I'm an American citizen and will be visiting London. After the mandatory quarantine, will I be able to travel to France via Eurostar? Are there passport checks in Paris and could I be denied entry?
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2 Answers
Eurostar is running and definitely open without restrictions to British residents. The UK is outside the Schengen area and the French border police checks passports in London before boarding the train so you cannot hope to fly under the radar and you could very easily be denied entry.
The most important question is whether having spent a mandatory quarantine in the UK is enough to ensure that you are considered as “coming from“ the UK rather than the US. Current rules do not forbid entry based on citizenship or residence and only target people “coming from“ certain countries but do not further define what that means.
I note that there is also a separate measure mandating tests for people coming from the US by air and a test and some other restrictions for people who have stayed in a high-prevalence area in the past month. This would seem to suggest that it is indeed possible to enter France, even if you come from the US (possibly with a travel certificate justifying the purpose of your trip) but that a quarantine might not necessarily exempt you from all restrictions.
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1" Current rules do not make distinctions by citizenship or residence and only restrict entry for people “coming from“ certain countries" Per TIMATIC, EU/EFTA/UK/microstate citizens or residents can always enter France, otherwise one must arrive from one of those countries or Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, New-Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea Thailand, Tunisia or Uruguay– CrazydreCommented Jul 29, 2020 at 22:39
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@Crazydre Good point, I will try to find a better way to put it.– RelaxedCommented Jul 30, 2020 at 5:06
When arriving from the UK, there are no restrictions on entry to France. Passport control is done at the St Pancras station in London, but you won't be refused entry on COVID-19 related grounds unless exhibiting symptoms yourself.
You do, however, need to fill out and print the second page of this form (LINK)
answered Jul 29, 2020 at 22:45
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I would consider having a test, being ready to isolate and take one or quarantine a restriction. On the other hand, some of these rules seem to target specifically air transport.– RelaxedCommented Jul 30, 2020 at 5:08
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I also have some doubt the form is actually required. It certainly wasn't on Thalys back in early June (granted, this is a trip between two Schengen country but at the time the rules were much stricter and even covered travel within the Schengen area).– RelaxedCommented Jul 30, 2020 at 5:14
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@Relaxed OP's arriving from the UK, not US (the suggested ambiguity doesn't exist). Self-isolation is only recommended in France, not required, and the test only required if arriving from certain countries, not including EU/Schengen/UK. And I just spoke to the DCPAF via e-mail; the form is required at the external border, though not the first page if arriving from Bulgaria/Croatia/Cyprus/Ireland/Romania/UK– CrazydreCommented Jul 30, 2020 at 11:48
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That's not what diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/conseils-aux-voyageurs/… suggests. For example, the authorities do have the power to mandate tests one month after a stay in risk areas, meanwhile the form is only required (according to the ministry) for air transport, not entry per se. That the DCPAF would suggest otherwise does nothing to clarify the matter but only underline how much ambiguity there is in all this.– RelaxedCommented Jul 30, 2020 at 13:06
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1Clearly I cannot imagine that “en provenance“ (let's not overinterpret a translation) doesn't cover someone who merely transited in the UK. So where is the threshold? Only one day sounds like a loophole, a 10 or 14-day quarantine seems like a reasonable threshold but it is not clarified anywhere and, for other closely related purposes, the relevant threshold in one month. So I am not sure how you manage to convince yourself the rules are clear and unambiguous.– RelaxedCommented Jul 30, 2020 at 13:11