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HEALTH

What to do if you don’t have a French vaccination certificate with a QR code

International travel and access to many venues in France this summer will be be dependent on the country's 'health passport' showing that people are either fully vaccinated or recently tested - but what if you don't have the correct certificates?

Published: 1 June 2021 17:06 CEST
Updated: 13 July 2021 16:09 CEST
What to do if you don't have a French vaccination certificate with a QR code
Vaccination certificates are needed to access health passports for travel and leisure. Photo: Pascal Pochard-Casabiance/AFP

Here’s how it should work:

After getting your vaccination in France you should get a certificate with a QR code on it that looks like this:

You download the TousAntiCovid app (if you have not already, it’s the same app that is used for Covid tracking and where you can find the attestation form for trips out after curfew), head to the ‘My wallet’ section and scan the code on the right hand side of your certificate.

Once you are fully vaccinated (two weeks after receiving two doses of Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca or one dose of Johnson & Johnson or one dose if you have recently had Covid) the app should then produce for you a code with your name, date of birth, the type of vaccine you had and – crucially – the vaccine status terminé (finished) indicating that you are fully vaccinated.

You can use this app to gain access to venues such as concerts, museums, cafés and trains over the summer.

You can also use it to travel within the EU or Schegen zone via the EU digital vaccine passport – here’s how to make sure your certificate is compatible with the EU system.

READ ALSO How France’s health passports will work this summer

If you have not yet been vaccinated you can you present evidence of a recent negative Covid test or recent recovery from Covid.

If you do not have a smartphone you can show a paper copy with a QR code of your vaccination certificate or recent negative test.

So that’s the theory, but there are some problems and anomalies within the system.

Here are the most common problems and how to solve them:

People vaccinated before May 3rd either didn’t get a certificate or got one without a QR code, meaning that it cannot be scanned into the app. For most people, certificates with the necessary code are now available via the online Ameli portal.

The Assurance maladie health system says that since May 27th, 1.3 million certificates have been provided to patients who had received their vaccine earlier. You can access it by heading to your Ameli account and either searching attestation de vaccination Covid-19 or clicking on this link.

If you don’t have an Ameli account you can set one up, provided you are registered in the French health system – details on how to set up the account here.

If you are not registered in the French health system and therefore do not have a carte vitale you are still entitled to be vaccinated and if you had your vaccine after May 3rd you should have been given a paper certificate with the correct QR code that can be scanned directly into the app. However if you were vaccinated before May 3rd you will not be able to use the Ameli route to get your certificate.

The Local asked the health ministry for its advice in this circumstance and we were told that people should go back to the doctor, pharmacy or vaccine centre where they got the vaccine, taking with them ID and the paperwork they were given at the time, and swap it for the new certificate.

If you only had one dose of the vaccine, your certificate might incorrectly show up as en cours (in progress) rather than terminé (finished) and this is important because only people with the terminé status are considered ‘fully vaccinated’ in terms of the health passport.

France’s policy is that people who have had Covid in recent months only need a single dose of the double-dose vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca), in consultation with a health professional, and that this should be marked on health records as a second dose, giving people the vaccine status terminé.

However reports in the French media suggest that some people who only received a single dose have not been marked as fully vaccinated, in what appears to be human error in inputting the details.

In this case, the health ministry tells people to approach a medical professional who has access to the database (a GP or pharmacist) taking with them ID, vaccine certificates and test results to show proof of recovery from Covid so their records can be altered. In this case it does not have to be at the place where you received the vaccine.

If you have an Ameli account up and running but it is showing no documents relating to vaccination, the advice is to return to the centre where you had your vaccine with ID and your old certificate to swap it for a new one with the correct code.

If you had your vaccines outside France things are a little more complicated.

Vaccinations done within the EU are compatible with the French system, thanks to the EU vaccine passport scheme.

READ ALSO How the EU’s health passports will work this summer

Those vaccinated in non-EU countries cannot, for the moment use the French health passport, although talks are ongoing on this issue.

They can, however, present a paper or digital vaccination certificate – or the NHS app for people vaccinated in the UK – for proof of vaccinated status. However, this is only accepted if the vaccine has been approved for use within the EU – Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca (but not Covishield) and Johnson & Johnson.

We will update our Travelling to France section with the latest on travel rules.

Member comments

  1. I had my second dose today in a centre many miles from my home and only after I had left realised the vaccine certification with the QR code was only showing one vaccination with the status being en cours. I returned immediately to the vaccination centre to get the mistake corrected but was told there was nothing that could be done and I would have to correct it on the Ameli website, I explained that as I did not have a carte vitale, I could not access this site be but still the reply was « I can do nothing » After reading your article I went to my local vaccination centre and asked them to correct the database but again I was told « no we cannot fix this » and they said I would have to return to the centre that provided the vaccination. I then went to my local pharmacy and asked could they access the database to make the correction and the difference that a person with the willingness to help made was amazing, a very kind young man was willing to explore the possibilities and eventually with some difficulty was able to correct the mistake and I received an updated certificate.

  2. So you got it sorted why make such an issue of it. Perhaps you may consider getting a carte vitale now.

    1. My comments were to encourage people who have had difficulties to keep trying to find solutions, not to make an issue of it as you have suggested. As a recent resident of France I have yet to receive my carte vitale, this process takes time and having a correctly documented vaccination is important, especially when you are waiting to see family that one has not seen in too long a time. As soon as the EU covid digital certificate is deployed I hope to see my children again.

  3. I am leaving for France June 30. All I have is my fully vaccinated certificate from a vaccine clinic in Santa Barbara California… No QR code. Still no decision or information about how Americans can get their hands on documents or codes that France or the EU will recognize. Am I missing something? Thanks!

    1. Cynthiaziegler10,

      To be safe and free from French bureaucracy, ensure yourself a PCR test within 72 hours of your arrival in France ( don’t forget your vaccination card ). International visitors must meet this second requirement.

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For members

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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