Canary Islands travel requirements

Everyone, including children, must complete an online overseas passenger locator form no more than 48 hours prior to arriving into the Canary Islands. In the case of minors or a dependent/disabled person, the parents, guardian or another suitable person may complete the form on their behalf. If you don’t complete this, you won’t be able to board.

The overseas passenger locator form (PLF) is an official form which is free to complete and submit. Some companies may offer to charge you a fee for filling this (or similar forms) out on your behalf. Just so you know, they’re not affiliated with us in any way and you should be careful when giving out your personal details.

All arrivals from the UK must show one of the following to enter the Canary Islands:

• Proof of full vaccination: If you’re fully vaccinated at least 14 days before your arrival, you’ll need to provide proof to enter the Canary Islands. An NHS COVID Pass shows your COVID-19 vaccination details and will be accepted – find out how you can get this. Please note, your business card-sized paper COVID-19 vaccination record card isn’t an acceptable form of vaccine status proof and can’t be used to enter. To be “fully vaccinated” you must’ve had a complete course, usually two doses, of an approved vaccine at least 14 days before you’re due to arrive in the Canary Islands.



IMPORTANT: Regardless of your age, if you’ve only received a single (first) dose of the Astra Zeneca, Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, you’re NOT considered fully vaccinated.



• Proof of a negative COVID-19 test result: If you’re not fully vaccinated, you’ll have to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 NAAT test (PCR, LAMP, TMA or NEAR), taken within 72 hours* before your scheduled arrival time into the Canary Islands. Please note, rapid antigen test results won’t be accepted, plus the UK Government has advised that you can’t use the free NHS tests for international travel as the result certificates don’t contain all the required information.

*For example, if your flight’s scheduled to arrive at 11am on Friday, your test must be taken after 11am on Tuesday. As the turnaround time for this test is limited, you may want to consider organising an in-person test, as it’ll be processed quicker than sending your test back to a testing provider.

This excludes children aged 11 and under.

Please note, COVID-19 recovery documents aren’t acceptable for travel and you won’t be able to board if you try to use one instead of proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result.

Read more Government information or find out to get a test.

When checking in to your accommodation in the Canary Islands, everyone, except children aged 11 and under, will have to show either:

• Vaccination status: If you’re fully vaccinated or have received one dose of an authorised COVID-19 vaccine at least 15 days before your arrival in the Canary Islands, you’ll need to show proof of this. Find out how to get proof of your vaccine status.
• Negative COVID-19 test result: If you haven’t been vaccinated, you’ll have to show evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result – this can be from a PCR, transcription mediated amplification (TMA) or antigen COVID-19 test. This should be taken within 72 hours before your arrival in the Canary Islands.

Please note, COVID-19 recovery certificates aren’t acceptable.

For more information about local measures and restrictions, read more Canary Islands tourist board information. You can also find out how to get a test.

Everyone, aged 18 years and over, will have to show either:

• Proof of full vaccination: If you’re fully vaccinated at least 14 days before your arrival in the UK, you’ll need to show proof of this.
• To be “fully vaccinated” you must’ve had your final dose of an approved vaccine under the UK, EU or US vaccination programme at least 14 days before you’re due to arrive in the UK. Find out how to get proof of your vaccine status. An NHS COVID Pass shows your COVID-19 vaccination details and will be accepted.
• Negative COVID-19 test result: If you haven’t been fully vaccinated, you must take a COVID-19 test at some point in the three days before flying to the UK and provide a negative result before boarding. This can be a PCR, LAMP or rapid antigen test (RAT), also known as lateral flow, but it can’t be one of the free NHS tests.

For example, if you travel directly to the UK on Friday, you must take the test on the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (or before your flight on Friday – but we wouldn’t recommend leaving it this late).

Find out more about how to get a test.

UK Government announcement regarding changes to day two tests

Following the latest UK Government announcement on 14 October 2021 about changes to day two tests for arrivals into England, we’re aware lateral flow tests (also known as RAT) will be accepted in England from 24 October 2021. You must order this test from a list of Government-approved suppliers (the Government has advised the free NHS tests can’t be used for this purpose) and we’re expecting this list to be published on 22 October 2021.

If you’ve already ordered PCR day two tests, don’t worry, you can use these as planned. Ahead of travel, please visit our website regularly right up to just before you’re due to depart, when we’ll have all the latest travel requirements.

Current information

You and all your party, except children aged four and under (ten and under if returning to Scotland), will have to take a COVID-19 PCR test on or before day two of your arrival into the UK. You don't need to self-isolate unless the test result is positive, unless the below applies.

You also need to book a day eight test if you’re aged 18 or over and haven’t been fully vaccinated, as well as self-isolate for ten days. To be “fully vaccinated” you must’ve had your final dose of an approved vaccine under the UK, EU or US vaccination programme at least 14 days before you’re due to arrive in the UK.

Please note, you’ll need to book the test(s) before you return to the UK to be able to complete your UK passenger locator form.

When booking any of the tests required by the UK Government, you must check that the testing supplier is fully approved by the devolved nation you’re arriving into i.e. Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, in line with the current guidance. For more information please visit:

• England: https://www.gov.uk/uk-border-control
• Northern Ireland: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-advice
• Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-international-travel-quarantine/
• Wales: https://gov.wales/arriving-wales-overseas

Find out more about how to get a test.

Everyone aged 18 years and over (16 and over if returning to Scotland) must complete a UK passenger locator form online here any time within the 48 hours before arriving in the UK. Please note, you’ll need to book your day two test (plus a day eight test if you’re 18 or over and not fully vaccinated) before you return to the UK to be able to complete your UK passenger locator form.

Just so you know, we can’t give you a valid boarding pass for your flight to the UK until we’ve seen evidence of your completed UK passenger locator form. Therefore, you must complete it before going to airport check-in.

So here’s what you need to do before your flight to the UK:

1. Check in online
2. Complete the UK passenger locator form in the 48 hours before you arrive in the UK
3. Log in to Manage My Booking and enter your UK passenger locator form reference number
4. Download or print your valid boarding pass

The UK passenger locator form (PLF) is an official form which is free to complete and submit. Some companies may offer to charge you a fee for filling this (or similar forms) out on your behalf. Just so you know, they’re not affiliated with us in any way and you should be careful when giving out your personal details. You can fill out the form yourself and watch our helpful video here – or go straight to the UK Government website here.

Read more tips on how to complete this

All passengers arriving into the UK will need to either:

• Provide proof of full vaccination:If you’re fully vaccinated, you’ll need to provide proof to enter the UK without having to self-isolate on arrival. To be “fully vaccinated” you must’ve had your final dose of an approved vaccine under the UK, EU or US vaccination programme at least 14 days before you’re due to arrive in the UK. An NHS COVID Pass shows your COVID-19 vaccination details and will be accepted - find out how you can get this. Please note, your business card-sized paper COVID-19 vaccination record card isn’t an acceptable form of vaccine status proof and can’t be used to enter.
• Self-isolate on return: If you’re not fully vaccinated, you’ll need to self-isolate on arrival in the UK for ten days, either at home or the place you’re staying. You may be able to end self-isolation early if you pay for a COVID-19 test through the Test to Release scheme.

This excludes children under 18.

Please note, details may vary for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, so please check the relevant government website.

As the UK is no longer part of the European Union, most EU countries now require UK passports to be less than ten years old and still be valid for at least three months at the time you're due to leave their country. Just so you know, if you renewed your passport before your previous passport expired, any extra months that may have been added to your new passport’s expiry date, making it valid for more than a ten year period, may not count.

For example, a passport with an issue date of 1 January 2012 and an expiry date of 31 October 2022 isn’t valid for beyond 1 January 2022, ten years from its original issue. Check the date of issue on your passport to work out whether it meets this criteria and make sure your passport is valid for travel here.

Watch our video to find out more about passport validity. For non-EU destinations like Turkey and Montenegro, take a look at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s advice for your destination.

In line with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) guidelines, face masks must be worn at the airport and onboard our flights. Have a look at our Face Mask Policy here before you travel - if you're unable to wear a mask, you must let us know in advance to be able to travel.

We recommend that you take out adequate travel insurance for your trip. This should cover from the date of booking, in case you have to cancel your plans, until you get home, for any emergencies while you're away.

We recommend the policy you choose includes cover for any pre-existing medical conditions as the UK is no longer part of the EU. Your EHIC will still be valid until it expires but if you apply for an EHIC now you'll get a GHIC, a new UK equivalent, instead.

If you'd like to add our Defaqto 5* travel insurance you your booking, which includes COVID-19 and FCDO cover, log into Manage My Booking and purchase a policy.

Want to make your journey extra easy? Don’t forget to download our app. You can use it to go contact-free while travelling, with online check-in, mobile boarding passes and a place to upload and view all your travel documents.