When will France fully lift travel restrictions on the UK?
The French government has announced the first relaxation of its strict travel restrictions for the UK, but when can we expect all limitations to be lifted?
The full announcement has now been made - click here for full details.
France has announced a slight relaxation to its travel rules for the UK, expanding the categories of permitted reasons to travel, particularly in relation to work-related travel.
READ ALSO Everything you need to know about travel between France and the UK
Many restrictions, however, remain in place.
So when can we expect those to be lifted?
Essential reasons
Currently travel to and from the UK is only allowed for people who meet very narrow criteria for essential travel.
You can find the full list HERE but it basically encompasses people returning to their country of origin or country of residence, diplomats and - from January 6th - essential work travel and transit through France to return home to another EU country.
There is no provision for family visits and very few accepted compassionate reasons for travel. Visits for tourism or second-home owners remain barred.
Those who qualify to travel still face a lot of paperwork and testing.
Omicron variant
The UK travel ban was first put in place over fears of the Omicron variant, but as French government spokesman Gabriel Attal admitted last week "the Omicron variant is affecting both countries in a similar manner".
Both France and the UK have seen record daily case numbers and increasing pressure on hospitals.
Although this does mean that the original reason for the travel ban no longer exists, it could also mean that the French government is reluctant to lift restrictions completely until the current wave has peaked - something that experts predict will happen at the end of January.
Timeframe
Attal mentioned "next week" as a possible timeframe for loosening restrictions, although this could still see constraints on travel for tourism and second-home owners.
On January 11th Alexandre Holroyd, the MP who represents French people living in the UK, tweeted that after extensive discussions with the government a "considerable easing" of the rules would be announced soon.
⚠️⚠️ Frontière 🇫🇷 - 🇬🇧 ⚠️⚠️
À la suite de nombreux échanges avec le #Gouvernement, de considérables allègements des mesures sanitaires aux frontières seront très prochainement annoncés.
Plus de détails ici dans les jours à venir
— Alexandre Holroyd (@alexIholroyd) January 11, 2022
The next key date in the tourism calendar is the February school holiday, a time particularly important for the ski industry, where resorts are usually busy with both domestic and international visitors.
If the wave peaks as predicted, it seems likely that travel will be open again in time for the February holidays, although many tourists have already cancelled or declined to book because of the ongoing uncertainty.
Sport
Coming up in the sporting calendar is the Six Nations rugby tournament in February and March, which involves France, Italy, Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland.
Whether the games can be played with full crowds depends on the health situation, but a further addition to the list of essential reasons was travel by elite athletes for competitions, with the approval of the French sports ministry.
We will update our Travel section - HERE - as soon as any announcements are made.
Comments (12)
See Also
The full announcement has now been made - click here for full details.
France has announced a slight relaxation to its travel rules for the UK, expanding the categories of permitted reasons to travel, particularly in relation to work-related travel.
READ ALSO Everything you need to know about travel between France and the UK
Many restrictions, however, remain in place.
So when can we expect those to be lifted?
Essential reasons
Currently travel to and from the UK is only allowed for people who meet very narrow criteria for essential travel.
You can find the full list HERE but it basically encompasses people returning to their country of origin or country of residence, diplomats and - from January 6th - essential work travel and transit through France to return home to another EU country.
There is no provision for family visits and very few accepted compassionate reasons for travel. Visits for tourism or second-home owners remain barred.
Those who qualify to travel still face a lot of paperwork and testing.
Omicron variant
The UK travel ban was first put in place over fears of the Omicron variant, but as French government spokesman Gabriel Attal admitted last week "the Omicron variant is affecting both countries in a similar manner".
Both France and the UK have seen record daily case numbers and increasing pressure on hospitals.
Although this does mean that the original reason for the travel ban no longer exists, it could also mean that the French government is reluctant to lift restrictions completely until the current wave has peaked - something that experts predict will happen at the end of January.
Timeframe
Attal mentioned "next week" as a possible timeframe for loosening restrictions, although this could still see constraints on travel for tourism and second-home owners.
On January 11th Alexandre Holroyd, the MP who represents French people living in the UK, tweeted that after extensive discussions with the government a "considerable easing" of the rules would be announced soon.
⚠️⚠️ Frontière 🇫🇷 - 🇬🇧 ⚠️⚠️
— Alexandre Holroyd (@alexIholroyd) January 11, 2022
À la suite de nombreux échanges avec le #Gouvernement, de considérables allègements des mesures sanitaires aux frontières seront très prochainement annoncés.
Plus de détails ici dans les jours à venir
The next key date in the tourism calendar is the February school holiday, a time particularly important for the ski industry, where resorts are usually busy with both domestic and international visitors.
If the wave peaks as predicted, it seems likely that travel will be open again in time for the February holidays, although many tourists have already cancelled or declined to book because of the ongoing uncertainty.
Sport
Coming up in the sporting calendar is the Six Nations rugby tournament in February and March, which involves France, Italy, Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland.
Whether the games can be played with full crowds depends on the health situation, but a further addition to the list of essential reasons was travel by elite athletes for competitions, with the approval of the French sports ministry.
We will update our Travel section - HERE - as soon as any announcements are made.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.