Minister of the Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva, said: “The Government approved today a decree-law that executes in our legal order and regulates the covid-19 digital certificate of the European Union”.

The certificate, she explained, contains information about vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, test results, or recovery status from covid-19 disease.

From 1 July, the certificate can be used in international travel and, this week, in events for which it was already mandatory to present a negative test for coronavirus, such as baptisms, weddings, events with more than 500 people inside or 1,000 outside.

The European Parliament approved on 9 June the adoption of the covid-19 digital certificate, which will allow already vaccinated EU citizens, those who have recovered from an infection or who have tested negative to travel without restrictions within the European Union from 1 July.

Designed to facilitate the return to free movement within the EU, this 'transit pass', which should be free, will work similarly to a travel boarding pass, in digital and/or paper format, with a QR code to be easily read by electronic devices, and in the citizen's national language and in English.

As part of the implementation of this European certificate, it is foreseen that Member States will not apply restrictions again, when more than half of Europeans have already received the first dose of the vaccine against covid-19, unless the epidemiological situation justifies it however, it will always be up to national governments to decide whether travellers with the certificate will have to undergo quarantine, further testing (eg in addition to entry tests) or additional requirements.