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In August, I will be traveling back to Spain (2 weeks) after 3 years living in Japan. I have been vaccinated here in Japan and have all 3 vaccines with the certificates.

To enter Spain, I think it is enough just showing the vaccines certificates.

After that, when going back to Japan I will do Spain -> Italy -> Poland -> Japan. For entering Japan I will have to show a Negative PCR certificate like this prior to 72 hours before departing to Japan.

The PCR tests are around 20/25Euro while PCR tests with certificates are around 100. Since I only need the hospital/clinic to write the results in the paper of the link, it is necessary to show to the airports (In this case Poland) the PCR test certificate given by the hospital (100 Euro) + the paper of the link?

If possible, I would like to save those 75/80Euro if I can just show that paper written by the hospital/clinic showing that I'm negative.

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  • Where do PCR certificates cost €100? Poland doesn't use the euro.
    – Relaxed
    Jul 12, 2022 at 7:22
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    I have to do the certificate in Spain, since takes around 24 hours to receive it.
    – JonBasauri
    Jul 12, 2022 at 7:23
  • Oh, I thought you were visiting Italy and Poland, it's just a layover? Note that some airport testing labs in many places in the world offer results in 1-2h and sometimes as little as 20 minutes (but are unlikely to be much cheaper).
    – Relaxed
    Jul 12, 2022 at 7:24
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    Yes, only as a layover, then from Poland to Japan.
    – JonBasauri
    Jul 12, 2022 at 7:25
  • In my experience, these regulations were enforced by airlines and would therefore be checked at the beginning of the journey (at the Spanish airport or online), if at all. If you are just transiting in a Polish airport and since Poland doesn't require any tests at the moment, they wouldn't really care about the Japanese requirements there.
    – Relaxed
    Jul 12, 2022 at 7:26

2 Answers 2

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I really don't think you need to worry about Poland at all. What would be enforced there is any Polish regulation. Back in January, this could be checked even on a layover but as far as I can tell there is no test requirement at the moment. This also matches my recent experience of intra-Schengen/intra-EU travel. Even when a vaccine certificate is technically required, enforcement has been non-existent.

What does matter however are the requirements to enter Japan. They can be enforced at two points:

  • When checking in for your flights, usually through some online service or at the check-in desk. This would happen before leaving Spain and be performed by the airline.
  • After landing, by border guards or some healthcare staff of some kind. At this point it's difficult to turn you back and you might get a fine or mandatory test instead.

For both, a certificate is typically required (that's what they are for, really) but I have no idea how this is handled in Japan.

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    It is checked twice both by the airline at check in and before immigration check in Japan. (True as of last week)
    – Simson
    Jul 12, 2022 at 14:09
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When getting tested in the EU, you will normally get a EU Digital Covid Certificate, which is in itself a proof of test written in English, which means that outside of specific countries (Like China), is valid for entry in Japan

all the items must be written in English or Japanese

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  • In some countries, testing is cheap or free (to increase coverage) but you don't get a DCC (to avoid using public funds to support international travel or leisure). If you need one, you have to pay extra or go to a private lab. The question suggests that's how it works in Spain and the answer doesn't really address that.
    – Relaxed
    Jul 12, 2022 at 7:43
  • (I know for a fact this is how it works in the Netherlands and it's green on the map, which is therefore useless for this question.)
    – Relaxed
    Jul 12, 2022 at 7:44
  • Also, in my experience, airlines do not rely or even refuse to use the DCC (the QR code) and insist on seeing the actual details in human-readable form (it usually is printed on the same page but that's not quite the same).
    – Relaxed
    Jul 12, 2022 at 7:46
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    Not correct, the regular EU certificates will not be accepted unless the method of testing is stated. I saw a passenger being denied boarding for this last week
    – Simson
    Jul 12, 2022 at 14:04
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    @Simson The method of test is clearly stated on the EU DCC printout, and in some apps too, but not in only the QR code, which is irrelevant outside of the EU (and of the participating 3rd countries) anyway, the full printout is the only piece of info you need.
    – Nicolas Formichella
    Jul 12, 2022 at 15:28

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