Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

FEATURE

Reader question: How do I prove I have recovered from Covid in France?

As France eases out of lockdown, and cross-border travel resumes with certain health requirements, how do those who have recovered from Covid-19 prove it to be able to travel?

Published: 20 May 2021 09:23 CEST
Reader question: How do I prove I have recovered from Covid in France?
Photo: Thomas Samson/AFP

Reader question: I have had and recovered from Covid-19. I understand that being recovered from Covid is accepted as proof on the health passport – but how do I prove that?

With Europe opening up to travellers, a ‘health passport’ will be the summer’s must-have travel accessory.

You can read full details of how France’s health passport will work HERE but there are three types of proof that people will be able to supply before travel; a vaccination certificate, a negative Covid test taken within the previous 48 hours or proof of recovery from Covid. 

READ ALSO Can I access France’s health passport with a foreign vaccination certificate?

It is important to note that, for those who have recovered from Covid, the period in which they can use this for their health passport is limited.

According to France’s public service website, acceptable proof of Covid recovery is the following:

A positive PCR or antigen test more than 15 days and less than 6 months old, and a follow-up negative test.

People who had Covid more than six months ago, or who never got a test while they were ill, cannot use the recovery option and will instead need to present either a vaccination certificate or a recent negative Covid test.

France’s policy on vaccination for people who have had Covid is that you cannot be vaccinated until three months after you have recovered, but then most people will only need a single vaccine dose.

If you have previously recovered from Covid, make sure you flag this up when you get your vaccine and the person administering the vaccine can decide whether you need a second dose or not. If you only need one dose, you will get a ‘second dose’ certificate, confirming that you are fully vaccinated.

READ ALSO What to expect at your vaccine appointment (and what to do if you don’t have a carte vitale)

Similar to vaccination certificates, results sheets for professionally administered PCR and antigen tests are officially certified. Results from home-test kits cannot be used for this purpose.

You upload the certificates via the Covid tracking app TousAntiCovid.

Head to the ‘carnet’ or ‘my wallet’ section of the app and tap the ‘scan QR code’ option. Then use your smartphone camera to scan the square code present on your certificate.

The app then converts this into a code that can be scanned at the borders. Codes from the French app will, from mid June, be accepted for travel anywhere within the EU. Negotiations between the EU and non-EU countries over the mutual recognition of codes are still ongoing.

The app allows multiple documents to be stored, so families are covered on one phone.

A free telephone helpline – 0 800 08 71 48 – is available seven days a week, from 9am to 8pm. 

For people who do not have a smartphone, there will be the option to present paper certificates at the border but you will need the same certificates – a positive PCR or antigen test more than 15 days and less than 6 months old, and a follow-up negative test.

 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a soft launch of the new EU border system – the entry/exit (EES) system – on the assumption that it will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

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

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

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

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them 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 concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

SHOW COMMENTS