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QUARANTINE

Unvaccinated travellers to France from UK must show 24-hour test from Sunday

Tighter restrictions on unvaccinated travellers coming from the UK to France came into force at midnight on Sunday as France seeks to control a Delta-variant-driven fourth wave of Covid.

Published: 18 July 2021 12:27 CEST
Unvaccinated travellers to France from UK must show 24-hour test from Sunday
Passengers wearing a face mask arrive in the arrival hall of Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport, north of Paris, as a sign for a free COVID-19 test is displayed. Thomas SAMSON / AFP

If you haven’t had a jab you’ll now have to show a negative PCR or antigen test that is less than 24 hours old to be able to enter France, rather than the 48 hours allowed previously.

Minors over the age of 12 will also have to present a negative test.

However, if you’ve had both doses (France recognises Pfizer,/BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, including AstraZeneca Covidshield), you’ll now be exempt from providing a test to enter French territory.

The period of time you need to wait after vaccination has also been reduced: if you’ve had both jabs or a previous infection and one dose, you now only need to wait a week (instead of two) after your jab before you can travel. 

If you’ve had just one dose, you need to wait 28 days.

READ ALSO: France to require 24-hour test for UK and some EU countries over delta variant fears

But for those travelling in the other direction, it’s a trickier situation.

On Friday, the UK government maintained the 10-day quarantine requirement for English residents returning to England from France — including those who are fully vaccinated — citing the “persistent presence” of the beta coronavirus variant in France.

British government scientists fear that this variant may be more resistant to vaccines.

READ ALSO: UK says English residents returning from France must still quarantine

The end of the compulsory quarantine for vaccinated English residents returning from countries on London’s “amber” list“ on Monday, July 19th will not apply to France, the Department of Health said in a statement.

The quarantine rule change applied initially only to England, but the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales later confirmed they would follow suit. Northern Ireland has not yet announced its plans.

However, travellers will still be able to cut their quarantine period through the Test to Release scheme, which releases you from self-isolation early if you pay for a private test and test negative on day five.

The Beta variant is reported to be responsible for between 5 and 10 percent of France’s average 5,000 daily Covid-19 cases. According to the French government’s app, the percentage of Beta cases has even been reducing in recent weeks.

Reunion island, in the Indian Ocean, is the only part of France where the Beta variant is dominant and is responsible for most of the country’s cases.

The Delta variant, which was first discovered in India, has rapidly become dominant in most parts of France as it did in the UK. It is reported to be responsible for around 70 percent of cases.

Member comments

  1. Really disappointed that the UK Govt has decided to use figures for Reunion and apply them to mainland France. Makes no sense whatsoever but perhaps they are lacking someone with geography knowledge in the cabinet. Bonkers to say the least. Even more ridiculous as we can travel to EU countries from where family doesn’t have to quarantine and all holiday together there. If we needed evidence they’ve lost the plot, this latest decision is it! UK Govt website also not updated on new French rules. Words fail me!!

  2. Can you believe it? Brits returning from the French island of Reunion (the only place where there is a high concentration of the Beta variant) will not be required to quarantine! See this extract from a report in tonight’s Telegraph. “However, changes to public health regulations published on Sunday have revealed that the added restrictions, dubbed “Amber Plus”, will only cover mainland France, meaning the traffic light ratings of its overseas territories will remain unchanged. The regulations refer only to “metropolitan France”, with officials confirming that Réunion, the Indian Ocean island near Madagascar, will remain on the amber list.
    It means that double jabbed Britons who travel to Réunion will not have to quarantine at home on their return, despite figures suggesting that the overall prevalence of covid-19, as well as the beta variant, are very much higher on the island.”

  3. What do people recommend as the best way to get the 24hr antigen test in the UK, before flying back to France?
    Any advice welcome. Thanks

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TRAVEL NEWS

EES: Could the launch of Europe’s new border system be delayed again?

After being postponed several times already Europe's new biometric Entry/Exit border system (EES) is set to be rolled out in October, but with fears of lengthy queues, problems with a new app and demands for more time, could it be postponed again?

Published: 26 April 2024 11:50 CEST
EES: Could the launch of Europe's new border system be delayed again?

Could the entry into operation of the EU entry/exit system (EES), the new biometric passport checks for non-EU citizens at the Schengen area’s external borders, be delayed yet again?

Originally planned for May 2022, EES has already been postponed many times.

The current launch date, set for October 2024, was chosen to avoid periods of peak traffic and France in particular had requested to avoid it being launched until after the Paris Olympics this summer.

When asked to confirm the October start date this week a spokesperson for the EU’s Commission told The Local that the “roadmap” for the EES IT system foresees it will be ready for Autumn 2024. But the actual start date, in other words, the day when passengers will have to register, would be confirmed nearer the time.

The spokesperson said: “The exact date will be determined by the European Commission and announced on the EES official website well in time for the start of operations.”

READ ALSO: Your key questions answered about Europe’s new EES passport checks

But the reasons are adding up to suggest an October start date is optimistic, perhaps even unlikely.

In the annual report on the ‘State of Schengen’ published last week, the European Commission spelt out that severe challenges remain if member states are to be ready on time.

“In 2023, efforts to ensure the entry into operation of the Entry-Exit System in the autumn of 2024 were accelerated… While important progress has been made across the Schengen area, some Member States are still falling behind, notably regarding the effective equipment of border crossing points. The Commission calls on all Member States to urgently accelerate preparations to ensure the timely implementation of the system…”

A map in the report shows that preparation is still “in progress” in 13 Schengen area countries, including Germany, Norway and Switzerland. “Outstanding issues” still impact Portugal, Malta and Bulgaria.

The state of play for the preparations for EES across EU and Schengen states. Image: European Commission.

There are also reports that EU heavyweight Germany is trying to persuade Brussels to delay.

Matthias Monroy, editor of the German civil rights journal Bürgerrechte & Polizei/CILIP claimed on his website that “the German government is lobbying in Brussels to postpone the date once again, as otherwise the German tests of the EES cannot be completed in full. Other EU countries are also behind schedule, with only eight of them having reported successful integration.”

Even on a French government website it talks of EES being rolled out some time “between the end of 2024 and 2025” rather than stating October 2024.

And according to recent media reports, French airports have been advised to be ready for November 6th, rather than October. 

READ ALSO: EES and Etias – what are the big upcoming travel changes in Europe?

A planned EU app, believed to be essential to the smooth operation of EES because it would allow non-EU visitors to register in advance of travel will not be ready, Gwendoline Cazenave, Managing Director of Eurostar International, the company operating train services via the Channel Tunnel, has told the BBC. The EU however insists the app does not need to be up and running before EES is introduced.

In the UK, which will be heavily impacted by EES due to the fact it is no longer in the EU and so British travellers are no longer EU citizens, the House of Commons European scrutiny committee is conducting an inquiry on the potential disruption the introduction of the EES will cause at the border.

Several respondents have recently raised the alarm about the possible delays the system could cause, especially at the UK-France border, which is used by millions of passengers each year who head to France and other countries across Europe.

Ashford Borough Council in Kent has warned of the possibility of more than 14 hours queues to reach the Port of Dover, which has already been struggling increased checked after Brexit.

The BBC reported that back in March, a P&O Ferries director said the IT system should be delayed again.

Airlines have also complained about the fact pre-travel EES requirements would make last minute bookings impossible.

The Union des Aéroports Français (UAF), which represents airports in France, has simply said more time is needed.

In other words, it would be little surprise if the roll out was delayed again beyond October 2024.

But the Commission spokesperson told The Local that “the timeline for the entry into operation of the EES took into account all the necessary activities to be performed by all relevant stakeholders to ensure a timely entry into operation. 

“The Commission is working very closely with eu-Lisa [the EU agency in charge of the IT system], the Member States and carriers to ensure that everything is ready for the timely and successful launch of the Entry Exit System.

“The roadmap for the delivery of the new IT architecture foresees that the Entry/Exit system will be ready to enter into operation in Autumn 2024.”

New digital border

The EES is a digital system to register travellers from non-EU countries when they cross a border in or out of the Schengen area, the travel-free area. It will be deployed in 29 countries across Europe including 25 EU states plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Ireland and Cyprus are the only EU members who won’t apply the EES system.

It doesn’t apply to non-EU nationals who are legally resident in an EU/Schengen area country or those with dual nationality of an EU /Schengen county. The system was designed to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

Instead of having the passport stamped, travellers will have to scan it at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are huge concerns the extra time needed could generate long queues in the UK, where there are juxtaposed border checks with the EU.

Preparations are ongoing throughout Europe and some countries have made good progress.

In France, Getlink, the operator of the Channel Tunnel, has recently reported that new EES infrastructure is finished at its French terminal of Coquelles, which will allow travellers to register their biometric data while travelling.

Eurostar is also installing 49 kiosks in stations for the registration of passengers. But the Union des Aéroports Français (UAF), which represents airports in France, said more time is needed.

Exempted

Meanwhile, the Polish government has urged UK citizens who are beneficiaries of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement to get a residence permit “in the context of EES/ETIAS”, even though there was not such an obligation to stay legally in Poland post-Brexit.

“Having such a document is beneficial as it will exempt from future Entry/Exit System (EES) registration when crossing external borders and from the need to obtain an ETIAS travel permit in relation to short-term travel to EU/Schengen countries,” the government page says.

This article as published in collaboration with Europe Street news.

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