Malta may have been placed on the UK’s green list on Thursday, but British people visiting Malta still have to quarantine, at least for the time being.

This is because Malta currently only recognises vaccination certificates issued by the Maltese health authorities, and anyone visiting from the UK must present one on arrival.  

The Malta Independent is informed that discussions are underway between the Maltese and UK governments on whether the certificates issued by the UK National Health Service (NHS) should be recognised by Malta.

The UK government announced Thursday that British citizens returning from Malta, and people visiting the UK from Malta, do not need to quarantine upon arrival in Britain. The news was welcomed by the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, which has been lobbying the Maltese government to open up tourism from the UK – one of the country’s main tourism markets.

The UK is currently on Malta’s amber list, which means that people coming from that country do not need to quarantine if they present a negative PCR test or if they hold a Maltese-issued vaccination certificate.

But the government announced on Thursday evening that anyone coming from the UK needs to present a vaccination certificate that is recognised by the Superintendence for Public Health. Currently, Malta only recognises Maltese certificates.

This effectively means that anyone coming from the UK needs to quarantine.

The ministry said this decision was taken on the basis of epidemiological studies on the situation linked to the Covid-19 variants found the in the UK.

Sources said that discussions are underway between Malta and the UK but, ultimately, a decision on whether Malta will recognise UK-issued vaccination certificates rests with Public health chief Charmaine Gauci.