UK tourists they will do everything to accommodate us belongs to Brexiteers. It is clear that the issue at Dover is that it takes time to check documents whereas prior to Brexit you could literally drive straight through the French border control with offer no check at all. Everything has now changed and changed for good. If folk dont like that they need to vote for a political party that is willing to either hold another referendum or try and renegotiate the relationship with EU. Listening to Truss today though the same old lies are being pedalled about and sold to the masses .


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## dancingspider (Mar 4, 2018)

Nail on the head, Kaipa!

Brexit was a horrendous act of folly!

Leaving the EU has happened, so the floodgates are open now for how it will make a difference....!

Anyone care to share with me any tangible benefits of Brexit...?


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

dancingspider said:


> Nail on the head, Kaipa!
> 
> Brexit was a horrendous act of folly!
> 
> ...


Brexit, Brexit, Brexit......

I'm sick of hearing, listening and reading about Brexit 🤷‍♂️

Give it a rest or take it up with someone who can do something about it 😴 

It's no good whatsoever to keep spouting off about Brexit on an expat forum.......

Steve


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## dancingspider (Mar 4, 2018)

Typical reaction!

Tough, it is an open forum and we are free to discuss what we like.

Just watching SKY NEWS and the British are saying the queues at Dover have nothing to do with Brexit and a French guy is now saying it is 100% to do with Brexit.

Additional checks, stamping passports and queues were an inevitable consequence of Brexit.


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## blondebob (Aug 16, 2019)




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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

tebo53 said:


> Brexit, Brexit, Brexit......
> 
> I'm sick of hearing, listening and reading about Brexit 🤷‍♂️
> 
> ...


There is a real point about talking about Brexit on a forum. The more we highlight the problems that are occurring because our relationship has changed the more people are able to assess and evaluate the impact. The UK is still a democratic state which means if enough people dont like something they can bring about change. Brexit was built on a lie and now we are seeing that. What is happening in Dover today is a result of Brexit but immediately people like Truss looks for a way of denying this and a new lie begins in the form of " lazy " French border control staff. Or her announcement today that she will tear up all EU laws ( which will be replaced by new ones , obviously!). Its pathetic but the more people realise the lie and talk about the more control they will start to have and the sooner things can change


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

kaipa said:


> There is a real point about talking about Brexit on a forum. The more we highlight the problems that are occurring because our relationship has changed the more people are able to assess and evaluate the impact. The UK is still a democratic state which means if enough people dont like something they can bring about change. Brexit was built on a lie and now we are seeing that. What is happening in Dover today is a result of Brexit but immediately people like Truss looks for a way of denying this and a new lie begins in the form of " lazy " French border control staff. Or her announcement today that she will tear up all EU laws ( which will be replaced by new ones , obviously!). Its pathetic but the more people realise the lie and talk about the more control they will start to have and the sooner things can change


You are still going on as if people are stupid 🙄 
Everybody by now knows about the consequences of brexit because people like you keep going on and on about it.

Even Keir Starmer has said he wouldn't ask for another referendum on brexit if he wins the election. 

So who in the UK government is bothered enough to make a stance? Nobody......

Steve


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## dancingspider (Mar 4, 2018)

tebo53 said:


> You are still going on as if people are stupid 🙄
> Everybody by now knows about the consequences of brexit because people like you keep going on and on about it.


Best get used to it as I take every opportunity that comes my way to highlight the folly of Brexit.
Equally, Brexiteers don't really want to discuss it as they now realize that they have been had! They simply want to shut down any debate on the topic and pretend it never happened.
Very few people are now banging on about how transformational Brexit is...
I know several people from the UK living in Spain who were ardent Brexiteers and the consequences of it have completely screwed up their lives.
My university qualifications are from a UK university and in fact I should go thru a homologation process to make them recognised in the EU. As it happens my latest employer only asked for references and never even asked to see copies of my university degrees, fortunately!
Furthermore, I absolutely disagree with you when you suggest that this is not an appropriate forum to address the issues that have arisen as a consequence of Brexit.
In fact, it is the perfect forum, not all issues that have arisen impact everyone, but by sharing our experience we can learn from each other as how to best understand, prepare and manage these issues, such as the passport checks and resulting delays, by way of a simple example.


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

dancingspider said:


> Best get used to it as I take every opportunity that comes my way to highlight the folly of Brexit.
> Equally, Brexiteers don't really want to discuss it as they now realize that they have been had! They simply want to shut down any debate on the topic and pretend it never happened.
> Very few people are now banging on about how transformational Brexit is...
> I know several people from the UK living in Spain who were ardent Brexiteers and the consequences of it have completely screwed up their lives.
> ...


There is probably less than 0000.1% of British people who belong to this forum who might be reading your rants and the majority of them will have lost interest by now (except 4K watchers 🤗) so you can carry on wearing your fingers out typing unread posts as I won't read any more either.

So goodbye and good luck with your quest.

Steve


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## dancingspider (Mar 4, 2018)

Steve, to express an opinion, is to rant? It is rather irrelevant the small percentage of the UK population visit this forum, quite understandably as they do not live in Spain or aspire to, so I a bit puzzled by your erroneous reference to this.
As I already stated quite clearly, we can share our experience about how we who live in Spain and manage the issues thrown up by Brexit.
I find the logic of your reply quite convoluted and confused.
As to wanting to stick your head in the sand, please by my guest and go ahead and do an ostrich impression!
Much as you don't like it, YOU ALSO are impacted by Brexit, but it appears you are quite happy to wallow in denial!


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## alpinist (Feb 8, 2009)

kaipa said:


> I came through Alicante last Saturday. Covid certificate check is after baggage collect. Passport control takes a good 30 to 40 minutes but it depends on how many uk flights have arrived. Everyone has passport checked manually and stamped if not residents. EU folk go through e gates.


This makes sense at the airports, they are obviously retaining the infrastructure from before.

But the only info I can find on the port websites implies they do it all at check-in before boarding - no mention of further checks but I can't imagine France / Spain are happy to leave it to the ferry companies!

We're travelling soon so will know for sure then - just curious what to expect at the moment and whether it's another queue to join. 

As much as I dislike the consequences of Brexit, it seems everyone needs their COVID certificates checked so it's not really relevant to what I was asking about. 🤷


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## timwip (Feb 27, 2017)

alpinist said:


> Apparently you just need an NHS certificate to enter Spain now, with the Spanish health locator form no longer necessary.
> 
> Is it the border / passport police now looking at these certificates or a second line of staff? Imagine the queues if border police are doing this!
> 
> ...


Since I am an American, this has nothing to do with Brexit. Yesterday I flew from Mexico City Benito Juarez to Madrid Barajas. Before leaving Mexico City, I filled out the Spain travel health formto get a QR code. upon leavng Benito Juarez airport, unlike the past, Iberia never asked to see QR code. upon arriving in Madrid, there was no health check queue, unlike the past. It appears that things are going back to normal.


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## rspltd (Jul 5, 2016)

I think France is still smarting that someone actually criticised their precious EU and dared to leave.. I think the quote from the French Transport Minister gives a lot away: "French authorities have hit back at claims by the Port of Dover that French border control staff were to blame for a second day of hours-long delays, saying: “France is not responsible for Brexit.” he didn't mention though the problems of traffic in France and there were also similar scenes of travel disruption across other European countries, as the peak vacation season gets underway. 
Authorities recorded a peak of 790 kilometres (490 miles) of traffic jams Saturday lunchtime on the main roads used by holidaymakers.
This peak was lower than the 930 kilometres (577 miles) recorded in France a year ago. Seems like they organise traffic like they did the football.


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## olivefarmer (Oct 16, 2012)

Lets not forget the thousands of motorists inconvenienced by poor staffing or preparation. Unforgivable in 2022. Anyone who says otherwise is just a jobsworth. I wager no one gets sacked. Not a good advert.


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

olivefarmer said:


> Lets not forget the thousands of motorists inconvenienced by poor staffing or preparation. Unforgivable in 2022. Anyone who says otherwise is just a jobsworth. I wager no one gets sacked. Not a good advert.


A reminder of what they said in 2019:


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## dancingspider (Mar 4, 2018)

What gets me is why all these eager Brexiteers are travelling to France and Spain on holidays at all. Why don't they just stay in the UK and avoid the six hours wait in Dover or the new post brexit queues and document checks for non EU citizens. It cracks me up!

When UK was in the EU club there was a shared responsibility between the EU countries and the UK to ensure that travel was seamless, but now that the UK is out of the club, there is no onus of responsibility on any EU country to make passing to customs or passport control speedy, at peak times.


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## blondebob (Aug 16, 2019)

https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/james-obrien/dover-folkestone-queues-cross-channel-tory-crisis-of-intelligence/


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## dancingspider (Mar 4, 2018)

Says it all really! And we have the odd Brexit deniers on here who dunk their heads in the sand...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

blondebob said:


> https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/james-obrien/dover-folkestone-queues-cross-channel-tory-crisis-of-intelligence/


He was really on form today!


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## dancingspider (Mar 4, 2018)

I've been living to LBC since I lived in London many aeons ago.After I moved on from London there was a gap of some years and some of the great presenters they had left. But, with the advent of internet radio, it was possible to start listening to LBC again. It is by far the best current affairs station in the UK and James O' Brien is super!


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## blondebob (Aug 16, 2019)

xabiaxica said:


> He was really on form today!


Outstanding


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## blondebob (Aug 16, 2019)

dancingspider said:


> I've been living to LBC since I lived in London many aeons ago.After I moved on from London there was a gap of some years and some of the great presenters they had left. But, with the advent of internet radio, it was possible to start listening to LBC again. It is by far the best current affairs station in the UK and James O' Brien is super!


And Nick Abbot is very on point and amusing especially on Fri and Sat eves


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## dancingspider (Mar 4, 2018)

Border dispute erupts between UK and France over Dover travel chaos


Queues of cars and lorries at the port of Dover in the UK over the weekend have led to a dispute between British and French officials over who is to blame.




www.euronews.com





"No need to blame French authorities for the traffic jams in #Dover: that’s an aftermath of #Brexit. We have to run more and longer checks. The British government rejected few months ago a proposal to double the number of passport booths given to the French Police in Dover."

"Brexit opportunities minister and firm Liz Truss supporter Jacob Rees-Mogg laid the blame firmly at the feet of the French, telling The Telegraph that British holidays are being "sabotaged" by France's "incompetence"."

In a bizarre turn of events in this ongoing war of words, the campaign group Led By Donkeys joined the queue of cars and trucks, playing a video on a large screen of British Conservative politicians during the Brexit campaign in 2016. 


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1551464079608483840
Cracking me up!


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## alpinist (Feb 8, 2009)

Well, we did Plymouth-Santander on Sunday, queuing for over an hour each end at both check-in and passport control.

At Plymouth, all check-in desks were open but the queue management still started outside the port next to the marina (sympathy for local residents and businesses!).

From what I could see ahead, the issue at check-in was likely people not having printed their tickets and/or COVID passes because I could see lots of phones being held up repeatedly. We (two adults only) printed everything so just handed it all over and were at the window for less than a minute.

We were then waved straight through security and there are no Spanish border posts at Plymouth.

The ferry left at least half an hour late due to the hold-ups.

BLAME: COVID and technology.

Arriving in Santander on time, the ship made repeated apologies over tannoy for the delays to disembarking and said these were due to customs.

From returning to our car when the deck doors opened, we waited about 30mins for our line to start up. This seems reasonable but the issue wasn't with the traffic management on the ferry, it was that everyone was queuing on the off ramp into the port. So from starting the engine and inching forward it took us another hour to get to the passport booth.

All Spanish passport booths were open including HGV ones opened to cars. There was no filtering between EU/non-EU vehicles or citizens, even though the signs at the booths imply it (like at the airport).

Our passports were inspected, scanned and returned in under a minute. They were not stamped, as is appropriate. Compared to the vehicles in front of us, this was incredibly fast. I do wonder if they were being asked questions about their trips as is the right of the border police (e.g. purpose of visit, return tickets, onward addresses, funds to finance the stay etc.).

There was then a customs stop area but traffic was flowing more freely now and there was no queue to be selected. We slowed down and were waved through. We had Spanish plates but noted the two British cars behind us weren't so lucky and were pulled over. A large sign ordered anyone with a pet to stop.

There was a third checkpoint for security but again we were waved through. I kind of assume everyone would be at this point and they were just there to help with traffic, but as we were no longer in a stream of vehicles I couldn't see what happened to others.

There were not any COVID checks for us in Santander - border police simply not interested, but maybe customs do it if they pull you over.

BLAME: Brexit.
Clearly the issue here was not COVID or lack of Spanish staff, it was the new requirements of passport checks (inc. stamping of non-residents) and additional pet documents.


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## dancingspider (Mar 4, 2018)

IMF: UK set for slowest growth of G7 countries in 2023


The IMF cuts its UK forecast for 2023 and says the global economy is "teetering on the edge" of recession.



www.bbc.com





Brexit advantages please, Brexiteers...

2nd time I've asked that question....


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## Takingiteasy (Aug 12, 2021)

I will be flying to spain from usa in a couple months. Its my understanding that the only "covid document" I need is a negative test result. They no longer require the nasty shot or I would not go


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

"_*Brexit advantages please, Brexiteers...*_

_*2nd time I've asked that question...."*_

Try asking anybody that cares.......


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## dancingspider (Mar 4, 2018)

*UK set for slowest growth of G7 countries in 2023*



tebo53 said:


> Try asking anybody that cares.......


Well, if I did a poll, that would mean, all the entire UK population.

The current population of the United Kingdom is *68,619,203* as of Monday, July 25, 2022, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data.

Next question please, as the last one you asked, was a complete no-Brainer....

Can you please organise your brain cell, to ask a testing question, assuming you have any left...?

Sleep well and don't let the bed bugs bite!


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

dancingspider said:


> *UK set for slowest growth of G7 countries in 2023*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


"*Next question please, as the last one you asked, was a complete no-Brainer...."*

My last post was a statement , not a question!! 😄


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## elisejordan (7 mo ago)

Spain check your passport on a big screen in front of you, and those screens are highly valuable and hdr vision, if you want to install these types of screen in your home then you must go through it by knowing how the monitors are working.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

dancingspider said:


> IMF: UK set for slowest growth of G7 countries in 2023
> 
> 
> The IMF cuts its UK forecast for 2023 and says the global economy is "teetering on the edge" of recession.
> ...


If you want to talk about Brexit pros and cons, best do it in La Tasca. But it was debated to death years ago and I don't think the handful of posters who were in favour of it post on the forum any more. They lived in the UK as I recall.


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## rspltd (Jul 5, 2016)

dancingspider said:


> IMF: UK set for slowest growth of G7 countries in 2023
> 
> 
> The IMF cuts its UK forecast for 2023 and says the global economy is "teetering on the edge" of recession.
> ...


If you really want a reply to your question, you can do no better than start here: https://assets.publishing.service.g...ment_data/file/1054643/benefits-of-brexit.pdf


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

rspltd said:


> If you really want a reply to your question, you can do no better than start here: https://assets.publishing.service.g...ment_data/file/1054643/benefits-of-brexit.pdf


I can't be bothered to spend hours answering this UK government propaganda, but just look at the first two claimed achievements:
1. "Taken back control of our borders." Anyone who has been watching the UK news over the past few years will have a good laugh at that claim! And has anyone looked closely at the much-publicised deal with Rwanda? They have agreed to take 200 of the UK's illegal migrants (yes, just 200) but in return the UK government has agreed to accept African refugees nominated by Rwanda (I haven't seen much about that in the Tory press!).
2. "Restored democratic control over our lawmaking." Would that be by stuffing the un-elected House of Lords with Tory party donors? Bloomberg - Are you a robot?
Perhaps someone else has more time than me to debunk the rest of this nonsense!


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