Travelling to France via Green Country

A snowHead

We all know about the UK restrictions entering France which make it almost impossible to ski.

BUT

Can you fly to a different country and then enter France?

Green countries such as Italy could be an option - fly to Turin (Torino) and then enter France that way without restrictions. The Independent seems to think this is acceptable (See link):

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/france-travel-rules-uk-ban-update-b1977234.html

The French don't require a Passenger Locator Form, instead, you fill out a Sworn Statement which only asks for your original destination and does not ask for countries you visited prior.

The official websites in France have no guidance about this at all and it seems like a big loophole.

Thoughts...?

A snowHead

My understanding is that the rules apply for travel from the UK if you have been there within the previous 14 days. You are probably unlikely to get stopped, but if you are the stamp in a UK passport would give away your lie, and I suspect the French authorities might take a dim view of that.

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Bez if you're asking CAN you cheat the system, then yes probably.

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@bezthespaniard, Interesting question.

I must admit that I had been mulling over something similar, i.e. a cheap package holiday to Courmayeur for a week (using my annual Chamonix Unlimited pass for the lifts), then under the tunnel to commence my season in Chamonix. Fly home to the UK when the France/UK border reopens again to drive back with the rest of my stuff.

I certainly don't want to act unlawfully by accident or design, however if there is a legitimate way to do it I may give it a go. A week just in Courmayeur would feel like a long time however....

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

To be certain of not getting rumbled, you'd need to get a PCR test in Italy before crossing the French border, the UK cert may raise some eyebrows.........

After all it is free

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@bezthespaniard,
If you've flown to Italy why on earth would you then want to go to France Puzzled

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My advice would be to try skiing in Italy, you might get cured.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@bezthespaniard, I posted this is France Restrictions after taking my OH to Turin airport, last Saturday.

So if one is willing to gamble and does not care about the rules except for rule number 5 Laughing

Here are two ways to get into France.

Fly to Turin, rent a car and drive over the border at Montgenevre looking so Italian.

Or if you don't think you can manage that, get collected at Turin by a mate, at Claviere get into your ski togs and skis your mate brought with him, buy a Via Lattea lift pass and ski over to Montgenevre and then meet your mate in France.

Today I travelled back and forth over the border to from Turin and could see that was all possible Toofy Grin

I surmise that some of the above might well be happening with "residents" here expecting friends to arrive for Xmas / New Year.

My OH has moved her flight back to Lyon on the 29th rather than risk Italy going introducing restrictions, but she does have French residency.

A snowHead

Just came back from a trip to Meribel. I am French so different rules might apply if you have a British passport but here's what happened:
Last Friday I landed in Turin. To board the flight I needed a negative LFT test, proof of vaccination and the Italian passenger locator form.
In Turin, to clear customs, I was asked to show the QR code from the Italian passenger locator form and nothing else.
I then collected my rental car and drove to the resort via the Frejus tunnel. Arrived at the tunnel at around 21:00. At the tunnel, seeing my car's Italian number plates, the custom officer just waved me through without asking for anything (the car in front of me had Romanian number plates and they checked their passport.)
Once in resort, I was never asked for my Covid pass on the piste but all restaurants asked for it.
On the way back (last Monday) there was no custom officers at the Frejus tunnel on the French side so nobody asked me for anything. To board the flight I was asked to show my negative LFT test result (the test to come back to the UK) and show proof of vaccination. BA had already verified the UK passenger locator form, etc. (you can now upload them also for the return leg)
At Heathrow, I went through the e-gates as usual, no drama.

I suspect that travel via Italy is the easiest route for UK passport holders unless they start introducing travel restrictions. If you have an EU passport this should allow you to bypass the ban and requirement to quarantine. I suspect the same applies when landing in Geneva.

A snowHead

@bezthespaniard, What has happened to your plan to enter through Ireland (on green list)??

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@bezthespaniard, Roger...

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Spoke to French Consulate in London and British consulate in Paris.

Both agree that entry via green country is allowed. Italy mentioned as ok to enter via.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

Rules changed at midnight tonight.

No entry from green country if you were in U.K. within 14 days:

Passengers wishing to travel to France must present this certificate to transport companies before boarding and to border control authorities. It applies to travellers arriving by a direct flight or after a transit of less than 14 days in another country. Failure to do so shall result in the passenger being denied boarding or access to the territory.

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@bezthespaniard, those rules have been in effect for ages, or at least, effectively, "declaration d'honneur" (like the Swiss one) required listing of any non-green countries visited.

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@HammondR, drove the tunnel both ways yesterday for some skiing in Courmayeur. Zero checks and zero drama. We were in a 74 plate car though, and all carrying docs that showed we either had French residency (proximity to tunnel) or at least had been in France for over 14days, just in case.

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As on another topic, there is nothing in the Green country travel rules about previous locations/countries.
If anyone rings a Consulate again, there could be a possibility of a change Eh oh!

You know it makes sense.

@midgetbiker, do the trans-frontalier rules apply if you aren't actually full time residents? (Haven't bothered to look recently). I know that at some point recentlyy the Swiss were just making it easy by including all permanent residents of the Auverge-Rhone-Alpes region !

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

@albob, You are spot on. It would be interesting challenging a FR official on the semantics and claim "I never read/knew about the UK info pages, only the Green country info".

A snowHead

@under a new name, no, tbh I don’t think they do, but as there is no stated need to carry your CdS through the tunnel we were just assuming if stopped we could blag it with the two in the front being resident and those in the back having random docs (eg EDF attestation titulaire) that ‘suggested’ they were resident.

A friend who is Italian told us once we were back that the 60km rule was actually for Italians returning to Italy from border regions, and that the reciprocity was actually only ‘in practice’ not in law. So all (like much else) very murky.

My report though was our experience, and not intended as stating what is ‘correct’.

Lunch was very nice though, it has to be said.

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The UK NHS QR code is at least accepted in France where QR codes are widely scanned.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@jayroc2k, It's only since 28th October that the NHS QR code became scannable across the EU, and in reality probably a little later as verification apps across the EU will have had to be updated.

However, by now the NHS QR code should be accepted everywhere as equivalent to the EU countries' codes.

The French app was recognising NHS QR codes before this date, but that was a separate negotiated agreement between UK and France.

After all it is free

@bezthespaniard,
I was wondering when you spoke with the French Consulate re entry to France via a Green Country . I have trawled the internet & can find no guidance on this at all.

Help!!

Travelling to France via Green Country

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