Malta to accept digital UK vaccination certificate, effective immediately

As of 1st July, digital versions of the UK NHS vaccine certificate, as well as the previously accepted printed version, will be accepted for British tourists travelling to the country.

The update, announced by the Ministries for Health and for Tourism, comes following the creation of a verifier app, created by Maltese Authorities, allowing airlines and health officials to verify the authenticity of UK digital certificates.

It comes after confusion and anger was sparked this week when UK travellers to Malta, able to travel to the country only after having been fully vaccinated against COVID, were turned away from their flight after preventing digital copies of their vaccine certificates.

The UK's physical version of the certificate is sent by post and can take up to five days to arrive, meaning that, considering the last-minute introduction of the rule, many aspiring tourists were left in the lurch.

It meant that travel between the UK and Malta came to a stuttering start on Wednesday, after Malta was added onto the UK's green list for international travel last week.

In response to rising COVID cases in the UK, and the prominence of the Delta variant in the country, Maltese authorities subsequently introduced a rule by which only fully vaccinated travellers from the UK presenting certificates recognised by local authorities, would be able to board flights.