Updated Covid Regulations in France

The French government keeps announcing new regulations as preventative measures against a spike in cases.

So far no new regulations require closing any facilities and France is open for tourists of most countries (with the exception of the following African countries: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.)

The overall policy is to keep as much open as possible while enforcing vaccination mandates and social distancing in closed spaces.

The below regulations apply to foreigners and locals;

Social Distancing and use mask

• Wearing a mask is required in all outdoor spaces starting January 15 with the following exceptions.

• Exercising, for example jogging

• In the Bois de Vincennes and the Bois de Boulogne (located in the Paris region)

• Riding a bicycle, an electric scooter, a motor scooter or motorcycle

• Driving or being a passenger in a private car, not including taxis.

Additionally, in theaters and regional and long distance trains and buses, you must wear a mask at all times. You may no longer remove the mask to eat or drink. Enforcement of the rule for trains is left to the discretion of the conductors: drinking quickly is allowed; removing your mask to slowly eat a bag of potato chips is not.

These regulations are for foreign tourists only:

Proof of vaccination

• To be admitted to France, you must come with a certificate showing a completed Anti-Covid vaccination program for vaccines approved by the European Union: Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria/Covishield, and Johnson & Johnson. Or

• If you were vaccinated with a vaccine that obtained the label EUL (Emergency Use Listing) or from the WHO: Sinopharm (Beijing Institute of Biological Products BIBP) and Sinovac and you were completely vaccinated, you must also have a new dose of a RNAm vaccine (listed above). If you were not completely vaccinated, you must also have two doses of an RNAm vaccine.

• If your second vaccination was more than seven months before your arrival in France, you will need to also show proof of a third (booster) shot. The rule has been applied to anyone 65 years old or more since December 15 and will apply to everyone 18 years old or more as of January 15.

• If you are coming from a country outside the European Union, you must also present a certificate of negative test results from a RT-PCR or antigenic test done within the last 48 hours.

• If you are coming from a country within the European Union, you must also present a certificate of negative test results from a RT-PCR or antigenic test done within the last 24 hours.

• If you were vaccinated with a vaccine either partially or completely, such as Sputnik V, which has not been recognized by the European Medical Agency or the WHO, you must also have two doses of an RNAm vaccine.

• You can get a QR code for a European sanitary pass at some French pharmacies. You will need to present your passport, and the original paper version of your vaccination certificate. You can find the list of participating pharmacies at https://www.sante.fr/obtenir-un-passe-sanitaire-en-cas-de-vaccination-letranger. You will need to pay for the QR code: maximum price, 36 euros.

• You can get a temporary QR code from a negative result from a RT-PCR or antigenic test from the health professional who gave you the test. These are valid for 72 hours.

• You will have to pay for the test.

****** Please check the Government Official site to have the most updated information ******

The following new requirements affect French citizens and permanent residents as well as Tourists:

Sanitary Pass

• From January 17th on, people will be required to have the 3rd vaccination or even the booster shot in order to eat in a restaurant or enter any indoor space, this will be shown in the approved Sanitary Pass App or it can be printed.

• Starting January 15 you must have a complete program of vaccination to have a sanitary pass. PCR or antigenic tests will no longer be accepted as proof.

• You can have the booster shot in France.

*Starting December 15 all persons, 65 years or older and persons vaccinated with the Janssen vaccine must show proof of a booster vaccination in order to have a valid sanitary pass

Persons between 18 and 64 who had their last vaccine shot before June 17, must have a booster shot before January 15 in order for their sanitary pass to remain valid since by this date they will have passed the 5 month delay to be eligible for a booster shot and the 8 weeks to have actually had the shot.

These are the regulations at present, but the government is keeping a watchful eye on the increasing or decreasing number of cases. We will keep updating the blog every time new regulations are announced, but we encourage you to go to your country's French Embassy or Consulate website to verify the restrictions that apply to visitors from your country.

Stay tuned and stay safe.