COVID-19 Travel to France

The impact of COVID-19 travel to France continues to evolve.  It is confusing to figure out testing requirements, safety of travel, and if things are open.  Here is how our trip to France has been impacted by COVID-19, arriving from the USA in late August 2021 without a digital EU health pass:

1. COVID-19 Testing Requirement.  France did not require testing for vaccinated Americans as of late August 2021.  Children that travel with vaccinated adults are excused from both testing and vaccine requirements.
2. France Passport Control.  Our airlines processed our passports and vaccination information before the flight, and then provided a single-page passenger locator form to fill out on the plane.  It seemed that these were supposed to be collected by the French passport control.  However, upon arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport, there was no further COVID-19 screening at all.  We offered the forms and CDC vaccination cards, but for our experience, neither was necessary.  It took 15 minutes total to get from the plane to the other side of customs.  Also note that our flight through French Bee required passengers to wear a surgical mask or N-95 vs a reusable one, so carefully check your airline’s guidelines.
3. EU Digital Health Pass vs. TousAntiCOVID vs. Pass Sanitare vs. CDC Vaccination cards.
   • This has been a major point of confusion for prospective visitors.  Can tourists go into restaurants, grocery stores, and tourist sites without a scannable QR code? 
   • The rules in France require a Pass Sanitare (“health pass”) for entry into many places.  Don’t come to France if you don’t qualify for this, but how can you know? 

Explanation for COVID-19 Travel to France

• • There was significant initial confusion because French/EU citizens all had digital ability to verify vaccination, negative testing, or COVID-19 recovery.  This digital verification included a QR code, which provided the proof to qualify for the health pass.  Restaurants, transportation, and event venues could scan the QR code to ensure adherence to French guidelines.  Remember this: “pass sanitare” = “health pass”.
  • The French/EU digital health pass can link into the French TousAntiCOVID app.  This app is used to store your QR code, for contact tracing, and to provide helpful information regarding COVID-19 statistics.  During a full week traveling throughout France, it was never required for us to use this app.  Keep reading for recommendations towards future travel.
  • The big question that all Americans seem to have: is France accessible without a digital health pass?  YES!  Our paper CDC vaccination cards were universally accepted in lieu of a digital pass because remember that “pass sanitare” = “health pass”.  We visited sites in Normandy, climbed the Eiffel Tower, shopped, visited Versailles and Disneyland Paris, and rode public transportation with no issues.  We kept our CDC cards with us and did show them often.  Many larger destinations, including Disneyland Paris, have updated written policies to include paper verification of vaccination status as acceptable.
  • We would NOT recommend attempting to travel to France without a CDC vaccination card.  Yes, the health pass should technically be approved based upon negative testing or certification of COVID-19 recovery, but that would carry a lot of unnecesary risk and hassle based upon our experiences.

Getting an EU Digital Health Pass for COVID-19 travel to France

• We plan to continue travel throughout the EU, so while we did not need this for a single week in France, we did follow the process to have our CDC vaccination information loaded into digital format.  This is absolutely possible for an American to obtain, but with no guarantee for speed.  Jon’s came through in 2-3 days, Ashley’s still hadn’t been processed a week later.
  
  • Use the France Diplomacy website here
  • These policies are going to continue to change, and it appears that children 12-17 will require a health pass starting in October.

We hope this information is helpful for you to determine plans for travel to Paris during COVID-19.  Make sure you also check out our other blog posts about Paris: our top recommendations with kids, the cheapest way to get around, and ways to save money in Paris.  The entire process has been amazing for our family with minimal to no negative impact.  If you are not vaccinated or won’t wear masks, don’t travel to France.  If you are vaccinated and want to enjoy an amazing country (some mask-wearing required), hop on a plane!  The weather at the end of August 2021 going into October has been phenomenal, and if you can remain flexible (our family motto) as things change, now is a great time to visit France!  

*All of this information is subject to rapid change.  The intent of this post is to describe our experience and not to prescribe travel arrangements.

If you have questions for traveling to France during COVID-19, let us know!