Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Daisy Naylor

Can I travel to France? Latest rules, Foreign Office advice and entry requirements

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to give an update on international travel in a press conference this afternoon.

The Prime Minister will unveil plans for a risk based "traffic light" system, where countries are classified red, amber or green.

Under the government's current rules, you cannot go abroad for a holiday under any circumstances.

Anybody caught leaving the country without a "reasonable excuse" can be fined up to £5,000.

The earliest date foreign holidays can restart is 17 May - but this is pending a review by Grant Shapps' newly formed Travel Taskforce.

Here are the current rules for travelling to France:

Latest France travel rules

It is currently illegal to go abroad for a holiday, as there is only a limited list of reasons you can leave the country.

This means at the moment, you cannot go on holiday to France. Anybody caught leaving, or trying to leave, the country without a reasonable excuse can be fined up to £5,000.

If your circumstances do permit you to leave the UK (for example if you're travelling for work, or to attend a wedding), you will still be subject to entry requirements when you reach the French border.

Arrivals in France must present a negative PCR test and then self-isolate for a week (IAN LANGSDON/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Arrivals from the UK do not currently need to declare an essential reason to enter France - but remember you do need one to legally leave the UK.

Everyone aged 11 and over will be asked to take a PCR test in the 72 hours before their departure, and present the negative result at the border.

You will then need to self-isolate for seven days in France before taking a second test.

And you will need to complete and sign a 'sworn statement' to declare that you are not suffering from Covid symptoms, and you have not been in contact with confirmed cases within the past two weeks.

France is currently under its third national lockdown, and a curfew is in place between 7pm and 6am.

People need a valid reason and an exemption certificate to travel more than 10km from their place of residence.

When will France holidays resume?

Boris Johnson is expected to unveil a traffic light system for international travel, where countries are sorted into groups depending on their Covid risk.

People travelling from 'green' countries will not need to self-isolate upon their return, but they will need to take tests.

Ministers have said it's too early to predict which countries will be classified into which groups, but it's expected that much of Europe will stay 'red'.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.