Madeira is the first EU destination with green travel corridor – with no tests if vaccinated or recovered from Covid
MADEIRA is currently the only destination in the EU with a green travel corridor, allowing travellers to enter the country without restriction if they are vaccinated.
Non-vaccinated travellers can also skip travel restrictions if they can prove they have recovered from Covid and have antibodies.
Certificates, which ideally would have details including name, vaccine type and date of both doses - or has the word 'recovered' on it if carrying antibodies - just need to be official to be allowed.
It follows Malta announcing restriction-free travel for vaccinated Brits from June 1.
Holidays can't go ahead just yet - the Global Travel Taskforce will announce next month when they will resume - but is great news for Brits planning their summer trips.
Tour operators and airlines are already selling holidays to Madeira for the summer starting from just £146pp.
The island has a 7pm curfew but people on the island are already able to go back to a more normal life.
The regional secretary for tourism Eduardo Jesus told the that the relaxed restrictions were due to demand for travel, of which 27 per cent of visitors are from the UK.
He said: "There is a great interest from the UK’s population to visit Madeira … and if the 17 May opening happens, we will have a summer that will allow us to recover from all this."
Local hotel director Paulo Prada, said that many Brits were just waiting for their second dose of the vaccine and the restrictions to lift so they would be able to visit.
The Portuguese island is the first to offer the green corridor if vaccinated or with antibodies, but destinations such as Spain, Greece and Cyprus have announced similar plans for later this year.
The rest of Portugal will also open up in a similar way from May 1.
Portugal was the only European country to be put on the UK "red-list" but could be the next destination to open after it was removed earlier this month, and cases are falling.
The country's vaccination rate remains much lower than the UK but daily new cases also remain low.
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While there are fears that holidays abroad may not restart until August, due to the third wave sweeping Europe, the UK's Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said it may still be "on the cards" for an overseas trip this summer.
The current travel rules enforce a £5,000 fine for anyone trying to leave the country to go on holiday, which is in place until June.
Brits already have to also fill out a form if they do want to leave the country, stating their permitted reason to do so, or they will face a £200 fine for not having the right paperwork.