Madeira opens up to vaccinated tourists with ‘green corridor’

For those who have been vaccinated and are wondering where to travel, there is good news as the archipelago of Madeira in Portugal has launched a green corridor for vaccinated travellers.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Madeira has been considered one of the safest destinations in Europe and has been widely praised for its handling of the Covid-19 crisis. Despite currently being on the red list in the UK, due to being part of Portugal (although it is geographically over 1,000 kilometres from the mainland), there is no evidence of the Brazilian strain in the destination and cases are dropping significantly.

The archipelago has worked closely with SGS, a certification company to ensure safe practice across the destination and minimise risk in regard to Covid-19. The certification process is available to all companies in the tourism sector and to date, there are currently 57 certified or audited companies in the process of certification.

A so-called green corridor already existed at Madeira airport for those who arrive with a negative PCR test done within 72 hours. Now Madeira is also receiving tourists vaccinated and recovered from Covid-19 (with proof up to 90 days of validity) who want to enjoy the region, with testing for these cohorts no longer required.

This decision represents a vote of confidence in this new phase the world is going through, in addition to encouraging visits to the destination to stimulate economic activity, while maintaining Madeira as a safe destination. To be eligible, tourists who fall under these new conditions must prove their status through one of two documents.

Proof of Covid-19 recovery in the last 90 days, validated by the respective country of origin, stating the name, date of birth, health number, type and date of the test and explicit mention of ‘recovered’. The official vaccination certificate for each country is accepted which includes the date of the two doses taken and respect for the immunisation period according to instructions for each vaccine.

Documentation in English must be submitted to the app Madeirasafe.com before the trip is taken.