Your holidays to Europe could be made cheaper and easier as UK ‘plans to join EU Covid passport scheme’
HOLIDAYS to Europe could be made much easier – and cheaper – for Brits, as the UK could soon join the EU Covid passport scheme.
The current EU Digital Covid Certificate (EUDCC) would mean much shorter airport queues as well as make it easier to show proof of vaccinations and tests.
Currently, Brits must use the NHS Covid app to show they have been fully vaccinated when going on holiday.
However, some countries require a printed official letter, while other airlines ask for the EU covid certificate, while those without it have to face additional checks at the airport.
If the UK joined, this would make travelling to holiday hotspots such as France and Portugal much cheaper too.
Vaxxed Britons travelling to Portugal must currently buy lateral flow tests to enter the country which cost up to £40, as the jabs jabs are not recognised by the EU Digital Covid Certificate.
If it goes ahead, it is likely that the data from the NHS app will be shared with the EUDCC, allowing more than 40 countries to access the data.
A spokesman for the EU Commission told The Daily Telegraph: “Significant progress was made on a technical front, namely when it comes to the connection to the Gateway, with aim of going live soon.”
A spokesman for the Foreign Office also said: “We have applied to link into the EU’s Digital Covid Certificate scheme.
“Linking up to the EU’s Digital Covid Certificate scheme will enable us to digitally verify each other’s Covid certificates to make journeys easier.”
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New rules being introduced will make a holiday abroad much cheaper, after the UK government announced a reduction in tests required from Brits.
From Monday, October 4, new rules are in place for vaccinated travellers.
The pre-arrival test, which had to be a lateral flow or PCR test and taken before returning to the UK, will no longer be required.
The day two PCR test will be scrapped later in October, with holidaymakers able instead to have a lateral flow test.
The government is yet to confirm when this will be in place, although it is hoped to be enforced in time for the October half-term.
Last week, the traffic light scheme was scrapped, dropping the green and amber lists and leaving just the red list for countries still having a travel ban in place.
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