According to the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health (SPMS), “more than 3.1 million European Union Covid-19 digital certificates have been issued that certify that their bearer has been vaccinated against Covid-19, had a negative test or has already recovered from the SARS-CoV virus infection”, a source from SPMS told Lusa.

These certificates began to be issued in Portugal on 16 June and entered into force throughout the European Union on 1 July, with the aim of facilitating the free movement of citizens in Member States safely during the pandemic. In addition to this objective, in Portugal this certificate has other functions, such as allowing access, since the last weekend, to tourist establishments and local accommodation throughout the mainland.

Additionally, restaurants in high or very high risk municipalities now require a digital certificate or negative test for Covid-19 from 7pm on Fridays and on weekends for meals inside.

To travel within the European Union, as well as to countries in the European Economic Area - Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, the certificate holder is no longer subject to the restrictions imposed on entry by the destination country to control the Covid-19 pandemic, unless they are necessary to protect public health.

These certificates, which include a QR code with a digital signature to prevent counterfeiting, can be obtained through the SNS24 portal on the internet and the SNS24 app for both Android and iOS.