How am I meant to travel if my vaccine can ‘expire’ in countries like Spain and Italy?

Q I am due to go on holiday to Spain with my wife in August 2022. Due to the “270-day rule” that now applies, our third Covid jabs (boosters) will have expired during July. Therefore we will no longer have valid proof of vaccination to be able to enter the country.

As boosters started to be rolled out in the UK in September 2021, this issue is going to start hitting thousands of travellers and holidaymakers from around about June 2022. Surely the government will have to start rolling out second boosters? Otherwise, foreign travel will again become severely restricted.

“Holiday Time”

A The decision by a number of European countries to place an “expiry date” on the original course of Covid vaccines has caused plenty of consternation. The Spanish health ministry says that after 270 days (just under nine months), the original course of vaccines is deemed no longer to be effective. In other countries, in some circumstances, the validity period is shorter – for example, 180 days for activities and access to venues in Italy.

The authorities say that from 270 days after your second Covid jab, “in order to be valid, the vaccination certificate must reflect the administration of a booster dose”. They add that the booster is valid indefinitely from the day of vaccination – and I am unaware of any major country setting a time limit for boosters.

In the six months before your trip, there will be many more changes to travel rules. But if expiry dates are imposed on booster jabs, that will be because there is general medical agreement a fourth vaccination is necessary. Were that to happen, I am confident that health services, in the UK and elsewhere, will administer the jabs with sufficient speed to allow those who were boosted early to travel.

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Q I was wondering what you think the chance is of being able to visit Japan independently by the end of April.

Filigato

A Low, but not zero. For many months the UK and the rest of Europe have been on the very long list of locations from which travel to Japan is not generally permitted. Arrivals from Australia, New Zealand and some Pacific countries are allowed.

The relatively few people who are exempt from these rules (mainly because of family connections) are required to quarantine upon arrival. While the length of self-isolation was recently reduced from 10 to seven days, Japan is still a long way from wishing to welcome back tourists from the UK. Only 200 British people were allowed to enter the country in December 2021, down 99.3 per cent on the same month in 2019 and barely half the figure for the final month of 2020.

How different from October 2019, when the annual convention of Abta, the travel association, was held in Tokyo and great plans laid for increasing the number of British tourists to Japan.

This weekend, though, there are signs of easing the near-total ban. Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida hinted that the hard-line policy may change soon, with international students and business travellers the first to benefit. The current rules are due to expire at the end of February. One condition of any visit is likely to include having had a booster jab. While quarantine will still be required, reports say it may be cut to just three days – which is the sort of duration a traveller might tolerate for the joy of visiting the nation.

There is still a different mindset in many Asian countries to those in Europe about opening up international travel. But I do know that if Japan does open sufficiently in time for cherry blossom season, you will be able to book at the drop of a hat. So don’t commit to anything just yet. Buying a ticket a day or two before departure will be quite sufficient – and allow you to pass whatever testing regime is in place before committing cash.

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Q I’m travelling to Dublin in June with some friends. One friend’s passport expires in December. Our online booking says you need six months on the passport. I looked online and the government website says it’s fine as long as your passport is in date. One website says you don’t need a passport – just a photo ID. So is he fine with a passport that expires within five months of travel?

Andy H

A Your question intrigues me, because the online advice is so wrong. The Republic of Ireland is part of the Common Travel Area (CTA), along with the four nations of the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. As every travel agent, including the online kind, surely knows: there are no routine passport controls in operation for citizens travelling from one part of the CTA area to another. As long as your friend was born in the UK or Ireland, he will be able to travel from the UK to Ireland with a passport with five months’ validity remaining – or, probably, without a passport at all.

It’s important to know that if you plan to travel on Ryanair, the airline insists that you have a valid passport. On arrival at Dublin airport, you will go through passport control. But British Airways says: “If you are a citizen of the UK or Republic of Ireland who was born in that country you do not need a passport to travel between the two countries but you do require some form of photographic identification, such as a driving licence.” Aer Lingus, BA’s sister airline, adds that a bus pass or work ID card with your photo on is quite sufficient. The ferries are similarly relaxed.

Returning from Ireland to the UK should be equally straightforward. The British government says: “You may be asked to show a document that confirms your identity and nationality.” Even an expired passport is acceptable.

For completeness, anyone travelling from the republic to Northern Ireland across the land border will need no documents to enter the UK.

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