Unvaccinated travelers from the United States will be required to quarantine for 10 days upon their arrival in France as the French authorities have added the US to the COVID-19 red list of countries.
The rules will not change for fully vaccinated people coming into France from the United States: they still have to show proof of a negative test before boarding their flight.
Any person aged 12 and over entering French territory must present a negative PCR or antigen test less than 24 or 48 hours old, depending on the country of origin.
For unvaccinated minors under 12 years, the vaccine status of their parents or accompanying guardians shall apply.
The United States is averaging more than 300,000 new cases a day for the first time in the pandemic. Hospitalizations are growing at a much slower rate than cases.
In response to the extremely swift spread of the Omicron variant in the UK, the French Government has decided to reintroduce compelling reasons for inbound and outbound travel with the UK, as well as tighten the testing requirement on departure and arrival.
Accordingly, effective from December 18, the following rules apply for all travel between the UK and France:
- A compelling reason must be given for travel to or from the UK, for both unvaccinated and vaccinated persons. These reasons will not authorize travel for tourism or business reasons. However, these compelling reasons will not apply to French nationals and their spouses (married, civil union or concubine) and children, who will still be able to travel to France and rejoin their UK residence.
- On departure, vaccinated persons must present a negative test result (PCR or TAG) dated less than 24 hours, which amounts to aligning with the rules already in force for non-vaccinated persons.
- Prior to their trip, all travelers from the UK shall be required to register on a digital platform allowing them to enter the address where they will be staying in France. This platform will be used to generate prefectural decrees requiring all travelers, whether unvaccinated or vaccinated, to be isolated in the place of their choice. This isolation obligation can be waived after 48 hours, subject to the presentation of a negative test result (PCR or TAG).
Checks will be organized to ensure effective enforcement of these measures.
The Government equally urges all travelers who had planned to go to the UK to postpone their trip.
