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Updated 28 July 2021
Beloved as one of the top-visited tourist destinations of all time, France has a special place in the hearts of native residents and vacation seekers alike. While the country has resumed most of its international flight operations, several nations have been included in the “Red List,” where travel has been greatly restricted.
Looking to visit France now? Which countries are on the Red List? What are the latest testing and quarantine requirements? Here is the latest information on the France travel ban in 2021.
Table of Contents
Countries on France red list
If you are travelling from any of the countries mentioned below, you can only travel to France if you have pressing grounds for travel. The list of pressing grounds is set out in the certificate of international travel drawn up by the Ministry of the Interior. The government also strongly advises against travelling to these countries from France.
- Afghanistan
- Argentina
- Bangladesh
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Indonesia
- Maldives
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Paraguay
- Russia
- Seychelles
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Suriname
- Tunisia
- Uruguay
- Zambia
What are the latest entry requirements for France?
Required forms
If you are vaccinated:
You must present your proof of vaccination.
It will only be valid if it proves that you are fully vaccinated, i.e.:
- Seven days after the second shot for two-shot vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca (Vaxevria and Covishield))
- Four weeks after the shot for one-shot vaccines (Johnson & Johnson)
- Seven days after the shot for vaccines administered to people who have already had COVID-19 (only one dose is necessary).
- Only vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) (Pfizer (Comirnaty), Moderna, AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Johnson & Johnson (Janssen)), or AstraZeneca (Covishield) will be accepted.
You must submit a Sworn declaration, which you can download from the Interior Ministry’s website, stating that:
- you have no symptoms of COVID-19 infection
- to your knowledge, you have not been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the 14 days prior to your journey.
If you are unvaccinated:
You must submit a Sworn declaration, which you can download from the Interior Ministry’s website, stating that:
- you have no symptoms of COVID-19 infection
- to your knowledge, you have not been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the 14 days prior to your journey;
- (if you are aged 12 or over) you agree to submit to a virological RT-PCR test for SARS-CoV-2 upon arrival in France
- (where applicable) you pledge to self-isolate for seven days
- (for non-vaccinated travellers arriving from a “red” country) you are aware that you will have to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival in France.
You should be in possession of an exempted international travel certificate for Metropolitan France, which you can download from the Interior Ministry’s website.
If you fail to produce these documents, you will be denied boarding.
Testing and quarantine requirements
Fully vaccinated travellers are no longer subject to testing and quarantine restrictions to travel to or from France, whatever the country of departure.
France introduced a red-amber-green travel system on June 9 that classifies countries depending on their COVID-19 risk factor and has since updated the rules several times. The full list of countries is outlined here.
Unvaccinated travellers from “Green List” countries:
- Upon boarding, each traveller aged 12 and over must present a negative PCR or antigenic test taken less than 72 hours before the flight.
- If you are travelling from Cyprus, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands or Portugal, your test must be taken less than 24 hours before the flight.
If you have previously contracted COVID-19, instead of a negative test result, you may present a certificate of recovery dated more than 11 days and less than 6 months prior to the date of arrival.
This will not apply to:
- trips by residents of cross-border areas (border within a 30 km radius of your residence, and for a duration of less than 24 hours).
- work-related trips, the urgent or frequent nature of which makes them incompatible with these tests;
- trips by hauliers carrying out their work.
To avail of the exemptions above, you must have a document proving the reasons for your trip.
Unvaccinated travellers from “Orange List” countries:
You can only travel to France if you have pressing grounds for travel. The list of pressing grounds is set out in the certificate of international travel drawn up by the Ministry of the Interior.
- Each traveller aged 12 and over must present a negative PCR test taken less than 72 hours before departure or a negative antigenic test taken less than 48 hours before departure.
- If you are arriving from the United Kingdom, the PCR or antigenic test must have been taken less than 24 hours before boarding.
- You may be subject to a random test when you arrive in France.
- You must pledge to self-isolate for 7 days.
If you have previously contracted COVID-19, instead of a negative test result, you may present a certificate of recovery dated more than 11 days and less than 6 months prior to the date of arrival.
