Confusion still surrounds whether Malta will be accepting UK digital vaccine certificates from today (July 1), amid conflicting reports from the island.
At 4am on Wednesday (June 30), the island moved onto the British government’s green list so arrivals in the UK from Malta do not need to quarantine – but there has been confusion about entry requirements.
On Tuesday, it emerged that the Maltese authorities will only accept a paper version of the NHS Covid letter as proof of full vaccination from UK arrivals, who also need to have evidence of a negative PCR test.
However, Malta Today reported on Wednesday that health minister Chris Fearne confirmed the U-turn during a press conference.
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“Fearne said that because the UK put Malta on its green list before July 1, the country’s system enabling the island to accept digital vaccine certificates was not up and running,” said the report.
“However, he said that from July 1, Malta will be accepting the digital vaccine certificate from the UK, along with the EU Digital Covid Certificate.”
But on Wednesday evening, Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, tweeted that there had been no official confirmation of any change.
Despite some media reports entry requirements for #Malta as it stands now at 17.30 remain unchanged. Please check official updates for clarity if you are making plans to travel. Return to UK please follow UK Govt rules for Green. https://t.co/3Yxxev015a
— Julia Lo Bue-Said (@jlo_said) June 30, 2021
The British High Commission in Valletta had previously warned UK travellers that Malta was only accepting paper vaccine certificates – which could take up to five days to receive in the post.
The Times of Malta reported that about 100 passengers were denied boarding an Air Malta flight from Heathrow on Wednesday, as they only had digital Covid passes rather than physical letters.
Other travellers planning trips to Malta in the days to come were also “left in limbo” said the newspaper.
A spokesperson for the Malta Tourism Authority told Travel Weekly that there had been no changes to the entry requirements, which stipulate a letter in the post is needed.
More: Malta to allow NHS app as vaccine certification