France is reopening its borders to fully vaccinated UK tourists from next week

Brits will no longer need a ‘compelling reason’ to enter the country from 9 June (Photo: Getty Images)Brits will no longer need a ‘compelling reason’ to enter the country from 9 June (Photo: Getty Images)
Brits will no longer need a ‘compelling reason’ to enter the country from 9 June (Photo: Getty Images)

France is reopening its borders to UK tourists who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and can show proof of a negative test from next week.

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Visitors will no longer need to have a ‘compelling reason’ to enter the country from 9 June, the Daily Mail reports.

‘Fully vaccinated’ is defined as two weeks after the second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and it is expected that visitors will be able to use the NHS Covid-19 app as proof of their vaccination status.

Those who have only had one dose of a vaccine, or none at all, will not be permitted entry into France unless they have a ‘compelling reason’ to visit, and must self-isolate for seven days and provide proof of a negative coronavirus test on arrival.

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Anyone entering France before 9 June will need a compelling reason to do so, such as citizenship or a long-stay visa.

French border officials will accept negative antigen Covid-19 tests, as opposed to PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests, which could potentially cut travel costs by at least £100 for tourists.

A document titled ‘Strategy for Reopening Borders’ outlined the new plan on Friday (4 June), with some saying it is effectively a travel passport.

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EU passport holders who live in the UK will be allowed into France without any proof of coronavirus testing at all.

The relaxation in entry requirements for France comes following the latest travel update from the UK Government on Thursday (3 June), which saw Portugal removed from the green list amid fears over a Nepalese Covid-19 variant.

Seven counties were also added to the red list, including Sri Lanka, Costa Rica and Egypt, with all changes to the travel lists due to come into effect at 4am on Tuesday 8 June.

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The announcement has forced many Brits to cancel their upcoming holidays as the travel industry suffered another devastating blow.

Is travel to France allowed?

As France is on the UK’s ‘amber list’, Government guidance recommends that people should not travel to the country for holiday or leisure purposes.

While travel to an amber country is not illegal, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stressed that countries on this list are “not somewhere where you should be going on holiday”, with these destinations requiring stricter quarantine measures on their return.

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Anyone who does choose to travel to an amber destination for a holiday will be going against Government advice and additional Covid checks will be required.

If you have visited or transited through an amber country will have to:

- fill out a passenger locator form- provide a valid notification of a negative Covid test prior to travel- quarantine at home for 10 days on their return- take a PCR test on day two and day eight of their return

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Travellers in England will be given the option of a “test to release” on day five to end their self-isolation period early.

If the result from your test is inconclusive you must continue to quarantine, or you can choose to take another privately provided test to find out if you can stop self-isolation early.

Anyone who fails to quarantine for the required period faces a fine of up to £1,000 for the first time in England, and up to £10,000 for further breaches.

The test to release scheme is not available to those travelling to Scotland.

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