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AMERICANS IN FRANCE

LATEST: Everything you need to know about travel between the USA and France

Tests, quarantine, green lists, white lists - travel between France and the USA is a complicated business that depends on where you live and your vaccine status. Here's how it all works.

Published: 10 September 2021 08:45 CEST
Updated: 22 September 2021 09:33 CEST
LATEST: Everything you need to know about travel between the USA and France
Photo: Fred Tanneau/AFP

Travel from the USA to France 

The USA is currently on France’s orange list, having changed from green on September 12th. The orange list differentiates between vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers.

Vaccinated travellers – can travel to France for any reason and do not need a Covid test. Vaccination can be proved at the border with a CDC vaccination certificate, and travellers also need to present a declaration stating that they do not have Covid symptoms and have not been in contact with any Covid patients – you can find that HERE.

Unvaccinated travellers – can only travel if they meet the criteria for ‘essential travel’ – this includes French citizens and residents returning home, students beginning academic studies in France and essential work trips, but does not include tourism, family visits or visits to second homes.

You can read the full list of permitted ‘essential reasons’ HERE.

Unvaccinated travellers who qualify under the essential reasons rules must also present a negative Covid test less than 72 hours old at the border, as well as the declaration mentioned above. They are required to quarantine for seven days on arrival. The quarantine can be done at a private home or a hotel and is not the subject of police checks.

To count as fully vaccinated, travellers must 

  • Have received a vaccine that is approved by the European Medicines Agency – Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson (known as Janssen in France). The Indian-produced Covishield vaccine is now accepted by France 
  • Be at least two weeks after the second injection for double-dose vaccines or for two weeks after a single dose for those people who had previously had Covid-19
  • Be at least four weeks after the injection for people who had the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine

In France

Once in France, a health passport is required for access to venues including bars, cafés, tourist sites and long-distance train travel.

For this the CDC vaccine card is not accepted, so a French QR code is required – here’s how people from the US can access that.

Feedback from readers of The Local suggests that the online procedure to swap an American vaccination certificate for a French-compatible code can take up to two weeks, so we would advise applying for this before you travel.

From France to the USA

After a lopsided summer in which Americans could holiday in France, but French people could not holiday in the USA, the USA has announced that it’s borders will be reopening from the beginning of November – no exact date was given.

The US announced on Monday that it would reopen its borders to fully vaccinated travellers, provided they undergo testing and contact tracing.

Further details are expected in the next few days.

The US government also advises its own citizens against visiting France – this is advice not a ban, but can affect travel insurance, so check your policy before travelling.

Americans living in France

The various changes in French and American rules do not affect US citizens living in France who had planned a trip home to see friends or family.

The US allows its own citizens to enter, and France allows people with permanent residency to enter, even if they are not vaccinated. If you are not vaccinated you will need to present at the French border both a negative Covid test and proof of your residency in France (eg a visa or carte de séjour).

If you are fully vaccinated you can return to France with the presentation only of your proof of vaccination.

Member comments

  2. Yes. You still must get a test to go back. But it is easy. Many pharmacies give the tests and it only takes 15 minutes to get there results. Of course it will be a real hassle and you will have to stay at least another 10 days in France if the test is positive.

    This article says that the CDC card won’t be accepted at restaurants. That had not been my experience. For two weeks, my husband and I have shown our passports and CDC cards and have had no trouble getting into restaurants or museums. Maybe the bar scene is different. But yesterday after about two weeks from applying on online, we got our French certificate with the QR code. We used it last night and it made life easier. So my advice is to apply at least two weeks before you are going to travel. But don’t sweat it if you don’t have it before you travel. We never were asked for a negative test.

  3. I have a family member applying for a French long stay visitor visa. Is proof of vaccination necessary in order to be granted a visa for up to one year? Thanks.

  4. I submitted everything to demarches-simplifiees on 1 Sept, got the email that they’d received it, but haven’t heard anything back after that. The status page said that it usually took 12 days, and then 13, 14… now it’s up to 19. It sounds like using my US vaccine card will work most places, but it would be really nice to get that QR code by the time I leave in 3 days.

    1. 24 Sept – just received the email and downloaded the certificate and code… just in time! Scanned the QR code into TousAntiCovid and all is well. In the app, there are two tabs from which to choose: One will display a code for restos and activities, and the other tab is for the border that also shows your birthdate and vaccination date.

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For members

AMERICANS IN FRANCE

Americans in France: Will my tax situation change if I get French citizenship?

If you're thinking of applying for French citizenship, then you might be curious whether there will be any tax ramifications to becoming a dual national.

Published: 2 May 2024 16:44 CEST
Americans in France: Will my tax situation change if I get French citizenship?

Gaining French citizenship can have plenty of benefits for Americans living in France, from the right to vote in French elections to freedom of movement in the EU – as well as a more intangible sense of belonging in the country you now call home. 

However, Americans living abroad always have to contend with the United States’ system of citizenship-based taxation, which requires US nationals to report their global income to the IRS yearly, however long they have been out of the country.

This may result in making two tax declarations every year if they move to a country – like France – which requires yearly declarations from all residents.

As a result, Americans have to think about possible tax consequences before making decisions to move, invest, or perhaps take on a second nationality.

To help answer the question of whether there are special tax ramifications for French-American dual nationals living in France, The Local spoke with tax expert Jonathan Hadida from HadTax.

Hadida said: “There is really no impact. You still have yearly reporting requirements to both countries, and from the French side you will still continue to give you the benefits of the tax treaty”.

Key items, such as your US-based pension, would continue to be taxed in the US and not France regardless of whether or not you take on French nationality too.

READ MORE: Ask the expert: What Americans in France need to know about 401(k) and other pensions

Unfortunately, many of the limitations Americans in France experience would also remain in place. French investment options, such as the Assurance Vie, would still unwise for dual nationals, as the IRS sees them as PFICs (Passive Foreign Investment Company).

While the Assurance Vie is a great tool for being tax efficient for non-Americans, and can offer alternatives to the regimented, traditional French inheritance process, for Americans living in France (including those with dual nationality) it can lead to lengthy and complicated dealings with the IRS. 

“To the US tax authorities, you are still American first, second, third and fourth place. They don’t really care that you are also French,” Hadida said.

“The only real change to your tax situation would be giving up your American citizenship, but keeping your US citizenship in addition to French citizenship does not really change anything.”

What happens tax-wise if I renounce my American citizenship?

Renouncing US citizenship is not as simple as scheduling an appointment at a US embassy or consulate, paying the applicable fee, and declaring that one does not want to be American.

There are several factors to consider, and depending on your situation, in the long-run it might be more advantageous to hold onto your US citizenship to continue benefiting from certain parts of the US-France dual taxation treaty (PDF).

For others, keeping US citizenship might be onerous with its yearly reporting requirements, as well as the difficulty it can pose with putting money into French investment vehicles due to citizenship-based taxation and FATCA (US legislation that passed in 2010 to track money laundering). 

While renouncing your American citizenship undoubtedly pushes you further out of the reach of the IRS, you should consider that you might owe an exit tax, if you are deemed a ‘covered expatriate’. Usually, this is only required of high-net worth individuals (worth more than $2 million).

According to the US expat tax site 1040 Abroad, this also includes people who failed to comply with tax obligations in the five years preceding their renouncement, as well as people who had “an average annual net income tax liability exceeding a specified threshold” (as of 2022, this number was set to $178,000).

People renouncing US citizenship can also be subject to a special inheritance tax on gifts made to US citizens or residents, following their renunciation. 

READ MORE: How to renounce American citizenship in France – and why you might want to

You should also think about your US-based investments.

“You would no longer benefit from the tax treaty in the same way if you give up your US citizenship. For example, Article 24 of the treaty covers investment income, making it taxable in the US and giving you a deemed credit in France.

You would lose this benefit if you renounce, and this could make a big difference if the taxation level is lower in the US, as it often is with dividends or capital gains.

“Your IRA and pension plans will continue to be taxed in the US because this is based on where the pension is earned, not nationality, but you might have to start filing a non-resident tax return to the US after renouncing citizenship,” Hadida said.

The tax expert said that renouncing citizenship should be decided on a case by case basis.

“Every situation is different, and for some people it might not make sense to give up certain benefits from the US-France tax treaty. You should speak with a financial advisor before deciding”, he said.

READ MORE: Divorce, stress and fines: How citizenship-based taxation affects Americans in France

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