Covid: US and UK on France's amber travel list from June 9
Vaccinated people from green countries can visit without condition, vaccinated people from amber countries can visit but must present a negative PCR test
France's Tourism Minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne announced a traffic-light system for travel on June 4BFMTV screenshot / Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne
The French government has announced its traffic light-based travel rule system that is set to begin on June 9, pending the official publication of a decree announcing it.
All EU countries are listed as green, meaning vaccinated people can visit without conditions. The UK and US are listed as amber, meaning vaccinated people from there can come but must present a negative PCR test, while non-vaccinated people can only come if they have an essential reason.
France’s tourism minister Jean-Baptiste Lemonyne announced the system this morning (June 4) in an interview on BFMTV, saying countries around the world are being classed as green, amber or red.
The 27 EU member states, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Australia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Singapore
Vaccinated travellers can enter without any conditions
Non-vaccinated travellers must present proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of travelling
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Amber countries
The UK, the US, Canada, China, Russia, all other countries that are not green or red
Vaccinated travellers can enter but must present proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of travelling
Non-vaccinated people can only enter with an essential reason
Red countries
South Africa, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Turkey, Uruguay
Vaccinated travellers can only enter with an essential reason and not for tourism or leisure
What we know so far about the traffic-light system
There is no official confirmation yet that the proposed traffic light-based travel rule system, set to be introduced on June 9, will replace restrictions that currently apply to travellers from the UK.
A spokesperson at the Ministry of Interior told The Connexion today (June 4) that she could not yet confirm if these new rules will supersede the current travel rules that apply to the UK as an official decree for the new rules still needs to be issued.
There is also no further details yet on how travellers will prove that they have been fully vaccinated.
An official government document outlining the proposed strategy states that only vaccines authorised for use in the EU those of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, will be accepted.
It does not state how travellers will prove they have been fully vaccinated but does note that “proof of vaccination is only valid if it provides evidence of a complete vaccination schedule.”
The schedule considers people to be fully vaccinated:
Two weeks after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines
Four weeks after receiving the first (and only) dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine
Two weeks after the first dose of a vaccination for anyone who has already had Covid-19
Mr Lemonyne, on announcing the system this morning, stated that for families, if the parents are vaccinated then their children will not need to have been vaccinated.
Under the proposed new system, people in amber-listed countries who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 will need to provide an essential reason for their trip to France. These reasons are different to the ones currently in place for UK travellers and include travel for emergency medical reasons and travel due to the death of close relatives.
People in red-listed countries will only be allowed to enter France for a different set of essential reasons, which still includes travel for emergency medical reasons and travel due to the death of close relatives.
See our guide to the traffic-light system below, for incoming and outgoing travellers as it stands.
