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Reader question: What do I need to do when I return to France from UK?

One group of people who are allowed to travel between France and UK over Christmas are French residents or British citizens visiting friends and family in the UK - but what is the procedure for testing and quarantine when they return to France?

Published: 29 December 2021 11:58 CET
Reader question: What do I need to do when I return to France from UK?
Arrivals in France from the UK face strict checks. Photo: Denis Charlet/AFP

Question: I’m British and I live in France. I’m currently in the UK where I have been spending Christmas with my family. I’m due to travel back in a couple of days, but I’m confused about what paperwork I need and how long I need to quarantine for?

Since December 18th strict rules have been in place that cover travel from France to the UK and vice versa. So if you either left before the new rules came into play or you fit into the “essential motives” for travel, there are some things you need to know about the return journey.

Before you travel back to France?

The first thing you need to do is get a test. This can be either a PCR or antigen test, but it must have been taken within 24 hours of your departure time.

Be aware that testing in the UK is not like it is in France and you cannot simply wander into a pharmacy to get an antigen test.

In order to be accepted for travel you need a full results certificate or report with information such as the type of test, date and time and the name of the provider. This will be checked by the travel company such as Eurotunnel and possibly also by border police. (An example below)

Not all tests offer this in the UK, so you may need to book a specific travel test or a ‘fit to fly’ test. French rules specify that most home-test kits are not accepted, but certain types of test that are done at home and then sent to a laboratory for processing can be accepted. This covers some types of Day 2 test, but check with your provider.

Feedback from people who have made the journey suggests that the least stressful option is to go to an airport and get a rapid-result PCR test, although these can be expensive, or a for cheaper option an on-site antigen test. These generally need to be booked in advance.

Paperwork

At the border you will need to present a hefty file of paperwork. Some transport operators also require you to upload the relevant forms to their website before you arrive at the airport/port/terminal so check carefully the requirements for travel.

You will need;

  • A negative Covid test result, taken within 24 hours of your departure time.
  • Attestation de déplacement vers la France Métropolitaine depuis le Royaume-Uni – this is the form you fill out explaining why your journey is essential. Residents or citizens of France have their own box to tick and you can prove your status with either a passport or residency card, or a long-stay visa. You can find the form on the French government website HERE. The website offers it in several formats – if you intend to print it out download the Pdf, if you want to fill it in online download the Word or TXT document, fill and the details and then save it as a Pdf.
  • Declaration sur l’honneur – this is the form you fill in declaring that you do not have Covid symptoms and have not knowingly been in recent contact with Covid patients. You can find it HERE.
  • The Eos online quarantine form – this form is the one used to alert the authorities to your quarantine address. You fill in the online form HERE and submit your details, whereupon it generates a QR code for you to show at the border.
  • Proof of vaccination – the new rules do not actually distinguish between vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers, but if required you can prove your vaccinated status using the TousAntiCovid or NHS app.

Quarantine

Once you’re back in France, that is not the end of the process.

You must quarantine for 10 days – although this can be ended early if you test negative for Covid 48 hours after your arrival – and the quarantine can be done at an address of your choice, including your home, a hotel or the home of family or friends.

When you fill in your Eos form you receive a formal Arret préfectoral, issued by the préfecture that covers your arrival location (not where you live, so for example everyone arriving via Eurotunnel receives an Arret from the Pas de Calais authorities). This is an official document that orders you to undertake a quarantine. Breaking an order like this from the préfecture is an offence.

The Arret lists your name and quarantine address and requires you to stay there for 10 days, or until a negative Covid test is performed 48 hours after the time of your arrival in France.

During your quarantine period, police can come and check up on you, although if you need to run essential errands you are allowed to do this between 10am and 12 noon. You should stay within 1km of your home address to complete essential errands like food shopping, where delivery is not possible. 

It is permitted for close family members to visit during your quarantine, although the visit must take place in a well-ventilated room and mask-wearing and social distancing should be observed. It is recommended that visits last no longer than four hours. 

If you decide to take the test after 48 hours this can be either a PCR or antigen test, and there is no requirement to register the results, once you get a negative result you are free to leave quarantine.

What about children?

The above rules all apply to children aged 12 and over. Under 12s do not need to take a test before departure, nor do they need their own separate versions of the forms.

Once in France, under 12s are not required to quarantine, so children can go to school or holiday club while their parents quarantine.

Member comments

  1. I followed the published guidelines and returned Portsmouth to Caen then drove home with no problems encountered.
    Negative test day before travel and after 48 hours Ok so all is good.

    Happy safe New Year to all.

    1. Where did you get/do your French test? Did you get one on the way? Or go into a pharmacie when you got to/near your home? We have a two day drive from Calais to our new home, so we’re wondering where/when to get our tests…

  2. Can someone please define quaranteen?

    Does it mean when you get to your French residence, you lock yourself in?
    Are you allowed out to buy groceries or whatever or do you need a friend to be a temporary caregiver?

  3. I just got back from UK. I used Randox Certifly to get into France. 21 pounds (75 at airport) and got the certificate to fly and QR code emailed to me minutes after uploading the test to the app.

  4. Is it possible to stop for a night on the return?. We are coming back to France (Pyrenees) later in the month with our dog and usually stop halfway for a night as it’s a long way.

  5. Arrived at Marseille last night and drove down to Perpignan. Obviously more paperwork required at Border but the same for everyone. To be honest main emphasis and checking was in relation to the online portal form and scanning the QR code. Staff knew what was required and were being professional but not at all difficult. Like so many of our recent experiences travelling to and from France you just need to be organised before you leave the house. Most complaints or moans that I hear of are from people who don’t make the effort to understand what is required. I am afraid that if you want to travel in Covid times you have to accept it is more difficult and needs a bit more planning. If you turn up at a port or airport and don’t have paperwork or relevant Covid tests done then sorry but that is your look out.

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TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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