Reader question: Can unvaccinated second-home owners travel to France?
France is lifting the majority of its Covid-related rules, but there are still restrictions in place that apply to second-home owners.
Question: We own a property in France and we're not vaccinated - are we still barred from visiting? If so, do you know when this is likely to change?
Although many health restrictions have been lifted - and the vaccine pass and mask rules were lifted on Monday, March 14th - France is still operating its traffic light system for travel.
This means that whether you are allowed to enter the country or not depends on two things - where you are travelling from and whether you are fully vaccinated, according to the French government definition.
READ ALSO How France's traffic light travel system works
If you're travelling from a green list country you can travel for any reason, whether you are vaccinated or not, although non-vaccinated people need to present a negative Covid test at the border.
However if you are travelling from an orange list country things are more strict.
The whole of the EU, the USA, Canada and - since March 31st - the UK. Australia is on the orange list.
MAP Which countries are on France's green list?
Fully vaccinated travellers from orange list countries can come to France for any reason and do not need to show a Covid test.
However for people not fully vaccinated, things are more difficult. Non-vaccinated travellers can only come to France if they fit the 'essential reasons' criteria.
These criteria are strictly defined and do not include tourism, family visits or visits to second homes - as we saw during earlier border closures, simply owning property in France does not give you any extra rights over entry.
French citizens and permanent residents are allowed to enter without being fully vaccinated (proof of residency may be needed at the border), along with students starting the new academic year and people travelling for essential work reasons - find the full list of reasons HERE.
Readers have reported varying levels of checks at the border, but checks do happen and you can be denied entry and sent back if you do not have the correct paperwork, as this reader found out.
France does not have regular review dates of its traffic light travel list, the system is under constant review but over the last few weeks more than 50 countries have been added to the green list.
As soon as this changes, we will update our Travelling to France section, and you can also follow @TheLocalTravel on Twitter for the latest updates.
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Question: We own a property in France and we're not vaccinated - are we still barred from visiting? If so, do you know when this is likely to change?
Although many health restrictions have been lifted - and the vaccine pass and mask rules were lifted on Monday, March 14th - France is still operating its traffic light system for travel.
This means that whether you are allowed to enter the country or not depends on two things - where you are travelling from and whether you are fully vaccinated, according to the French government definition.
READ ALSO How France's traffic light travel system works
If you're travelling from a green list country you can travel for any reason, whether you are vaccinated or not, although non-vaccinated people need to present a negative Covid test at the border.
However if you are travelling from an orange list country things are more strict.
The whole of the EU, the USA, Canada and - since March 31st - the UK. Australia is on the orange list.
MAP Which countries are on France's green list?
Fully vaccinated travellers from orange list countries can come to France for any reason and do not need to show a Covid test.
However for people not fully vaccinated, things are more difficult. Non-vaccinated travellers can only come to France if they fit the 'essential reasons' criteria.
These criteria are strictly defined and do not include tourism, family visits or visits to second homes - as we saw during earlier border closures, simply owning property in France does not give you any extra rights over entry.
French citizens and permanent residents are allowed to enter without being fully vaccinated (proof of residency may be needed at the border), along with students starting the new academic year and people travelling for essential work reasons - find the full list of reasons HERE.
Readers have reported varying levels of checks at the border, but checks do happen and you can be denied entry and sent back if you do not have the correct paperwork, as this reader found out.
France does not have regular review dates of its traffic light travel list, the system is under constant review but over the last few weeks more than 50 countries have been added to the green list.
As soon as this changes, we will update our Travelling to France section, and you can also follow @TheLocalTravel on Twitter for the latest updates.
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