Reduced flight schedules and current entry / exit requirements

[BankNote]

To my surprise, my PCR test came back positive

Get well soon.

 

[Alby]

Travelers from the UK will be able to freely enter Spain from Monday with no restrictions and no coronavirus test

Speaking on Friday at the Fitur tourism fair, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in English that the country “will be delighted to receive British tourists”

english.elpais.com

Would you interpret this to mean that an Australian or New Zealand passport holder who flies direct from Buenos Aires to Madrid with a valid PCR but without a vaccination and presents his or her Australian or New Zealand passport at the immigration control would be let into Spain without quarantine?

 

[antipodean]

Would you interpret this to mean that an Australian or New Zealand passport holder who flies direct from Buenos Aires to Madrid with a valid PCR but without a vaccination and presents his or her Australian or New Zealand passport at the immigration control would be let into Spain without quarantine?

Note that Spain doesn’t do quarantine, except for arrivals from India, they just have not been allowing non-EU foreigners in for tourism.

The tricky part is getting on your flight to Spain where it is your residency that matters. It might be difficult convincing a check in agent at Ezeiza that you are a resident in Australia at these times...

That said here is the summarized Timatic response for my query coming from Argentina flying to Spain in late June - saying my residency is in one of these countries.
Yes, the documentation you hold is sufficient based on your details and the itinerary provided.
Passport - Visa Not Required
Warning:
Passengers must have a negative COVID-19 test taken at most 72 hours before arrival. Tests accepted are: PCR, RT-LAMP, RT-PCR and TMA. The test result must be in English, French, German, Spanish or accompanied by a certified Spanish translation.
Passengers must complete an "FCS Health Control Form" at https://www.spth.gob.es/ . This will generate a QR code which must be presented upon arrival.
Passengers are subject to medical screening upon arrival.
Health
Vaccinations not required.

BUT, if I say I am resident in Argentina... persona non-grata:

Passport - VISA REQUIRED
Conditional, You will need to hold travel documents as detailed below.
Admission and Transit Restrictions:
Restriction
Until 31 May 2021, passengers are not allowed to enter.
This does not apply to passengers with a "D" visa issued by a Schengen Member State returning via Spain to their country of residence.
This does not apply to students with proof of being enrolled in a course in a Schengen Member State. They must have a medical insurance and travel to the country where they study, at most 15 days before the start of the course.
This does not apply to immediate family members of a national of an EU Member State traveling together or traveling to join the national of an EU Member State.
This does not apply to passengers who are unmarried partners of nationals of Spain. They must have a confirmation of their relationship issued by a consulate of Spain.
Warning:
Passengers must have a negative COVID-19 test taken at most 72 hours before arrival. Tests accepted are: PCR, RT-LAMP, RT-PCR and TMA. The test result must be in English, French, German, Spanish or accompanied by a certified Spanish translation.
Passengers must complete an "FCS Health Control Form" at https://www.spth.gob.es/ . This will generate a QR code which must be presented upon arrival.
Passengers are subject to medical screening upon arrival.

(No mention of the newly announced vaccination rules either... I guess that it because it has not been updated yet since it only comes into effect in June, so I assume if you have a full course of non-Sputnik non-Sinovac vaccinations you would be good to go either way.)

 

[Alby]

Note that Spain doesn’t do quarantine, except for arrivals from India, they just have not been allowing non-EU foreigners in for tourism.

The tricky part is getting on your flight to Spain where it is your residency that matters. It might be difficult convincing a check in agent at Ezeiza that you are a resident in Australia at these times...

That was going to be my next question, not because of the problem at Ezeiza you point out but because it would be implausible at the moment to present an Australian passport in Madrid and maintain I had traveled from Australia. However, since I am not a resident in Argentina, but do (also) hold a UK passport I interpret your information as meaning I could well be fine, at both ends.

 

[antipodean]

That was going to be my next question, not because of the problem at Ezeiza you point out but because it would be implausible at the moment to present an Australian passport in Madrid and maintain I had traveled from Australia. However, since I am not a resident in Argentina, but do (also) hold a UK passport I interpret your information as meaning I could well be fine, at both ends.

While in Spain they do often ask for your boarding pass on arrival, or what flight you came in on, if flying via Paris or Frankfurt it might not raise an eyebrow. The issue is actually on departure since airlines need to verify and input all of this information into timatic to avoid fines from breaches in transit countries and final destination according to the booking.

Claiming residency in the UK could be a more believable option with a UK passport, but remember that here in Argentina the check-in staff will always ask for your latest entry stamp - so could be an interesting discussion! (I am not sure it actually means legal resident)
That said if you went via the UK while you would get into Spain just fine, you would still be caught by UK quarantine requirements on arrival from Argentina (regardless of residence of nationality) and again on return from Spain.

I do know some who are using passports from green countries to get around quarantines in some EU countries, but to me, it always implies making a false health declaration (e.g. omitting recent presence in Argentina / Brazil, wherever) which would not end well if discovered.
Personally, in this case I think flying via the US would be an easier option... once in the US you are a resident of the UK and going back via a short holiday Spain. You might even get a vaccine out of the detour.

 

[Alby]

That was going to be the next question: do they ask at Madrid where you came from? Seems like they do, which is good information. The entry stamp to be presented at Ezeiza is in the UK passport, so that wouldn't present a problem. The problem, as you say, would be their (Ezeiza's) definition of residency, which we can't know. It is neither Migraciones nor tax residency, but that doesn't mean they couldn't deem it be a residency under some other criteria known only to them on the day. Maybe the US is the best option. Going there to get a vaccine makes me nervous because of lack of health coverage. The UK would be of course the logical place to get a vaccine but the 14-day quarantine is off-putting. That's why the news about Spain seemed encouraging, but perhaps not practical in the end (and probably they wouldn't give a tourist a vaccine anyway). I´ll probably just sit tight here and wait for my turn.

 

[antipodean]

That was going to be the next question: do they ask at Madrid where you came from? Seems like they do, which is good information. The entry stamp to be presented at Ezeiza is in the UK passport, so that wouldn't present a problem. The problem, as you say, would be their (Ezeiza's) definition of residency, which we can't know. It is neither Migraciones nor tax residency, but that doesn't mean they couldn't deem it be a residency under some other criteria known only to them on the day. Maybe the US is the best option. Going there to get a vaccine makes me nervous because of lack of health coverage. The UK would be of course the logical place to get a vaccine but the 14-day quarantine is off-putting. That's why the news about Spain seemed encouraging, but perhaps not practical in the end (and probably they wouldn't give a tourist a vaccine anyway). I´ll probably just sit tight here and wait for my turn.

Also note that any immigration department has all that information electronically available to them in the form of APIS (advance passenger information) sent to them by the airline at the time of check-in. That means they can see your full itinerary, booking information such as payment details and information of nationality and residence. They screen passenger lists electronically for “suspicious” or “wanted” persons. Whether they stop to check the details for each “non-suspicious” passenger is another story.

Am in the same situation but have close ties to Spain and elsewhere in Europe so need to go there soon. If things are not looking better vaccine-wise soon (including WHO and EMA approval of whatever vaccines they are dishing out here) then for sure I am going to have a vacation at a CVS in MIA. One can get travel insurance for the US. I expect Argentina to stay on most red-lists around the world including UK for at least the rest of this year making travel abroad in the meantime much more limited without a full course of a globally recognized vaccine than it is for mere residents of Argentina.

 

[gracielle]

....I am going to have a vacation at a CVS in MIA. One can get travel insurance for the US. I expect Argentina to stay on most red-lists around the world including UK for at least the rest of this year making travel abroad in the meantime much more limited without a full course of a globally recognized vaccine than it is for mere residents of Argentina.

I am taking that route as well in Sept.

 

[dsp27]

I have a flight to the US with AA on June 5 via DFW but since that's gonna be scrapped I am hoping to get on an earlier flight once that's canceled officially -- in the next few days. Need to be quick as availability is virtually zero but some last minute seats do pop up once in awhile.

 

[Ceviche]

Need to be quick as availability is virtually zero but some last minute seats do pop up once in awhile.

I haven't flown for last 2 months for exactly the same issues. How easy is to get a flight to US and Brazil, if price is not a issue?