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BRITS IN FRANCE

‘I must quarantine to see my dying dad’: Brits in France left furious over UK travel rules for tourists

The UK will shortly lift its quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers - but not for Brits who are living in France and had their vaccines here. We spoke to some of the people most affected by this decision.

Published: 13 July 2021 17:26 CEST
'I must quarantine to see my dying dad': Brits in France left furious over UK travel rules for tourists
Photo: Ben Fathers/AFP

For many people, crossing borders might be about holidays, but for people living abroad travel is vital to see loved ones – something that has been very difficult over the last 18 months.

Brits living in France have faced the prospect of a 10-day quarantine and paying at least £160 per person for testing if they want to travel to the UK, which has made the trip impractical or unaffordable for many.

READ ALSO Everything you need to know about travel between France and the UK

So the news that the UK was lifting its quarantine for vaccinated travellers from July 19th came as a great relief – until it was revealed that this only applies to people vaccinated in the UK.

For Normandy resident Tina Abbott this devastating realisation means that she still cannot travel to the UK to say goodbye to her dying father.

She said: “I was so happy when I heard the quarantine was being lifted, I had my finger on the button to book the ferry, and then my husband said it was for UK residents only – I’m devastated.

“My dad is very poorly with a host of illnesses and the hospice have told us that it is a matter of weeks now.

“But if I go I have to quarantine for 10 days – I don’t have a home in the UK so I will need to pay for a hotel and then pay £160 for testing, or £300 if we want to shorten the quarantine to five days, so £600 for me and my husband.

“Realistically I know that we will also have to do the journey again in a few weeks for the funeral and I just can’t afford it. I work as an English teacher so I can’t work remotely and my husband is a heating engineer so he can’t work from quarantine either.

“I just want to go and say goodbye.”

From July 19th, Brits who fancy a holiday in countries including France will not have to quarantine on their return, but thousands of Brits like Tina who live in France will still be subject to quarantine and testing rules.

She said: “It’s a disgrace, I’m fully vaccinated with Moderna – that’s a vaccine that is used in the UK, in fact mine probably came out of the same factory, so why are we being treated differently?”

The problem is that the UK government will only accept NHS paperwork as proof of vaccination, despite the NHS certificates and NHS app being accepted as proof of vaccinated status in France.

Tina’s story was echoed by many other Brits living in France who want to travel.

Katherine, 39, who lives in Paris, said: “I haven’t seen my family for 18 months, my parents are both elderly so I wanted to wait until both they and I are fully vaccinated.

“I’ve had a double dose of Pfizer now but still the UK government says I have to quarantine for 10 days and pay a fortune for those travel tests – which are just extortionate. I can’t afford the money.”

The citizens’ rights group British in Europe has written to the UK government calling on them to overturn their “epidemiologically illiterate” policy which discriminates against UK citizens living abroad who had their vaccines in their country of residence.

A spokesman for the group said: “It would appear that yet again British citizens abroad are at best an afterthought, not considered at all, or at worst now caught up in the endless disagreements between the UK government and the EU.”

The British government says it hopes to have a further announcement on these issues by the end of July.

Transport minister Grant Shapps told Sky news that it was being discussed, although in the same interview he appeared to be unaware that the EU’s digital health passport scheme is already up and running.

We will update our Travelling to France section as soon as there is any news on this issue.

Member comments

  1. Why do we feel that we are PENALISED by the British government for choosing to live in France ? We are disenfranchised, having lived here for more than 15 years; we are prevented from saving in an ISA or contributing to a pension fund or applying for a new credit card; (why ? Is it not government policy to encourage people to save for their retirement ?). Brexit has made things worse, and now this ridiculous refusal to recognise vaccinations done in France is making it impossible for us to consider a visit to the UK to see our family. Yet in spite of all this, the British government still expect us to pay taxes to them. It is outrageous and I am tempted to refuse to pay any more taxes until these issues are resolved.

  2. We have lived in France for 19 years, are both fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. We have been told that the vaccine can’t be recognised in the UK, because of difficulties with the technology. Is this true?

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EU

How would a ‘youth mobility scheme’ between the UK and EU really work?

The EU and the UK could enter into a 'youth mobility' scheme allowing young people to move countries to work, study and live. Here's what we know about the proposal.

Published: 18 April 2024 17:09 CEST
How would a 'youth mobility scheme' between the UK and EU really work?

Across the 27 countries of the EU, people of all ages can move countries to work, study, spend a long visit or chase the possibility of love – and all this is possible thanks to EU freedom of movement.

That freedom no longer extends to the UK. As a result of Brexit, a UK national who wants to move to an EU country, or an EU citizen who wants to move to the UK, will need a visa in order to do so.

However, a new ‘mobility scheme’ could re-create some elements of freedom of movement, if the EU and UK can come to an agreement.

The European Commission on Thursday announced proposals for a ‘youth mobility scheme’.

Who would benefit?

First things first, it’s only for the youngsters, older people will have to continue with the time-consuming and often expensive process of getting a visa for study, work or visiting.

The Commission’s proposal is for a scheme that covers people aged 18 to 30. 

Their reasoning is: “The withdrawal of the UK from the EU has resulted in decreased mobility between the EU and the UK. This situation has particularly affected the opportunities for young people to experience life on the other side of the Channel and to benefit from youth, cultural, educational, research and training exchanges.

“The proposal seeks to address in an innovative way the main barriers to mobility for young people experienced today and create a right for young people to travel from the EU to the UK and vice-versa more easily and for a longer period of time.”

How would it work?

We’re still at an early stage, but the proposal is to allow extended stays – for young people to be able to spend up to four years in the EU or UK – under a special type of visa or residency permit. It does not, therefore, replicate the paperwork-free travel of the pre-Brexit era.

The Commission states that travel should not be ‘purpose bound’ to allow young people to undertake a variety of activities while they are abroad.

Under the visa system, people must travel to a country for a specific purpose which has been arranged before they leave – ie in order to study they need a student visa which requires proof of enrolment on a course, or if they intend to work they need a working visa which often requires sponsorship from an employer.

The proposal would allow young people to spend their time in a variety of ways – perhaps some time working, a period of study and then some time travelling or just relaxing.

It would also not be subject to national or Bloc-wide quotas.

It seems that some kind of visa or residency permit would still be required – but it would be issued for up to four years and could be used for a variety of activities.

Fees for this should not be “excessive” – and the UK’s health surcharge would not apply to people travelling under this scheme.

Are there conditions?

Other than the age qualification, the proposal is that young people would have to meet other criteria, including having comprehensive health insurance, plus financial criteria to ensure that they will be able to support themselves while abroad.

The visa/residency permit could be rejected on the ground of threats to public policy, public security or public health.

Will this happen soon?

Slow down – what’s happened today is that the European Commission has made a recommendation to open negotiations.

This now needs to be discussed in the Council of Europe.

If the Council agrees then, and only then, will the EU open negotiations with the UK on the subject. The scheme could then only become a reality if the EU and UK come to an agreement on the terms of the scheme, and then refine the fine details.

Basically we’re talking years if it happens at all, and there’s plenty of steps along the way that could derail the whole process.

Don’t start packing just yet.

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