France lifts travel ban for Channel Islands travellers

Thursday 13 January 2022

Fully-vaccinated travellers from the Channel Islands who have received a negative covid test will once again be able to travel to France tomorrow after entry restrictions were lifted.

On 18 December, France banned all non-essential journeys from Britain into the country in response to concerns about the omicron variant of covid.

Travellers needed an “essential reason” to be coming from the UK or Crown Dependencies – whether vaccinated or not – with tourism or business travel not seen as valid reasons to enter the country.

On 6 January, travel for business was once again allowed as well as transit to go back to a main residency in the EU.  

Anyone entering France also needed a negative PCR or antigen test from the past 24 hours, and will have to isolate upon arrival at a registered address for seven days – or 48 hours if they can show a negative test.

⚠️ #frontières | Nous assouplissons les conditions d’entrée en ???????? depuis le ???????? pour les voyageurs vaccinés.
➡️fin des motifs impérieux et de l’isolement à l’arrivée
➡️un test négatif Le décret sera publié demain matin, avec entrée en vigueur immédiate pic.twitter.com/cthQc0D6qP

— Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (@JBLemoyne) January 13, 2022

The Minister Delegate for Tourism, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, announced in a tweet today that the restrictions would be lifted from tomorrow (Friday 14 January) morning.

“We are easing the entry conditions in France from the UK for vaccinated travellers,” he wrote.

He added that essential reasons and isolation will no longer be required. However travellers will still need to show proof of a negative test before their departure.

Earlier this week, Gabriel Attal, the French Government spokesperson, had already hinted at the move during his weekly press conference at the end of a Council of Ministers meeting.