Conditions for travelling in France and Europe
Update (at 23/02/2022):
As the conditions for travelling in France and Europe are very changeable due to the health crisis, we decided to create this page to help you see things more clearly and to have easy access to essential information for your travels: what are the authorised travels, what are the formalities to be fulfilled, what is the situation in the different European countries (quarantine, curfew, confinement...)... In this month of February 2022, the situation is becoming more flexible and the travel conditions are getting easier.
In this article, we will deal extensively with "compelling reasons for travel". Below you will find an extract from the list of reasons and the documents needed to justify them.
For compelling business reasons:
- Missions essential to the pursuit of an economic activity, requiring a presence on the spot which cannot be postponed and whose postponement or cancellation would have manifestly disproportionate consequences or would be impossible (including transport professionals)
Documents required: employer's certificate, professional card for crews of international goods transport, international passenger transport, international maritime transport
For compelling personal or family reasons:
- Death of a family member in the direct line of a brother or sister
- Visit to a person with a life-threatening condition, for family members in the direct line
Documents required: death certificate or death certificate, medical certificate establishing the situation of the person whose prognosis is vital
This page will deal extensively with the "health pass". Here is its definition:
The "health pass" consists of the digital (via the TousAntiCovid application) or paper presentation of one of the following three health proofs:
1. Vaccination, provided that people have a complete vaccination schedule and the necessary time after the final injection:
- 7 days after the 2nd injection for double injection vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca).
- 4 weeks after injection for vaccines with a single injection (Johnson & Johnson)
- 7 days after injection for vaccines in people with a history of Covid (1 injection only).
Since 27 May, all vaccinated persons can retrieve their vaccination certificate on the Health Insurance teleservice https://attestation-vaccin.ameli.fr. In addition, any health professional can retrieve a vaccination certificate and print it if a person requests it.
2. Proof of a negative test less than 48 hours old for the "activity health pass" for access to the major events concerned and a maximum of 72 hours for the "travel" health check. All RT-PCR and antigenic tests generate a proof as soon as the result is entered by the healthcare professional in SI-DEP, which can be printed out directly and which is also made available to the patient via an e-mail and an SMS to retrieve it on the SI-DEP portal (htpps://sidep.gouv.fr). On TousAntiCovid, the import of the proof into the application is done by the patient. The time limits in force for the validity of the tests (48h or 72h depending on the case) are strict at the time of entry to the event site or of boarding (no flexibility to 2 or 3 days).
3. A positive RT-PCR test result showing recovery of Covid-19, at least 11 days old and less than 6 months old. RT-PCR positive tests older than 11 days and less than 6 months (taken to date) indicate a limited risk of re-infection with Covid-19.
Here is a map summarising the current situation in Europe:
Summary
1. FRANCE
A. Travel within France
There are no restrictions, except for Corsica, where you must prove that you have a health pass (defined above) and fill in the following certificate on honour: https://www.openfly.fr/contentfiles/external/Déclaration-sur-l-honneur-à-compter-du-16-juillet.pdf.
B. Hotels and restaurants
Bars and restaurants are open. Hotels are open. Sanitary pass is required in restaurants.
C. To travel from France to other countries
As part of the strategy to reopen French borders from 9 June 2021, a classification of countries/territories and specific procedures for travel to France are defined according to the health situation and the vaccination of travellers. (see on the government website).
They are designated on this page as categories 1 (green), 2 (red) and 3 (orange).
It is strongly recommended that you do not travel to Category 2 countries/territories classified as "red" for health reasons. For all other countries/territories, including those classified as category 3 for health reasons, the Travel Report for the destination should be consulted to ascertain the conditions of entry and stay in that country.
Since 1 July 2021, the "European pass", also known as the "EU digital COVID certificate", has been in force in all Member States. This pass enables unrestricted travel within all EU and Schengen countries and some 15 other countries.
However, it is still strongly discouraged to travel to a country classified as "red". → For more details, visit the government website.
2. GERMANY
A. Entry requirements and formalities
All travellers over the age of 12 must provide proof of immunity (last required dose of vaccine received for at least two weeks, or proof of past infection less than 6 months and more than 28 days ago) or a negative test, either PCR (less than 72 hours old) or antigenic (less than 48 hours old), carried out prior to entering Germany.
B. Lockdown/Curfew
No lockdown or curfew. There are very strict measures in place for unvaccinated people.
C. Hotels and restaurants
Bars and restaurants open but access conditions vary according to the Länder.
3. UNITED-KINGDOMS
A. Entry requirements and formalities
The rules that apply from Friday 14 January 2022 for travel from the UK to France are as follows:
All travellers who do not have a complete vaccination schedule must have a negative test (PCR or antigen test) less than 48 hours old at departure.
- For travellers who have been vaccinated, there is no longer any obligation to justify a compelling reason for coming to France, nor is there any obligation to respect a period of isolation on arrival in the country. In this respect, the need to register on the digital platform "éOS passager" prior to travel has also been removed. Screening on arrival may be carried out at the place of arrival. In the event of a positive result, the traveller will be placed in isolation.
- For non-vaccinated travellers, travel from the UK is permitted provided there is a compelling reason
B. Lockdown/Curfew
No lockdown, no crufew.
C. Hotels and restaurants
Bars and restaurants open.
4. ITALY
A. Entry requirements and formalities
- Travellers entering Italy from France must either:
- Present a negative PCR or antigen test result less than 48 hours old (self-tests are not accepted);
- Or present proof of full vaccination with a vaccine recognised by the European Medicines Agency (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson). Proof of vaccination is only valid if it can be shown that a complete vaccination schedule has been completed (14 days after the last injection). The certificate must be presented in one of the 4 languages: Italian, English, French or Spanish;
- Or present a certificate of recovery (this certificate is valid for 20 days after your first positive test and for a maximum of 180 days after that)
B. Lockdown/Curfew
No lockdown or curfew unless travellers do not have the above documents. In this case they will have to self-isolate for a period of 5 days and perform an antigenic or PCR test at the end of this isolation. Children under 6 years of age are exempt from all these requirements. In Sicily, testing on arrival is mandatory in all cases.
The Italian regions in four categories according to the risk of transmission of the virus:
Red zone for maximum risk: Alto Adi
Orange zone for high risk: None
Yellow zone for moderate risk: No
White zone for reduced risk: All regions.
C. Hotels and restaurants
Bars and restaurants open.
Hotels open.
5. SPAIN
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A. Entry requirements and formalities
All passengers travelling to Spain by air or sea, including in transit, must complete a personal and non-transferable form. Once this form has been completed and signed, the traveller will receive a QR code associated with their journey, which they must keep on their mobile phone or print out in order to be able to pass the airport health check.
The presentation of this QR code is sufficient for travellers coming from France, with the exception of Martinique, Corsica, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Reunion, the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Brittany, Grand Est, Hauts-de-France, Ile-de-France, Normandy, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, Pays de la Loire and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Any entry into Spanish territory from a risk area by air (airports) or sea (ports) is subject to the presentation of one of these documents, in digital or paper format, written in Spanish, French, German or English:
- or a certificate proving full vaccination against Covid-19 for at least 14 days. The certificate must indicate the date of vaccination, the vaccine administered and the country of vaccination,
- or a certificate of screening test for active infection, with a negative result, issued within 48 hours (antigenic test) or within 72 hours (PCR test) prior to arrival in the country. It may be a NAAT test (Covid-19 RNA detection test: RT-PCR, TMA, LAMP, NEAR, etc.) or an antigenic test included in the European Commission's list. Saliva tests that have not been taken in a laboratory, but at home, do not authorise travel, nor do "rapid tests" in pharmacies, which do not give a written result. The certificate must include the identity or travel document number of the person tested;
- or a Covid-19 reinstatement certificate, valid from 11 days to 180 days after the first positive diagnostic test. This document must mention, among other things, the date of the first positive test, the type of test performed and the country where the certificate was issued.
B. Lockdown/Curfew
Movement allowed between regions, no lockdown or curfew.
The rules vary from region to region. More information on travelling in Spain here.
C. Hotels and restaurants
Bars and restaurants open.
Hotels open.
6. PORTUGAL
A. Entry requirements and formalities
Holders of the EU digital Covid certificate are no longer subject to special restrictions. People who have been vaccinated or are immune after contracting the disease (between 11 and 180 days after the disease is detected) are allowed to enter the country.
Other travellers must provide a negative PCR test less than 72 hours old or an antigen test less than 48 hours old. Children under 12 years of age do not need to present a health pass.
All air passengers must complete the (individual) passenger location card before departure.
Specific measures for Madeira are also available on the website of the archipelago's tourist office, as for the Azores.
Since 12 July, the test required to enter France from Portugal must now be less than 24 hours old for non-vaccinated people.
B. Lockdown/Curfew
No lockdown or curfew.
C. Hotels and restaurants
Hotels, bars and restaurants open.
7. SWITZERLAND
A. Entry requirements and formalities
The sanitary measures applied at the borders on entry into Switzerland are lifted by the Swiss government as of 17 February 2022.
B. Confinement/Couvre-feu
No restrictions on movement within Switzerland. No curfew or lockdown.
C. Hôtels et restaurants
Hotels, bars and restaurants open.
8. LUXEMBOURG
A. Entry requirements and formalities
Any person over the age of 12 (instead of 6) wishing to travel by air to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg must present the following at the boarding gate:
- A vaccination certificate attesting to a complete vaccination schedule carried out with a vaccine that has been granted a marketing authorisation by the European Medicines Agency, i.e. the vaccines of the companies AstraZeneca, BioNTech/Pfizer, Johnson&Johnson and Moderna, drawn up by a public or medical authority of a Member State of the European Union or a Member State of the Schengen area ;
- Or a certificate of recovery issued by a doctor or a national authority of a Member State of the European Union or a Member State of the Schengen area for persons who have had a recent SARS-CoV-2 infection within 6 months prior to travel and who have completed the applicable isolation period in the respective country with the disappearance of all symptoms of infection;
- A negative result (on paper or electronically) of a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) for SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA (PCR, TMA or LAMP methods) performed less than 72 hours prior to the flight or a SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen test performed less than 48 hours prior to the flight, by a medical analysis laboratory or any other body authorised for this purpose.
The negative result of the examination in question must be submitted, if necessary accompanied by a translation, in one of the administrative languages of Luxembourg or in English, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese.
B. Lockdown/Curfew
No restrictions on movement within Luxembourg. No curfew.
C. Hotels and restaurants
Bars and restaurants open with the need to show a health pass. Hotels open.
9. BELGIUM
A. Entry requirements and formalities
Travel to Belgium from France is possible.
Travellers with a COVID certificate are not required to submit a PCR test or observe quarantine.
All travellers to Belgium, regardless of the means of transport used, must complete the Passenger Location Form no earlier than 48 hours before arrival. Teleworking is compulsory once on site.
B. Lockdown/Curfew
No lockdown or curfew.
C. Hotels and restaurants
Bars and restaurants open with the need to show a health pass. Hotels open.
10. GREECE
A. Entry requirements and formalities
All travellers, regardless of their nationality and origin, must present the following when boarding or at the border:
- An online PLF location form no later than the day before their arrival in Greece;
- One of the following documents, in English, French, Greek, German, Italian, Spanish or Russian, for all travellers aged twelve (12) years and over; including the traveller's full name as shown on their passport or identity card: A certificate of full immunisation completed at least 14 days before travel;
- The result of a negative Covid-19 coronavirus test (RT-PCR) less than 24 hours old, or the result of a negative antigen test less than 24 hours old;
- or proof of recovery of Covid by presenting a certificate of Covid infection, established following a positive screening test (by RT-PCR or antigenic method) issued by the competent public health authorities or by an approved public or private laboratory, dated more than 30 days after infection and less than 180 days.
B. Lockdown/Curfew
No lockdown or curfew.
C. Hotels and restaurants
Bars and restaurants open, only for those vaccinated or with a certificate of recovery. PCR tests are not accepted! Hotels open.
View available aircraft to travel to Greece
11. AUSTRIA
A. Entry requirements and formalities
Since 20 December, tourist travel is possible again. In order not to be subject to any entry test, travellers must provide proof of vaccination (full vaccination schedule and not more than 360 days for two-dose vaccines, between 21 and 270 days after injection for single-dose vaccines) or cure within 180 days, using the European digital certificate (or an attestation in English or German).
After this period, travellers who have received a third dose less than 120 days after the end of their vaccination schedule are also accepted.
Other travellers must provide a negative PCR test less than 72 hours old or an antigen test less than 48 hours old.
B. Lockdown/Curfew
No lockdown or curfew.
C. Hotels and restaurants
Bars and restaurants close. Hotels open.
View available aircraft to tracel to Austria