France, loved as one of the most visited tourist destinations of all time, has a special place in the hearts of both locals and holidaymakers. Although the country has resumed most of its international flights, several countries have been included in the Red List, where travel has been severely restricted.
Want to visit France now? Which countries are on the red list? What are the latest requirements for testing and quarantine? Here is the latest information on the ban on travel to France in 2021.
Countries on the red list of France
If you are traveling from any of the countries mentioned below, you can only travel to France if you have good reasons to travel. The list of urgent grounds is contained in the certificate of international departures issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The government also strongly discourages travel to these countries from France.
Afghanistan
Argentina
Bangladesh
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Indonesia
Maldives
Mozambique
Namibia
Nepal
Oman
Pakistan
Paraguay
Russia
Seychelles
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Suriname
Tunisia
Uruguay
Zambia
What are the latest entry requirements for France?
Mandatory forms
If you are vaccinated:
You must provide proof of vaccination.
It will only be valid if you prove that you are fully vaccinated, ie:
- Seven days after the second vaccine (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca (Vaxevria and Covishield))
- Four weeks after vaccination with a single vaccine (Johnson & Johnson)
- Seven days after vaccination with the vaccine administered to humans, COVID-19 has already become ill (only one dose is needed).
- Only vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) (Pfizer (Comirnaty), Moderna, AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Johnson & Johnson (Janssen)) or AstraZeneca (Covishield) are accepted.
You must file an affidavit, which you can download from the Home Office website, stating that:
- you have no symptoms of COVID-19 infection
- to the best of your knowledge, you have not been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19
- for 14 days before the trip.
If you have not been vaccinated:
You must file an affidavit, which you can download from the Home Office website, stating that:
- you have no symptoms of COVID-19 infection
- to the best of your knowledge, you have not been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 for 14 days prior to the trip;
- (If you are 12 years of age or older) you agree to undergo a RT-PCR virological test for SARS-CoV-2 upon arrival in France.
- (Where applicable) you agree to isolate yourself for seven days
- (For unvaccinated travelers arriving from the “red” country) you know that after arriving in France you will have to be quarantined for 10 days.
- You must have an international certificate issued for a trip to the French metropolis, which you can download from the Ministry of the Interior’s website.
If you do not provide these documents, you will be denied boarding.
Requirements for testing and quarantine
Fully vaccinated travelers are no longer subject to restrictions on testing and quarantine for travel to or from France, regardless of the country of departure.
On June 9, France introduced the red-amber-green travel system, which classifies countries according to their risk factor COVID-19, and has since updated the rules several times.
Unvaccinated travelers from the countries of the “Green List”:
At boarding, every traveler 12 years of age and older must present a negative PCR result or antigen test less than 72 hours prior to flight.
If you are traveling from Cyprus, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands or Portugal, your test must be taken less than 24 hours before the flight.
If you have previously been infected with COVID-19, instead of a negative test result, you can present a certificate of recovery from more than 11 days and less than 6 months before the date of arrival.
This does not apply to:
- trips of residents of border areas (limit within a radius of 30 km from your place of residence and lasting less than 24 hours).
- business-related business trips, the urgent or frequent nature of which makes them incompatible with these tests;
- travel by carriers who perform their work.
To take advantage of the above exceptions, you must have a document confirming the reasons for your trip.
Unvaccinated travelers from the “orange list” countries:
You can go to France only if you have good reasons to travel. The list of urgent grounds is contained in the certificate of international departure issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Every traveler 12 years of age and older must present a negative PCR test less than 72 hours before departure or a negative antigen test less than 48 hours before departure.
If you are coming from the UK, a PCR or antigen test should be done less than 24 hours before landing.
Upon arrival in France, you may take a random test.
You must promise to isolate yourself for 7 days.
If you have previously been infected with COVID-19, instead of a negative test result, you can present a certificate of recovery from more than 11 days and less than 6 months before the date of arrival.