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COVID-19

The 9 essential pieces of paperwork for France-UK travel under new rules

Even if you meet the criteria for essential travel between France and the UK, there is a lot of paperwork you need to prepare.

Published: 17 December 2021 15:31 CET
Updated: 20 December 2021 16:02 CET
A picture taken on December 16, 2021 shows information boards and screens showing the upcoming Eurostar trains to London at the Gare du Nord railway station in Paris
From Saturday, December 17th, it will be more difficult to travel to France. Photo: Bertrand Guay / AFP

The French government has introduced strict limits on travel between France and the UK, which came into effect on Saturday, December 18th.

Only those with an essential reason for making their journey will be allowed to travel between the two countries, even if they are fully vaccinated.

If you do meet the criteria for essential travel, you will need to prepare the following paperwork (travel companies and border officials may require to see it, either as a digital or paper version): 

READ ALSO Essential motives: Who is allowed to travel between France and UK under new rules?

FOR TRAVEL TO UK FROM FRANCE

1.Attestation du sortie du territoire metropolitiain

Before travelling to the UK, you need to complete an attestation du sortie du territoire metropolitiain, and tick the box that explains the essential reason for your trip. The form is available to download HERE.

The French government’s travel paperwork site here offers to form in either a Pdf, Word of Txt format. If you’re going to print out the form and fill it in by hand you will want the Pdf, to fill it in online, download either the Word or Txt format and fill in your details, then save the form as a Pdf.

Many transport operators now insist that you upload documents to their website or app before you travel, so allow yourself plenty of time to fiddle around with formats.

2. Proof of negative Covid-19 test 

You also need proof of a negative Covid-19 test carried out in the 24 hours before departure. Many pharmacies offer walk-in services, or you can go to an appropriate clinic to take the test. You will need a certificate that shows proof of your negative result, ideally with a QR code. 

French antigen or PCR tests are accepted for travel to the UK, but home test kits are not.

3. Proof of vaccination status

You may need proof of your vaccination status – even though the new new travel rules apply to both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

That can be found via the TousAntiCovid app (which contains a valid EU Digital Vaccination Certificate), the NHS Covid app, on paper vaccination certificates, or as a download from your account on Ameli.fr. 

4. Passenger locator form

Before travelling, you will also need to complete a passenger locator form as demanded by the British government. That form – along with information on how to complete it – is HERE. Be sure to fill in this form with plenty of time as some users have reported glitches on the system. 

Remember, the UK also demands that you book Day Two Covid-19 tests, to be taken after arrival, which must be booked before you travel – you must have a booking number to complete the aforementioned passenger locator form. There’s more information on that HERE. 

You can find a list of test providers in the UK HERE.

Remember, too, that now the UK has left the European Union, you’ll need your passport (ID cards are no longer accepted).

FOR TRAVEL TO FRANCE FROM UK

5. Online quarantine form

All eligible travellers to France have to enter their details onto an online platform prior to departure, and download or print the confirmatory document that comes after you have filled out the form. You will find the online portal HERE.

This document, basically, alerts French law enforcement authorities to where you will be self-isolating in France. You cannot travel without completing the form. You should carry a copy (paper or digital) with you as you cross the border. 

6. Proof of vaccination status

You may need proof of your vaccination status – even though the new new travel rules apply to both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. That can be found via the TousAntiCovid app (which contains a valid EU Digital Vaccination Certificate), the NHS Covid app, on paper vaccination certificates, or as a download from your account on Ameli.fr.

7. Proof of negative Covid test

You also need proof of a negative Covid-19 test carried out in the 24 hours before departure. You can find a list of test providers in the UK HERE

There’s some confusion over what tests are allowed. We explain more HERE. Importantly, it is your responsibility to ensure you have an appropriate document showing your negative Covid-19 status before you travel, so you can present it on demand.

8. Attestation de déplacement vers la France Métropolitaine depuis le Royaume-Uni 

You will need to fill out a form explaining why your travel plans are essential. In most cases, simply filling out this form will suffice. But for some essential reasons, you will need to provide additional proof (if, for example, you are visiting France because of the death of a relative, you may need some additional proof of this, such as a medical record. You can find this attestation HERE or in varied formats here.

9. A declaration of honour 

Travellers to France must also sign an official declaration – available in French and English HERE – stating that they accept that further testing can be performed in France, and that they have no symptoms of Covid-19 at the time of travel.

Plus, you’ll need your passport and all the usual documentation for travel. Also, don’t forget that since Brexit certain items cannot be brought into France from the UK – full details here.

Member comments

  1. Has the testing rule to enter UK from France also changed? This article says (for travel from France to UK) : ‘You also need proof of a negative Covid-19 test carried out in the 24 hours before departure’ but it says elsewhere that it’s 48hrs to enter UK from France. Can you confirm which it is please?

    1. Have just posted a comment/response. No change to UK requirement for Covid test. Still 48 hours prior to departure

      2. Thank you for this post! I had a mild heart attack when reading the earlier paragraph mistakenly indicating a test 24 hrs in advance.

  2. UK Government web-site (www.Gov.UK) under Guidance and Support for International Travel states “take a COVID-19 test – to be taken in the 2 days before you travel to England”. This is as the up-date 7th December. There has been no further up-date.

  3. I’d just like to say thanks to Emma and everyone at The Local for their dedication to keeping us informed on the unbelievably rapidly changing rules during the pandemic. I picked a horrible time to return to the UK and had to drastically change my plans. We were given 24 hours notice that entry requirements to France were changing. As I desperately tried to make sense of it and return to France as soon as possible, this article was the only comprehensive source of information I could find. The Local published this even before Eurostar updated their website and was much easier to understand than all the garble on Gov.co.uk. Thanks once again for being the most reliable source of breaking news during the pandemic for us Anglophones in France. Your reporting has been invaluable during such bizarre times of change and strife. Keep up the good work! Thank you so much. Bxx

    1. Very well said, QueenB. The articles and the links have been of immense help at a very complex time for travel. The new Passenger Locator Form is a vital piece of paper at the border, the portal kept crashing yesterday so start applying in good time!

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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.

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