Update 2: To add further confusion to the  travel advice for those hoping to leave from the UK, the Ministry for Health has issued a statement on Wednesday evening saying that UK Covid Pass letters will be needed to travel to Malta, which appears to contradict the information provided earlier by Minister Chris Fearne.

The Ministry is now saying that the UK “did not provide a verifier app as provided by the European project, and therefore the Maltese authorities are working to develop a verifier app in the coming days specifically for the English certificate. This will work on the same model that the European app was developed.”

It went on say that “until this digital verification system is complete, tourists coming from the UK will have to provide a physical certificate (Covid Pass) issued by the British NHS. This is because the physical certificate has security features that the Maltese health authorities can verify to see that the certificate is authentic.”

This comes following confusion and last minute warnings for travellers that from today, those arriving from the UK must present vaccine UK Covid Pass letters sent by post from nhs.uk for entry to Malta.

The advice on the Visit Malta Covid-19 travel information page was also updated on the 29th June advising as above.

The advice was updated yesterday on the UK Foreign Travel advice page as well as on the UK in Malta British High Commission facebook page.

The travel advice reads that from 30th June “the Maltese authorities have announced that they will require all arrivals from the United Kingdom to present proof of full vaccination.

“Only the NHS COVID Pass letter will be accepted, not the digital app version, nor a printout of the digital app.”

Many prospective holiday makers having been commenting on the social media page saying that with flights already booked, some being this week, there is little chance of receiving the required letter on time.

It can only be applied for 2 weeks after the second vaccination and can take up to 7 days to arrive. In Scotland the letters are taking up to 21 days to arrive.

They are also complaining over the fact that the announcement has only just been made by the Maltese authorities and questioning why the NHS app is not being accepted, or even a printout of it.

Some are lamenting that this will mean the loss of their holiday and their flight costs, as they will not be refunded should they need to cancel.

The remaining travel advice states that, “if you received your vaccinations in the EU, then as of 1 July 2021 the EU digital Covid Certificates will be accepted.

“Children aged 5-11 can travel if they are accompanying their vaccinated parents/legal guardian and must show evidence of a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, dated within 72 hours before arrival. Children under 5 do not need a test. Children aged 12-18 will only be able to travel if they have proof of full vaccination.

“If you have a Maltese issued certificate of vaccination you are exempt from pre-travel testing and self-isolation.”

Further update on European Vaccine Certificate

The Health Ministry statement also said that from tomorrow, Malta will enter the European Vaccine Certificate system and that therefore European tourists arriving in Malta will be able to present this certificate when traveling from a country on the orange or red list as approved by the Superintendent of Public Health.

Maltese who have the Maltese certificate can go to the site certifikvaccin.gov.mt and download their European certificate as well.

“As this is a large-scale project, it is possible that there will be technical problems in the first days, however the public will be kept informed of the necessary developments,” the statement read.

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