New rules have come into force regarding the validity of the EU Digital Covid Certificate for intra-EU travel.
The certificate will now only be valid for nine months (270 days) after the second jab of a two-dose vaccine or after the single dose for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
This means that travellers will now have to provide proof of a booster jab once their vaccine status is more than nine months old in order to be classified as “fully vaccinated”.
The nine months takes into account the administration of booster doses after six months, and includes an additional period of three months “to ensure that national vaccination campaigns can adjust and citizens can have access to boosters”.
The rules were adopted on December 21, 2021, following proposals in November, but only entered into force today. The EU commission commented:
“A clear and uniform acceptance period for vaccination certificates will guarantee that travel measures among the EU countries continue to be coordinated.”
Spain has today introduced a booster requirement for UK travellers whose vaccination status is over nine months old. Travellers can show proof of a booster vaccination within the NHS Covid Pass for international travel.
Note that this does not necessarily mean that double-jabbed travellers from the UK will need a booster to enter all countries in the European Union, but they may have trouble accessing venues and services without further testing once they arrive. For more information on this, see our feature:
