UK-France travel abroad after May 11

I own homes in the UK and France. I am a British passport holder and have remained in my French home during lockdown as I was here when lockdown commenced. I have extended my stay here twice due to lockdown but would like to return to the UK on May 15, driving in my French car from Alsace, with my dogs and take the Eurotunnel to the UK. Will this be allowed from under the French lockdown rules as this is after May 11?

It is very difficult to know what the situation will be after confinement in May and later on in the summer for travel to the UK. In his message on April 14, the British Ambassador to France, Ed Llewellyn said that after May 11, the border situation will remain as it is now. “After May 11, France will remain closed to non-European countries until further notice. The UK-France border remains open for essential travel and we will continue to update our travel advice regularly to reflect any changes.”

At present there are only a few valid reasons for travelling in France to an exit point to the UK and valid family reasons only include helping someone else who is in a vulnerable situation and in need of urgent help and not for a social visit.

You are not at present allowed to change your place of confinement unless it is due to the end of a lease where you are spending confinement, to look after someone who is vulnerable, or similar reasons. We do not yet know how these regulations will change when de-confinement begins.

It will also depend on the rules within the UK.

At present in the UK you can only travel if it is essential but there is no precise definition.

A statement from UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says: “Whether travel is essential or not is a personal decision and circumstances differ from person to person. It is for individuals themselves to make an informed decision based on the risks and FCO advice. Anyone still planning to travel should check the validity of their travel insurance.”

French Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe has said that for holidaymakers “it is not reasonable to imagine travelling far abroad very quickly,” after May 11. During a two-hour televised address, he said he was unsure that air travel could, “resume quickly under good conditions” and predicted that “conditions of entry or re-entry” to France would be “quite demanding for those arriving from abroad.”

President Emmanuel Macron has also mentioned a progressive deconfinement “by region or sectors”. Although this is only an idea, this means travel may be restricted in between regions, especially as the government suggested yesterday that travel in France could be limited until mid-June.

The government has also stressed that “May 11 will not be a return to normal life”.

Airline Air France has said it is aiming to run 30% of its flights from July onwards. Many of those will be internal but some will be abroad depending on which countries reopen their borders.

It is advisable not to book any form of travel for May, June, July or August yet, but rest hopeful that movement between the two countries will be easier, at least by August.