Driving to/through France from UK right now
Discussion
I had been planning on driving through France to Italy later this month.
Does anyone have any experience on how it works in France with the new rules introduced a couple of days ago? I have heard of people from the UK being denied boarding to Eurostar in London. Are people being turned back at Eurotunnel or ferries?
You are not allowed to enter France as a UK citizen as a tourist at the moment, you need an official reason to visit. And you are supposed to self isolate, however the self isolation is not rigidly enforced. That is all clear from the French consulate website.
But what about transit through France? Would they let me in if I had proof of an overnight booking in Italy? And what if I then stayed overnight in France? I am double vaccinated, travelling alone in a bubble (car). Minimal threat of me spreading anything.
I know the rules for UK citizens were barely enforced before this week, just wondering what has changed, And what it’s like trying to enter by car.
Does anyone have any experience on how it works in France with the new rules introduced a couple of days ago? I have heard of people from the UK being denied boarding to Eurostar in London. Are people being turned back at Eurotunnel or ferries?
You are not allowed to enter France as a UK citizen as a tourist at the moment, you need an official reason to visit. And you are supposed to self isolate, however the self isolation is not rigidly enforced. That is all clear from the French consulate website.
But what about transit through France? Would they let me in if I had proof of an overnight booking in Italy? And what if I then stayed overnight in France? I am double vaccinated, travelling alone in a bubble (car). Minimal threat of me spreading anything.
I know the rules for UK citizens were barely enforced before this week, just wondering what has changed, And what it’s like trying to enter by car.
rev-erend said:
Thanks for this. Useful info. But it is still (deliberately?) unclear..about transiting and need for quarantine, or not. If you have to quarantine for seven days, you are not transiting, even if you want to. I really feel for those split from their families.
So, an update from me, having started this thread a while back, and found some very useful information as it developed, thank you.
On Sunday June 27 I took my car into France via the tunnel, on July 1 I entered Monaco, and yesterday I entered Italy. This is a trip to see clients, which in normal times would be a couple of simple separate journeys by air and taxi. Here are my experiences so far.
Prep: this was the most stressful and bizarre part, with a constantly shifting set of regulations, many of them far from clear. In the end, to give credit to UK bureaucracy, I found googling "UK passport holders entering France/Italy/Switzerland" etc and going in to the relevant UK GOV website was the clearest and most updated way of getting information about entering other countries. There were even almost-live updates about entering Italy with the England football match in Rome. Also, local Anglophone websites the The Local and Connexion were helpful.
Entering France: Going through the Tunnel was the most challenging part of the trip, and literally harder than entering and exiting East Berlin from the West in the 1980s. The automatic check in booths are disabled, and the person in the booth asked if I had my NHS vaccine certificate and a negative test in the last 72 hours (France requirements). The terminal was a sad wasteland; every shop was closed, only the machines offering drinks and snacks.
As you leave the car park, a guard asks again: do you have the vaccine certificate and test and entering France form? (There were copies of this form printed out available at the terminal).
UK passport control was OK. French passport control asked for the test certificate and to see the NHS fit to travel QR code on the NHS app. (I also had it printed out). There were no further questions and no challenges about why I was entering France/where I would be staying (technically as of now we need to self isolate, but this is a level below the quarantine requirement of early June).
There were no difficulties, but without the NHS fit to travel code, and negative test, I would not have been let through.
In France, everything is relaxed. Hotels didn't ask for any paperwork.
Monaco: there are police on the roundabout entering town stopping foreigners. They didn't stop me, probably because they had already stopped a Dutch car. Also I guess I may have looked local as I am in a 992 Targa.
Italy: this was the big one. UK citizens do not need a reason to enter Italy but do have to quarantine and test to release. Exceptions are for transit and for work reasons. I had a letter from my employer, a lateral flow test from Monaco (not clear on Italian website whether this was required, but just to be safe) and Italian flag stickers on the car. A day after the England match in Rome, drove down the autoroute towards Ventimiglia and...nothing. No roadblocks, no checks, no police.
Now I am in Italy for five days, next stop Switzerland. Incidentally you can follow this trip on the Stories on our magazine Instagram (@luxthemagazine) but in any case I will update here.
In summary: getting out of UK: you need all paperwork to be in order, including NHS app. Everywhere else: a lottery.
I hope this has been helpful, but bear in mind rules change constantly.
On Sunday June 27 I took my car into France via the tunnel, on July 1 I entered Monaco, and yesterday I entered Italy. This is a trip to see clients, which in normal times would be a couple of simple separate journeys by air and taxi. Here are my experiences so far.
Prep: this was the most stressful and bizarre part, with a constantly shifting set of regulations, many of them far from clear. In the end, to give credit to UK bureaucracy, I found googling "UK passport holders entering France/Italy/Switzerland" etc and going in to the relevant UK GOV website was the clearest and most updated way of getting information about entering other countries. There were even almost-live updates about entering Italy with the England football match in Rome. Also, local Anglophone websites the The Local and Connexion were helpful.
Entering France: Going through the Tunnel was the most challenging part of the trip, and literally harder than entering and exiting East Berlin from the West in the 1980s. The automatic check in booths are disabled, and the person in the booth asked if I had my NHS vaccine certificate and a negative test in the last 72 hours (France requirements). The terminal was a sad wasteland; every shop was closed, only the machines offering drinks and snacks.
As you leave the car park, a guard asks again: do you have the vaccine certificate and test and entering France form? (There were copies of this form printed out available at the terminal).
UK passport control was OK. French passport control asked for the test certificate and to see the NHS fit to travel QR code on the NHS app. (I also had it printed out). There were no further questions and no challenges about why I was entering France/where I would be staying (technically as of now we need to self isolate, but this is a level below the quarantine requirement of early June).
There were no difficulties, but without the NHS fit to travel code, and negative test, I would not have been let through.
In France, everything is relaxed. Hotels didn't ask for any paperwork.
Monaco: there are police on the roundabout entering town stopping foreigners. They didn't stop me, probably because they had already stopped a Dutch car. Also I guess I may have looked local as I am in a 992 Targa.
Italy: this was the big one. UK citizens do not need a reason to enter Italy but do have to quarantine and test to release. Exceptions are for transit and for work reasons. I had a letter from my employer, a lateral flow test from Monaco (not clear on Italian website whether this was required, but just to be safe) and Italian flag stickers on the car. A day after the England match in Rome, drove down the autoroute towards Ventimiglia and...nothing. No roadblocks, no checks, no police.
Now I am in Italy for five days, next stop Switzerland. Incidentally you can follow this trip on the Stories on our magazine Instagram (@luxthemagazine) but in any case I will update here.
In summary: getting out of UK: you need all paperwork to be in order, including NHS app. Everywhere else: a lottery.
I hope this has been helpful, but bear in mind rules change constantly.
My passport was stamped by French passport control in Folkestone at Eurotunnel. The car image on the stamp looks like a Renault 25.
No other stamps.
No hotels have asked for vaccine or test paperwork so far. Entering Switzerland later this week.
I am travelling with my 15 year old daughter who is not vaccinated, FYI.
No other stamps.
No hotels have asked for vaccine or test paperwork so far. Entering Switzerland later this week.
I am travelling with my 15 year old daughter who is not vaccinated, FYI.
Just answering various questions:
I am now in Switzerland having travelled UK – France – Monaco – Italy – France – Italy – Switzerland in the last two weeks.
In the next few days I will travel to France and then hopefully back to the UK. I am with my 15-year-old daughter.
The only time any documents have been checked on this entire journey has been going from the UK through the tunnel into France (see above) but this is random. Interestingly, when I drove from Italy into Switzerland, in a UK registered car, there was a Swiss border official standing and examining all cars at the border but didn’t even blink as we went through. I think he was mainly looking for the Swiss vignette.
In terms of testing, France is definitely the best/easiest country to get these done if you are transiting back to the UK. Switzerland is a big hassle, book in advance, big cost. In France a nurse will come to your hotel to do a test at about one third of the price of the test I had to go to my pharmacy to get in the UK.
Results within 24 hours, so plan your journey accordingly.
I understand that in Italy they are pretty lax about the exception for “working”. You just need a piece of headed paper saying you are working, your kids can come with you. Not sure about other halves though. But they didn’t check mine at all.
No hotel I have stayed at in the last two weeks has asked for any documentation, although I have heard of colleagues being asked for documentation in hotels in Italy.
I am now in Switzerland having travelled UK – France – Monaco – Italy – France – Italy – Switzerland in the last two weeks.
In the next few days I will travel to France and then hopefully back to the UK. I am with my 15-year-old daughter.
The only time any documents have been checked on this entire journey has been going from the UK through the tunnel into France (see above) but this is random. Interestingly, when I drove from Italy into Switzerland, in a UK registered car, there was a Swiss border official standing and examining all cars at the border but didn’t even blink as we went through. I think he was mainly looking for the Swiss vignette.
In terms of testing, France is definitely the best/easiest country to get these done if you are transiting back to the UK. Switzerland is a big hassle, book in advance, big cost. In France a nurse will come to your hotel to do a test at about one third of the price of the test I had to go to my pharmacy to get in the UK.
Results within 24 hours, so plan your journey accordingly.
I understand that in Italy they are pretty lax about the exception for “working”. You just need a piece of headed paper saying you are working, your kids can come with you. Not sure about other halves though. But they didn’t check mine at all.
No hotel I have stayed at in the last two weeks has asked for any documentation, although I have heard of colleagues being asked for documentation in hotels in Italy.
Edited by Centrente on Saturday 10th July 23:05
I am now back in Britain after a nearly 3 week drive around Europe. France, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, France.Altogether, I crossed 13 borders (With a bit of back and forth between these countries).
The only time anyone asked for anything at the border was UK to France and vice versa. A couple of hotels in Italy asked if I had been vaccinated, but did not ask to see any evidence.
Apart from that, it was exactly as pre-pandemic, with the exception, as someone pointed out, of absolutely no UK numberplates anywhere. I think that is probably changing now.
Organising the test to return to the UK while in transit is a bit of a pain though. You need to allow 24 hours to get the result.
France seems to be the simplest country to organise tests, and nurse came to our hotel room in both cases. Italy and Switzerland are a bit more involved.
It’s expensive with all the tests no doubt about that - out and back. And the stupid quarantining which I am doing now. But no hassle encountered from any authorities. No questions at all to a UK-plated car.
The only time anyone asked for anything at the border was UK to France and vice versa. A couple of hotels in Italy asked if I had been vaccinated, but did not ask to see any evidence.
Apart from that, it was exactly as pre-pandemic, with the exception, as someone pointed out, of absolutely no UK numberplates anywhere. I think that is probably changing now.
Organising the test to return to the UK while in transit is a bit of a pain though. You need to allow 24 hours to get the result.
France seems to be the simplest country to organise tests, and nurse came to our hotel room in both cases. Italy and Switzerland are a bit more involved.
It’s expensive with all the tests no doubt about that - out and back. And the stupid quarantining which I am doing now. But no hassle encountered from any authorities. No questions at all to a UK-plated car.
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff