Communiqué - Relaxing of conditions for entering and leaving French territory for travel outside the European area (11 March 2021)

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Five weeks after the introduction of a requirement for compelling reasons to travel outside the European area, these rules have been amended to take account of international developments in the epidemic and add a number of emergency situations which constitute compelling reasons.

In a decree to be published on Friday 12 March, it will no longer be necessary to have a compelling reason to travel to or from Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea or the United Kingdom due to the very wide dissemination of the British variant in France and the specific health situation in those countries.

For travel to and from those countries, other restrictions on movement remain in force: among other things, it is of course still necessary to present a negative PCR test result less than 72 hours before departure. You are particularly advised to check the travel advice website and strongly advised to limit international travel as much as possible.

Secondly, the list of compelling, personal reasons has been extended to include all family relationships and add new situations linked to family separation for:

  • married couples and couples in civil partnerships (PACS), where one member lives abroad for professional reasons;
  • minors attending school in France whose family home is abroad;
  • separated couples with children, one of the couple living in France and the other abroad.

Students taking competitive examinations are also added to the list, as are those returning to their main residence when it is in France. Templates for the exceptional international travel declarations will be updated accordingly.