UK tourists require physical vaccine certificate, digital version not accepted by Maltese authorities

The British High Commission in Malta has advised travellers from the UK that Malta is not accepting the digital version of the vaccine certificate, with the printed certificate sent by the National Health Service (NHS) the only form accepted by Maltese authorities.

The physical version is sent by post, and may take up to five days to arrive, making the last-minute revision of rules problematic for those with flights booked for the coming days.

In a post on Facebook, the British High Commission said that currently only the vaccine certificates sent by post by the NHS are being accepted by local authorities.

Making it clear that entry requirements for travellers from the UK to Malta are decided by the Maltese Government, the British High Commission warned that travel advice can change at short notice, and encouraged potential visitors to sign up for UK Government-issued travel alerts to receive the latest news.

Comments under the post reveal frustration and anger over the decision and its last-minute announcement.

“This is absolutely appalling,” said one commentor. “They are opening the borders to Brits but only giving two days notice to get a letter which takes five days to come?”

“What an utter shambles,” said another, while a third described the situation as “absolutely heartbreaking”.

Travel between the UK and Malta will re-open tomorrow for fully vaccinated individuals, but concerns over the spread of the Delta variant in the UK has led to more stringent measures being adopted by Maltese authorities.