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LATEST: British people can still move to France during Covid-19 travel ban, French government confirms

British people who need to move to France before the Brexit deadline of December 31st can still do so despite the current travel ban, the French government has confirmed.

Published: 26 December 2020 11:11 CET
LATEST: British people can still move to France during Covid-19 travel ban, French government confirms
Photo: AFP

Since December 21st most types of travel from the UK to France have been banned after the British government announced that a new strain of the Covid-19 virus, which they said was highly contagious, had been discovered.

For 48 hours France closed its UK border completely, and then on December 23rd reopened the border to certain groups of travellers only – French or EU citizens, permanent residents of France or another EU country, or those travelling for essential purposes such as hauliers.

However people moving to France were not on the list and this posed a major problem for British citizens – who need to be resident in France by December 31st in order to take advantage of the provisions of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

READ ALSO 'Everything is uncertain' – why UK travel ban could scupper last-minute moves to France

However the French government has now updated its travel advice and added to the categories of those who are allowed to travel – including those who are moving to France.

The full list of people who are allowed to travel from the UK to France is;

  • French citizens or citizens of another EU country
  • Non-French citizens who are permanent residents of France or another EU country
  • People spending less than 24 hours in France in transit to another country
  • Members of an official mission or diplomatic staff and their families
  • Health professionals engaged in Covid-related care
  • People engaged in the international transport of merchandise (such as lorry drivers)
  • Transport workers or fishing crew
  • International students
  • Professors or researchers in a French educational establishment
  • Non-EU citizens travelling on a 'talent visa'
  • Anyone who has a pass issued by the Interior Ministry 
  • People moving to take up residence in France or another EU member state before December 31st
  • People travelling to France for healthcare
  • People travelling to exercise custody rights recognised by a court decision
  • Humanitarian workers or international volunteers
  • Cross border workers or posted workers who commute regularly to France
  • Seasonal workers
  • Journalists travelling for work-related reasons

However it's not all plain sailing as you need extra paperwork before you can travel.

Anyone travelling from the UK needs;

A negative Covid-19 test – this must be taken within 72 hours of travel – the test should be a PCR nasal swab test, although certain types of the rapid-result antigen tests are permitted, but only those listed by the French health ministry below. Children under 11 are the only group exempt from the test requirement

 

A sworn statement – declaring that you have not had any Covid symptoms during the 14 days before your journey

An international travel certificate – as was required during lockdown, an attestation de déplacement international (international travel certificate) is again required for trips from the UK. You can find the form HERE to download and there is a version in English. You need to fill in your personal details and then tick your reason for travel from the list provided.

You will need to have this paperwork ready before departing the UK and it will be requested by your travel provider before boarding your plane/ferry/train.

Any British person who is resident in France or another EU country before December 31st falls under the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement, which gives more generous terms for settling in the country.

People who want to move after the Brexit deadline face a much more stringent regime requiring visas for any stay longer than 90 days.

READ ALSO France unveils its post-Brexit visa requirements 

Member comments

  1. This is really good news but with so little time and availability of tests (until the New Year in a lot of cases) does anyone expect a further short period of grace and extension of rules specifically for those desperately trying to get across to finalise moves and begin their new lives? ?

  2. Can’t seem to find the details of this (relaxation of rules) on the official French Gov; embassy or travel website including the relevant annex? Do we know where you can find further details and how long rules might last? Thank you everyone?

  3. I have the same question as LD Bailey. Thanks Emma for this helpful article, and please could you give us the source for this information? The Matignon press release of 24 December doesn’t seem to make any reference to ‘People moving to take up residence in France or another EU member state before December 31st’ (https://www.gouvernement.fr/partage/11980-reprise-limitee-des-flux-de-personnes-du-royaume-uni-vers-la-france-sous-condition-sanitaire-de) and I can’t find anything on the British Embassy in Paris’s website either.

  4. Thank you for your comments (C Brewer) and just searched again (official government sites etc) and including France-to-admit-some-travellers-from-UK-following suspension
    https://uk.ambafrance.org/ but still no reference? Have managed to book tests etc for Tuesday but held off booking travel etc for now. Due to sign on house imminently and in by end of January but for now remain at hotel and in limbo?Good luck to everyone making (or trying to make) the same move?

  5. Seems Government website literally just updated ? Thank you to The Local being one step ahead? and good luck to everyone

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TRAVEL NEWS

Reader question: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

As European travellers prepare for the introduction of enhanced passport checks known as the Entry & Exit System (EES), many readers have asked us what this means for the '90-day rule' for non-EU citizens.

Published: 1 May 2024 07:18 CEST
Reader question: How do the EU's new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

From the start date to the situation for dual nationals and non-EU residents living in the EU, it’s fair to say that readers of The Local have a lot of questions about the EU’s new biometric passport check system known as EES.

You can find our full Q&A on how the new system will work HERE, or leave us your questions HERE.

And one of the most commonly-asked questions was what the new system changes with regards to the 90-day rule – the rule that allows citizens of certain non-EU countries (including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) to spend up to 90 days in every 180 in the EU without needing a visa.

And the short answer is – nothing. The key thing to remember about EES is that it doesn’t actually change any rules on immigration, visas etc.

Therefore the 90-day rule continues as it is – but what EES does change is the enforcement of the rule.

90 days 

The 90-day rule applies to citizens of a select group of non-EU countries;

Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Macau, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City and Venezuela.

Citizens of these countries can spend up to 90 days in every 180 within the EU or Schengen zone without needing a visa or residency permit.

People who are citizens of neither the EU/Schengen zone nor the above listed countries need a visa even for short trips into the EU – eg an Indian or Chinese tourist coming for a two-week holiday would require a visa. 

In total, beneficiaries of the 90-day rule can spend up to six months in the EU, but not all in one go. They must limit their visits so that in any 180-day (six month) period they have spent less than 90 days (three months) in the Bloc.

READ ALSO How does the 90-day rule work?

The 90 days are calculated according to a rolling calendar so that at any point in the year you must be able to count backwards to the last 180 days, and show that you have spent less than 90 of them in the EU/Schengen zone.

You can find full details on how to count your days HERE.

If you wish to spend more than 90 days at a time you will have to leave the EU and apply for a visa for a longer stay. Applications must be done from your home country, or via the consulate of your home country if you are living abroad.

Under EES 90-day rule beneficiaries will still be able to travel visa free (although ETIAS will introduce extra changes, more on that below).

EES does not change either the rule or how the days are calculated, but what it does change is the enforcement.

Enforcement

One of the stated aims of the new system is to tighten up enforcement of ‘over-stayers’ – that is people who have either overstayed the time allowed on their visa or over-stayed their visa-free 90 day period.

At present border officials keep track of your time within the Bloc via manually stamping passports with the date of each entry and exit to the Bloc. These stamps can then be examined and the days counted up to ensure that you have not over-stayed.

The system works up to a point – stamps are frequently not checked, sometimes border guards incorrectly stamp a passport or forget to stamp it as you leave the EU, and the stamps themselves are not always easy to read.

What EES does is computerise this, so that each time your passport is scanned as you enter or leave the EU/Schengen zone, the number of days you have spent in the Bloc is automatically tallied – and over-stayers will be flagged.

For people who stick to the limits the system should – if it works correctly – actually be better, as it will replace the sometimes haphazard manual stamping system.

But it will make it virtually impossible to over-stay your 90-day limit without being detected.

The penalties for overstaying remain as they are now – a fine, a warning or a ban on re-entering the EU for a specified period. The penalties are at the discretion of each EU member state and will vary depending on your personal circumstances (eg how long you over-stayed for and whether you were working or claiming benefits during that time).

ETIAS 

It’s worth mentioning ETIAS at this point, even though it is a completely separate system to EES, because it will have a bigger impact on travel for many people.

ETIAS is a different EU rule change, due to be introduced some time after EES has gone live (probably in 2025, but the timetable for ETIAS is still somewhat unclear).

It will have a big impact on beneficiaries of the 90-day rule, effectively ending the days of paperwork-free travel for them.

Under ETIAS, beneficiaries of the 90-rule will need to apply online for a visa waiver before they travel. Technically this is a visa waiver rather than a visa, but it still spells the end of an era when 90-day beneficiaries can travel without doing any kind of immigration paperwork.

If you have travelled to the US in recent years you will find the ETIAS system very similar to the ESTA visa waiver – you apply online in advance, fill in a form and answer some questions and are sent your visa waiver within a couple of days.

ETIAS will cost €7 (with an exemption for under 18s and over 70s) and will last for three years.

Find full details HERE. 

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