The Portuguese island of Madeira has opened a ‘green corridor’ to admit tourists who have been vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19.
The destination already allows visitors to enter with proof of a negative Covid test.
However, it is on the British ‘red list’ of destinations, meaning that those arriving in the UK from Portugal – including Madeira – must quarantine for 10 days in an airport hotel.
To be eligible for the new requirements, tourists must prove their status through one of two documents – either proof of Covid-19 recovery in the last 90 days, or an official vaccination certificate, which includes the date of the two doses taken and immunisation period for each vaccine.
Documentation in English must be submitted to the Madeirasafe.com app before the trip is taken.
The Madeira Promotion Bureau said in a statement: “Despite currently being on the UK’s red list due to being part of Portugal – although it is geographically over 1,000km from the mainland – there is no evidence of the Brazilian strain in the destination and cases are dropping significantly.
“In the last seven days, there has been an average of 54 new cases and 87 recovered per day. The target is to immunise 60-70% of the population by the end of the year.”
Last July, the island established a regime enabling arrivals to show evidence of a negative test or to take a free test at the airport.
The bureau said the new policy “represents a vote of confidence in this new phase the world is going through, in addition to encouraging visits to the destination to stimulate economic activity, while maintaining Madeira as a safe destination”.
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