UK Travelers Can Now Enter Portugal

It is good news for British holidaymakers as Portugal’s borders will be open just in time for relaxed travel bans. With the UK traffic light system in place, foreign travel is set to resume on Monday, 17th May. Portugal is one of the few countries on the ‘green list,’ and many Brits are keen on traveling for the holidays in the coming weeks. Despite the development, a pre-travel PCR is still necessary.

Portugal had maintained a strict ban on international travel, but that changed on Friday morning. Interestingly, the country extended its ‘state of calamity’ yesterday by 15 more days, which meant that UK travels would not have been able to enter the country until May 30th.

However, on Friday the 14th, Portugal’s tourism body, Visit Portugal, issued a statement saying that the country will be welcoming Brits from Monday. In the statement on social media, the authority said,

“The Portuguese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs announced today that British tourists would be allowed to enter Portugal as of 00:00 of 17th May, next Monday. This decision will revoke the essential travel restrictions that are in place until the 16ht of May. Any person entering Portugal will have, in any case, to have an RT-PCR test done 72h before the departure.

“With an air capacity from at least 12 airports in the United Kingdom into Portugal … the options are wide for the British Tourists to visit Portugal, from any point. People from the United Kingdom have visited Portugal and celebrated our culture, traditions, landmarks, history, and enjoyed our warm hospitality for decades.

“We look forward to welcome all travelers coming from the UK.”

According to the statement, a PCR test will be required within 72 hours of departure. However, this would be difficult, if not impossible, for British travelers set to fly on Monday. Not only are PCR tests expensive, but it also takes a while before the test results are processed and delivered.