France’s Pass Sanitaire restrictions

Author: Louise Pieterse

Last update: January 11th, 2022.

The French COVID pass, Pass Sanitaire, launched on June 9th as the country reopened its borders for the summer and the government has announced the pass will still be effective well into 2022.

President Emmanuel Macron has proposed that COVID passes be used locally until the end of July 2022 but has faced some backlash over the changes.

The Passe Sanitaire has a number of local and travel uses and now also extends to children between the ages of 12 and 17 to enter various recreational facilities and establishments.

Passe Sanitaire, the French COVID Pass

The Passe Sanitaire function in the TousAntiCovid app contact tracing app enables users to add their COVID-19 test results and vaccination status for verification purposes.

Five vaccines are accepted in France: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Covishield. Over 74% of France’s population is fully vaccinated as of mid-January.

Once an individual has been vaccinated, they will receive a certificate with a QR code. That QR code can be presented with the TousAntiCovid app by the user to access restricted areas.

France’s COVID pass regulations

France has seen a rise in cases due to the spread of Omicron, leading the government to once again tighten COVID restrictions.

France recently moved up the date for booster shots to 4 months after the last jab. From January 15th, all adults will need a booster shot for the Pass Sanitaire to remain valid. Until February 15th, the delay between the last jab and the booster jab can be extended up to 7 months.

By mid-January, France will see new regulations targeting unvaccinated people and restricting their access to most social activities.

“I’m not going to throw [the unvaccinated] in prison. I’m not going to get them vaccinated by force. […] We put pressure on the unvaccinated by limiting their access to social activities as much as possible,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.

Previously, unvaccinated people could present negative COVID tests or recovery certificates to access restricted spaces, but a new bill has been passed revoking those privileges.

Since January 3rd, the rules have also been adjusted for gatherings. For indoor events, no more than 2,000 people can be together and for outdoor events, no more than 5,000.

Work from home orders have also been reinstated. Workers must do so for at least 3 days per week, more if possible.

People may not consume food on public transport and restaurants cannot serve food to patrons who are standing.

In Paris, it is once more mandatory to wear face coverings in the outdoors if you are over the age of 11.

The Passe Sanitaire in the workplace

The Passe Sanitaire has been mandated for the workplace, in places that already require the pass for customers. Since August 30th, French citizens are required to present a valid Passe Sanitaire for work in the following places:

These regulations do not apply to personnel making deliveries or involved in emergency responses such as repairs or rescue.

Failure to comply with these regulations should not result in dismissal. However, non-complying employees can be suspended until a means of regularising their situation is agreed upon with the employer.

France’s Pass Sanitaire for tourists

French establishments are open to all holders of the EUDCC, which can be presented digitally or in paper format.

The EUDCC for non-EU citizens is available in over 25 countries worldwide.

France also accepts the NHS COVID Pass for travelers from England and Wales.

To enter France, those traveling from outside of the EU must register at www.demarches-simplifiees.fr with a PDF copy of their vaccination certificate as well as copies of flight tickets and passports.

For local use, tourists will need to convert their local proof of vaccination to the French format at a designated pharmacy for a fee of 36 euros.

The issuing of the Pass Sanitaire in France for tourists usually takes 3 days, but there have been reports of wait times as long as 25 days.

An issue arising with the Pass Sanitaire for Americans and Britons is that there are inconsistencies with the maiden names of married women. The Ameli database uses maiden names but British and American passports show a woman’s married name. This has caused various issues for vaccinated travelers.

French Passe Sanitaire vs. EU Digital COVID Certificate

The EU Digital COVID Certificate is a system launched on June 1st in parts of the European Union. On July 1st, it became available in all of the European Economic Area (EEA).

Just like the French app TousAntiCovid, this certificate proves that its holder has been vaccinated, recently recovered, or recently received a negative COVID test result.

TousAntiCovid is linked to the central EU system, known as the EU Gateway, to streamline travel across borders. It can also help prevent the prevalence of false vaccination records.

Who can travel to France during COVID-19?

To limit the spread of the Omicron variant, the French government banned non-essential travel from the UK on December 20th.

British travelers, even with an NHS COVID Pass, need a justified essential reason to enter France. Those who do enter France need a 24h-old PCR test to do so and are required to quarantine upon arrival.

Business travel from the UK, and transiting through France to return home to the UK, were added to the list of essential reasons for travel to France for UK citizens on January 6th.

Vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers are allowed from green-list countries. This includes the following regions:

Unvaccinated people from these regions must show proof of recovery or a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours. Vaccinated amber list passengers can also enter France without restrictions but unvaccinated travelers can only travel with strong reason, not for tourism.

The USA has moved to the red list and unvaccinated travelers from the USA must enter mandatory 10 days of self-isolation.

The red-list to enter France includes the following countries:

Travelers from red-list countries can enter with proof of vaccination but need to enter a 10-day quarantine if they are not vaccinated. Unvaccinated persons can only enter France for emergency reasons from a red-list country.

France reopening for post-pandemic tourism

Before the pandemic, France was the world’s most visited tourist destination with nearly 90 million tourists arriving annually.

France’s GDP took a nosedive in 2021 with estimations of over €100 billion in losses.

French borders reopened to vaccinated visitors on June 9th, in an effort to jumpstart their tourism industry once more.

Regarding countries where concerning COVID variants are spreading, Macron said that they are keeping a close watch: “We will be able to pull an emergency brake in territories where the virus is too present.”

The CDC has put France on its ‘Level 4: very high’ risk assessment alongside many other European nations including Germany, Spain, and Greece.

Is it safe to travel to France now? COVID-19 situation

France is the country with the 5th highest number of total infections in the world and in their 5th wave, they are recording numbers almost 5 times higher than the previous peak.

France is approaching the 75% vaccinated rate with more than 128 million doses already administered.