When travelling from the UK to Portugal, passengers who have had the full vaccination for at least 14 days only need to show proof of this.
Travelling to Portugal from the UK
Travelling to Portugal from the UK / Pixabay

The United Kingdom has been included in the list of countries whose citizens will be subject to quarantine of 14 days after entering mainland Portugal. This is according to a new order published by the government, which came into force on Monday 28th June 2021. Let's take a closer look at all the details for travelling to Portugal from the UK this summer. 

Do all travellers from the UK have to quarantine in Portugal?

First of all, some passengers coming from the United Kingdom are exempt from confinement: i.e. those who have been fully vaccinated for 14 days. According to the order published by the Portuguese government, people from the UK won't have to quarantine "if they have proof of vaccination carried out in that country, certifiying that the full vaccination schedule has been carried out on the respective holder for at least 14 days, with a vaccine against COVID-19 with marketing authorisation under Regulation No. 726/2004," reads the

Who has to quarantine in Portugal?

Non-vaccinated travellers from the UK are not the only ones who have to quarantine in Portugal. Travellers from South Africa, Brazil, India and Nepal join those from the United Kingdom. Note that this isolation period of 14 days must be observed at home or at a place indicated by the health authorities.

Madeira on the UK's green list

On Thursday 24th June 2021, the British Government announced that the archipelago of Madeira, the Balearic Islands and some of the Caribbean islands, including Barbados, were to be added to the green list for international travel. This means that travellers are exempt from quarantine on arrival in the UK, a decision that the Government in Madeira considered "fair".

The UK's green list is currently limited to 11 low-risk countries and territories, but the British travel and tourism industry has lobbied for it to be extended to include popular summer holiday destinations such as Greece, Italy or Spain.

Portugal was the only European Union (EU) country to join this list, on May 17th, but was demoted less than three weeks later, on 6th June, to the moderate-risk amber list. This list, which includes most European countries, is subject to tighter restrictions, notably a 10-day quarantine on arrival in the UK, as well as 3 PCR tests, one which must be presented upon arrival, with another test taken on the second and eighth day of quarantine.

COVID-19 cases and deaths in Portugal

The pandemic has so far caused at least 3,919,801 victims worldwide, resulting from 180,725,470 officially diagnosed cases of infection, according to the French agency AFP. In Portugal, 17,084 people have died and 874,547 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed, according to the latest bulletin from the Directorate-General of Health.