Fully vaccinated travelers, regardless of country of origin, can now enter France without being pre-tested, French authorities have said.
Travelers who have been fully vaccinated can now enter France by presenting only a valid vaccination certificate, according to the French Ministry of the Interior, SchengenVisaInfo.com reported.
The screening requirement has been waived for all travelers, even those arriving in France from non-EU countries.
“For travelers vaccinated in accordance with European regulations, it will no longer be necessary to take tests upon departure. Confirmation of the full vaccination schedule becomes sufficient for arrival in France, regardless of country of origin, as was the case before the distribution of the Omicron variant,” the Ministry of the Interior said in a statement. affairs of France.
This announcement suggests that France has decided to take a case-by-case approach and not distinguish between fully vaccinated EU travelers and travelers from a third country.
On the other hand, the pre-entry testing requirement will continue to apply to unvaccinated travelers. However, the Ministry clarified that travelers from green countries will continue to be exempt from this rule, regardless of their vaccination status.
Currently, France’s “green list” includes all EU member states, including Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, the states of the Vatican, as well as third countries – Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Bahrain, United United Arab Emirates, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Qatar, Kuwait, New Zealand, Senegal, Rwanda, Taiwan and Vanuatu.
“For unvaccinated travelers, the obligation to present a negative test to travel to France remains, but the measures on arrival (test, isolation) are canceled if they arrive from countries included in the” green “list, characterized by moderate circulation of the virus,” the ministry explained.
Unvaccinated Green List travelers are only required to present a negative test result taken prior to arrival. In contrast, unvaccinated travelers on the orange list, which includes all countries not mentioned above, must present a valid reason for their trip in addition to the test.
With regard to the validity of vaccination certificates, the authorities clarified once again that France only recognizes vaccination passes that prove that the holder has received primary vaccination within the last nine months.
Travelers who were vaccinated more than nine months ago need to be re-vaccinated in order to be considered vaccinated and thus exempt from having to be tested when entering France.
Children under 12 years of age are not subject to entry rules.