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LATEST: France moves UK onto green list for travel

France has moved the UK onto its 'green list' for travel, cutting travel paperwork and allowing unvaccinated tourists to visit.

Published: 31 March 2022 10:39 CEST
LATEST: France moves UK onto green list for travel
Photo by ERIC PIERMONT / AFP)

In recent weeks France has moved dozens of countries onto the ‘green list’, which means unlimited travel for all and less paperwork, but the UK has remained on the orange list.

However from Thursday this changes and the UK joins the rest of Europe, the USA, Canada and South Africa on the green list.

This ushers in two major changes; for vaccinated travellers the ‘declaration sur l’honneur‘ is no longer required, meaning the only bit of Covid-related travel admin remaining is showing poof of vaccination at the border. A Covid test is not required.

It also means that unvaccinated travellers can come to France for any reason – previously, unvaccinated people could only enter France for ‘essential’ reasons, which ruled out holidays, visits to second homes and family visits.

Unvaccinated people still need to show a negative test result at the border. The test can be a PCR test taken within 72 hours or an antigen test taken within 48 hours – be aware that not all types of Lateral Flow Test are accepted in France. The declaration is no longer required and there is no requirement to quarantine once in France.

Full details on the travel rules HERE.

The definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ for travel purposes is to have had two doses of an EMA approved vaccine – Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca. A booster shot is not required for travel purposes.

The change was announced on Wednesday evening by the French Consul in London and came into effect on Thursday, March 31st, when it was published in the Journal Officiel.

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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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