OBSOLETE COVID THREAD Entry to Portugal from Northern Ireland

[Tommy Barr]

Hi I'm travelling to Porto from Dublin on 30/8/21. I live in Northern Ireland but have an Irish Passport and a Northern Ireland Covid Certificate proving I have had both vaccine jabs. Does anyone know if this is sufficent for entry to Portugal? Thank you.

 

[Corned Beef]

Does your paperwork have a QR code? If it does you should be able to convert it to an EU Covid Cert using either the Irish "Covid Tracker" app or the French "TAC" app.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): travel advice

If you are travelling abroad, keep up-to-date with the latest advice for the country you plan travelling to and with the requirements for your return.

www.nidirect.gov.uk

 

[Tommy Barr]

Does your paperwork have a QR code? If it does you should be able to convert it to an EU Covid Cert using either the Irish "Covid Tracker" app or the French "TAC" app.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): travel advice

If you are travelling abroad, keep up-to-date with the latest advice for the country you plan travelling to and with the requirements for your return.

www.nidirect.gov.uk

Thank you I will try that .

 

[Baldie Git]

Hi I'm travelling to Porto from Dublin on 30/8/21. I live in Northern Ireland but have an Irish Passport and a Northern Ireland Covid Certificate proving I have had both vaccine jabs. Does anyone know if this is sufficent for entry to Portugal? Thank you.

Hi Tommy

welcome to the forum. Let me know how you get on as I’m also travelling from N Ireland via Dublin to Porto in Septembe?

 

[Tommy Barr]

Hi Tommy

welcome to the forum. Let me know how you get on as I’m also travelling from N Ireland via Dublin to Porto in Septembe?

hi I start on the 1st (hopefully) I'll post how I get on. At the moment I think I'll just rely on the NI vaccine cert.

 

[GailGwyn]

Does your paperwork have a QR code? If it does you should be able to convert it to an EU Covid Cert using either the Irish "Covid Tracker" app or the French "TAC" app.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): travel advice

If you are travelling abroad, keep up-to-date with the latest advice for the country you plan travelling to and with the requirements for your return.

www.nidirect.gov.uk

Hi, do you know if I can convert My QR code to an EUCovid cert. I am travelling to Porto from Manchester, although I live in Wales. Thanks

 

[Jim]

This might rate as a new topic, but here goes my situation. I have tickets to depart the USA to Paris, France, and have just secured my return flight which will leave from Paris. Will be traveling to Italy to see extended family before flying to Lisbon to start the Portuguese route. Intend on crossing from Portugal to Spain on foot of course, and upon completion of my Camino, taking plane or train back Paris in order to return home. I realize that there could be plenty of changes before my travel date, but as things now stand, will the QR from France and vaccine certificates be sufficient for me to pass through the countries mentioned (France to Italy, Italy to Portugal, Portugal to Spain and Spain back to France) + negative covid test within so many hours of departure? I might be in the minority but all of my Camino adventures have been prefaced with other travel.

 

[Kathar1na]

Does your paperwork have a QR code? If it does you should be able to convert it to an EU Covid Cert using either the Irish "Covid Tracker" app or the French "TAC" app.

So I actually tried this: I scanned an English NHS vaccination code into the Irish "Covid Tracker" app and into the French "TAC" app. The result looks like an EU DCC and seems to behave like an EU DCC. However, when you scan the converted French QR code or the converted Irish QR code with another EU country's checker app, their apps detect that there is something wrong with these converted QR codes. I used the German, Portuguese, Dutch and Luxemburg checking apps and got the following warnings:

Germany: Certificate does not have a valid signature.​

Portugal: Error emissor. Desconhecido. Invalid.​

Netherlands: Invalid QR code.​

Luxembourg: Trusted repository not found.​

None of these error messages occur when the apps scan a genuine EU DCC issued by another EU country.

FWIW. My guess it that whatever Ireland and France do in the way of conversion of non-EU certificates, it is only good for their domestic markets. So far the EU Commission has only recognised equivalence of COVID-19 certificates issued by these non-EU countries: Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City State, Turkey, Ukraine and North Macedonia, and they will be connected to the EU trust framework, whatever that means. Yes, I know, this is a motley crew.

 

[Corned Beef]

So I actually tried this: I scanned an English NHS vaccination code into the Irish "Covid Tracker" app and into the French "TAC" app.

To add to the confusion, the NHS QR codes have a 30 day time limit. You would need to check the date on the "test" NHS certificate you used first.

 

[GailGwyn]

So I actually tried this: I scanned an English NHS vaccination code into the Irish "Covid Tracker" app and into the French "TAC" app. The result looks like an EU DCC and seems to behave like an EU DCC. However, when you scan the converted French QR code or the converted Irish QR code with another EU country's checker app, their apps detect that there is something wrong with these converted QR codes. I used the German, Portuguese, and Luxemburg checking apps.

German: Certificate does not have a valid signature.​

Portugal: Error emissor. Desconhecido. Invalid.​

Luxembourg: Trusted repository not found.​

None of these error messages occur when the apps scan a genuine EU DCC issued by another EU country.

FWIW. My guess it that whatever Ireland and France do in the way of conversion of non-EU certificates, it is only good for their domestic markets. So far the EU Commission has only recognised equivalence of COVID-19 certificates issued by these non-EU countries: Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City State, Turkey, Ukraine and North Macedonia, and they will be connected to the EU trust framework, whatever that means. Yes, I know, this is a motley crew.

Thank you

 

[Kathar1na]

If you want to check yourself, here are the names of the apps in the App Store:

• Passe Covid (República Portuguesa),
• CovPass (Robert Koch-Institut, Germany; you can use it for checking but their proper checking app is called CovPassCheck-App and it is geolocation-restricted for whatever mysterious reason and you are unlikely to be able to download it from the App Store),
• CovidCheck.lu (Luxembourg Government),
• CovidCheck scanner (Dutch Ministry of Health)
• TousAntiCovid Verif and TousAntiCovid (French Ministry of Health),
• Covid Tracker (Irish Department of Health)
• Certificazione Verde COVID-19 (Italian Ministry of Health)

Anecdotal evidence from some of these countries indicates that restaurants etc often don't scan but merely visually check that you hold up a printout or a mobile phone with a QR code on the display. Border control may also not be systematic but be based on random checks. And don't forget: numerous kinds of non-EU vaccination certificates are recognised by various EU countries even when they are not scannable and not compatible.

 

[Kathar1na]

This very recent Guardian article sheds some light on the question of British tourists facing difficulties following delay in linking NHS Covid pass to EU’s system. As I had suspected, there is some delay due to technical or administrative issues that have not yet been resolved; the British government has already submitted an application to the EU Commission for EU-wide recognition of vaccination certificates issued in the UK. It will no doubt eventually be sorted out.

Am I allowed to mention that they had been initially invited in February or so to participate in the EU DCC system right from the start but didn't want to and now they do? Oh well, that's just the way the cookie crumbles ...

 

[Kathar1na]

The Italian verification app is called Certificazione Verde COVID-19 on the App Store, and to my surprise, when I use it to scan the NHS QR code that had been converted by the French TAC, it recognises it as a Certificazione valida in Italia e in Europa, with a big fat green ok sign. It displays also name and date of birth of the holder and, obviously, says that it ought to be compared to the holder's ID.

FWIW.

 

[Baldie Git]

Just to update Tommy on N Ireland.

I followed the instructions to get the N Ireland vaccines certifcate: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/coronavirus-covid-19-covid-certificate-ni-residents

I then installed the Covid Tracker Ireland app on my phone. This provides a method to upload an EU Digital COVID Certificate by scanning a QR Code. This worked for my N Ireland QR code so it looks like I have an EU Digital Certificate but as Kathar1na reports the QR code was not accepted by the Passe Covid (República Portuguesa) app.

I will use the Covid Tracker Ireland app to present my certificate in hotels, restaurants, etc. and have a print out and the NI Covid Cert app in reserve. I will also get a PCR test less than 72 hours before departure. (Hopefully the Rand PCR test is acceptable at Dublin airport.)

 

[Ste66]

If you check out the Portugese government website you will see the rules regarding british vaccination certificates but I think that they are accepting them,when I was there in late July /early August you also needed to show the certificate when checking in to your accomodation but other than that it was pretty straight forward, oh and don't forget to fill out and download your Portugese locator form.

Buen camino.

 

[Tommy Barr]

Hi Tommy

welcome to the forum. Let me know how you get on as I’m also travelling from N Ireland via Dublin to Porto in Septembe?

Hi Baldie in Porto start walking tomorrow. I decided to get a antigen test in Dublin Airport. Just as well because when I showed my NI certificate at Porto they asked for a negative test. Randox 2minutes from T2 carpark 35 Euro got the result by email in 45 mins. In Porto only 50% of people wearing masks in the street seems pretty relaxed.
M