France will end its ban on travelers from the UK on Friday (January 14), permitting non-essential travel once again.
France imposed a non-essential travel ban on arrivals from the UK in December when the Omicron variant was spreading “extremely quickly” there, with some exceptions made for French and EU citizens.
Starting tomorrow (January 14), that ban will be lifted, and travel from the UK will be permitted; however, some COVID-19 restrictions still apply.
“People will once again be able to travel for leisure between France and the UK, and to go skiing,” France’s tourism minister, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, told reporters.
France Testing and Self-Isolation Rules for UK Arrivals
Vaccinated UK travelers will no longer need an essential reason to enter France and will not have to self-isolate upon arrival. Nevertheless, they must provide a COVID-19 test result taken within 24 hours of departure, and this applies to all travelers over the age of 12.
The rules remain unchanged for unvaccinated UK travelers; they will need to register their essential reasons for visiting France on an app, present a negative COVID-19 test, and self-isolate for at least 48 hours upon arrival—only leaving isolation if they produce another negative test in France.
To be considered fully vaccinated, travelers must have had two doses of one of the four EU-approved vaccines: Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson at least two weeks prior to travel.
Why Was the Travel Ban Introduced?
The ban was introduced when the UK was facing a surge of Omicron-fueled COVID-19 cases, shortly after the new variant had emerged in Europe. France hoped that by limiting travel to and from the UK, it would buy time to control the virus within its own borders.
In a statement released two days prior to the ban, the French government announced that from December 18 “people cannot travel for tourism or professional reasons,” adding that the British government itself warned that the UK would face “a tidal wave” of new Omicron-driven infections in the coming days.
Now that Omicron has spread across most of the globe, with France expected to reach its Omicron peak in mid-January, the French government no longer deems it necessary to continue the ban.
This article was first published on December 16, 2021, and updated on January 13, 2022.
