OBSOLETE COVID THREAD Walking into Spain from France

[Cecile G]

Am travelling from Canada to walk the Camino Frances in August. I know I need a negative Covid test within 72 hours to arrive in France. Are there any restrictions walking into Spain from France? Thank you

 

[Kanga]

See this thread for some answers

 

[JabbaPapa]

You're supposed to have a negative test within 72 hours from France to Spain as well, though in practice the material need for one varies greatly. I crossed the border on foot between Cerbère and Portbou last week (71 hours 30 mins hooray), but there was nobody up there checking anyone or anything, just two guys clearing deadwood from a driveway. It's very likely to be similar on the Route Napoléon between SJPP and Roncesvalles, and I've heard a couple of reports that at normal road borders, they were checking cars but not those crossing on foot.

But if you want to be safe not sorry, the cheaper and quicker antigen test is accepted.

 

[Kathar1na]

Am travelling from Canada to walk the Camino Frances in August. I know I need a negative Covid test within 72 hours to arrive in France. Are there any restrictions walking into Spain from France? Thank you

It is the middle of June now and you ask about the requirements in August. Nobody can tell you that. Right now, it depends on whether you are vaccinated or not. If you are duly vaccinated, no test is required when walking from France into Spain and you must carry proof of your vaccination with you.

 

[Eddiebee]

You probably meant DUALLY vaccinated

I think duly is correct. That would be one shot of J&J or two shots of the others.

 

[Kathar1na]

I think duly is correct. That would be one shot of J&J or two shots of the others.

Yes.

@Devan - duly means: in accordance with what is required. In this case: according to the requirements set by Spain, i.e. the traveller has received the required number of shots (depends on the chosen vaccine) and the required time has passed since the last required shot.

 

[JabbaPapa]

It is the middle of June now and you ask about the requirements in August. Nobody can tell you that. Right now, it depends on whether you are vaccinated or not. If you are duly vaccinated, no test is required when walking from France into Spain and you must carry proof of your vaccination with you.

Well, Spain is currently piloting the somewhat misnomered "vaxx passport" that is set to be rolled out in the rest of the EU over the course of June to start of July, so that it is already known at least that as well as proof of vaccination, proof of having recovered within the past 6 months, or negative test PCR or antigen, plus the travel declaration will be accepted until September 30th at least.

This has been formally agreed at both the EU level and by the 27 Member States, so that it has become a technical matter of implementation.

Also, paper documents shall be accepted in lieu of the digital "passport".

And whilst exit requirements from Canada will be what they will, vaccination is NOT a requirement for entry into France (such a requirement would indeed be unconstitutional), but negative PCR tests also suffice ; and when France implements the EU "vaxx passport", then see above.

And you do NOT need proof of vaccination to travel from France to Spain !! But, ditto : Prof of Vaccination ; OR Proof of recovery from Covid19 within the past 6 months ; OR a negative PCR or antigen test.

I know that it's a novel situation that something is starting to be known about future entry requirements, and of course all of this is subject to future unknowns, but it is still true that the structure of the incoming EU entry requirements has been legally established.

 

[Kathar1na]

Let us keep it short and simple.

Travellers from Canada, who do not belong to any category of travellers who benefit from travel exemptions, currently (middle of June 2021):

• Non-vaccinated persons cannot travel from Canada to France for touristic/leisure purposes. Reason: Canada is on France's list of orange countries.
• Non-vaccinated persons cannot travel from Canada to Spain for touristic/leisure purposes. Reason: Canada is not on Spain's white list of countries.
• Vaccinated persons do not need a negative PCR or antigen test when walking from France to Spain.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Right, thanks Kathar1na, that clarifies things as they stand presently re: Canada to France. It is however certain at this point, once France implements the same EU "vaxx passport" that Spain already has, that travel possibilities will open up considerably from the developed Nations at least.

Future requirements are now known to a significant degree, which has never before been the case in this pandemic.

 

[JabbaPapa]

France has added Canada to its "green list" of countries from which non-essential travel is permitted, currently with either a negative test or certification of one of the approved vaccines. This will make things easier for Cecile.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Details about the vaxx digital travel certification procedures for the French (and French residents and etc.) have been made available :

French COVID-19 Vaccination Passports for Travel to Be Updated on June 23

People whose vaccination certificate has been issued by the French government need to get their document updated in order to be allowed to travel to the rest of the EU Member States in July, the authorities have announced. France’s COVID-19 vaccination and test certificates’ QR Code will be...

www.schengenvisainfo.com

One can now hope that recognition of third country certification can commence, now that the basic work on linking the French and EU certifications has been done.

 

[Kathar1na]

One can now hope that recognition of third country certification can commence, now that the basic work on linking the French and EU certifications has been done.

Do you have the TousAntiCovid app?

Out of curiosity, I downloaded the German CovPass app and the French TousAntiCovid app and tried this morning to scan my own EU DCC, issued by a different EU country, into the two apps. CovPass worked smoothly and displays my EU DCC certificate correctly. TousAntiCovid says:



So at the moment of writing, the TousAntiCovid app doesn't even recognise proper EU DCCs issued by an EU country other than France !!!

So, still as before: Unless you've been vaccinated in France, this is of no use to pilgrims walking from France to Spain. Keep your CDC cards on you, American pilgrims.

 

[Kathar1na]

And since I am a curious person who likes to try out things before commenting on them, I also downloaded the French TousAntiCovid Verif app that serves to verify QR codes. It turns out that this app is still only capable of checking the French 2D-DOC Test Covid certificates, ie only national codes and not yet the EU DCC codes. A reality check!!!

Whereas the CovPass Check app worked flawlessly: it recognised both of my EU DCCs, explained why my first EU DCC was not recognised as valid (incomplete vaccination) and recognised my second EU DCC as valid and told me to now check the identity of the owner, ie check passport or ID card to verify that full name and date of birth are identical on the digital certificate and on the ID.

Hence my plea: Let's wait until a forum member has actually managed to get hold of someone in France who managed to get their non-EU vaccination certificate data into the EU DCC system before advising people that this may work one day.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Unless you've been vaccinated in France

I did say it was as things stand, from the article, for French and residents (plus some exceptions such as cross-border workers, long-term visas, retired persons still in the system, etc). Don't want to get into the nitty-gritty of the French health system.

The point is it's been made technically compatible with the overall EU system, though it's only to be rolled out on the 23rd. And that this technical hurdle having been jumped, once the EU starts accepting 3rd country certifications, the French app should be able to cope with it, as those certifications will need to adhere to the common EU norms if they are to work here.

As for testing it, well, Windows Phone so no can do, plus I'm on the Camino anyway in Spain so couldn't do very much of anything French if I tried ...

 

[Kathar1na]

once the EU starts accepting 3rd country certifications

When or if that day comes, we will read it in the news. I promise to provide the number of the corresponding European Commission Implementing act that authorises it. For those who like to see official sources.

plus I'm on the Camino anyway in Spain so couldn't do very much of anything French if I tried

We've just had feedback from a pilgrim from Brussels who was already walking in Spain when the Belgium issued EU DCCs were made available a week ago. He downloaded his vaccination certificates there and then, see his posts #17 and #19 in the Vaccination certificate Irun thread.

My guess is that the majority of the over-50s among Camino pilgrims who are currently walking in Spain will now have had at least one jab if not yet the completed vaccination scheme.

PS: For those interested, percentages of vaccinated adults by EU country and by age group are on the ecdc.europa.eu website.

 

[Kathar1na]

Details about the vaxx digital travel certification procedures for the French (and French residents and etc.) have been made available :
https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/ne...assports-for-travel-to-be-updated-on-june-23/

I've recommended Schengenvisainfo.com as a good news aggregator recently. But that is just news. Always best to double check. Another recommendation is Connexionfrance.com - News about France for English-speaking expats in France; they are often on the ball as they are actually in France. And they confirm my doubts about speed of techno-administrative progress, quote of today, 23rd:

The French government and Ameli both state that the certificates will be updated from June 23 with EU-compatible QR codes but The Connexion has not yet been able to confirm that this is happening.​

Ameli is the French sickness insurance system.

Maybe it will happen tonight at 23:59 ...

 

[Kathar1na]

Maybe it will happen tonight at 23:59 ...

Still nothing ... France is not yet issuing a certificates in EU Digital Covid format to residents, let alone to foreign visitors, and France is still one of now only a handful of EU countries that are still on the status "Ready to connect to the EU DCC gateway" instead of the status that most other countries have achieved: "Already connected to the gateway and issuing and/or verifying DCCs".

 

[Kathar1na]

The discrepancy of what you can read on the internet or what politicians announce with much confidence and even more vagueness versus reality: At the time of writing and confirming my experience, you cannot even add an EU DCC when it is not issued by and in France !!! At least they appear to be now finally issuing certificates in EU format ... although I have not yet managed to see an actual printout of a French DCC in EU format, only fantasy mockups of one sort or another.



PS: A question posted only yesterday on the ameli.fr forum, asking where the EU format is because "one can read everywhere that it is available" but it cannot to be found on the main official website where it can be downloaded:

Bonjour, je voudrai télécharger mon attestation de vaccination AntiCovid au format européen et je ne la trouve pas je tombe toujours sur l'ancienne version. Pourtant de ce que j'ai pu lire partout à partir du 23/06 on devrait pouvoir télécharger la version européenne (Français ou Anglais) pour être conforme au pass sanitaire. Qu'en est-il?​

 

[Kathar1na]

Finally! The version of the EU DCC as issued by France has arrived. Below is a screenshot of what it looks like. Unlike versions of the EU DCC of other countries that I have seen so far, it has two different QR codes ...

 

[JabbaPapa]

The French absolutely love to make their software as complicated and difficult as possible. I know this from the inside, as I used to work in software development in the country.

 

[LesBrass]

We printed off our EU vaccine form today (like the one above) and scanned it right into the Tous AntiCovid app... worked first time so I guess we now have our EU / French vaccine passports.

I have to say I wasn’t expecting it to all happen so easily but... on 4 June we collected our youngest from the airport in Bordeaux ( he just finished uni in the U.K.)... he had 7 days quarantine... on day 8 he had a free PCR test with a negative result emailed 5 hours later... day 9 he had his first Pfizer jab... day 11 his interview for his Carte de Sejour ( post brexit residency) and his second vaccine is on 7 July... He’s very happy and we’ll test our vaccine passports in July on the Aragones

my husband says that the two QR codes are for folks who use the paper version... one QR code is for the smartphone app... one is for international customs to scan if folks aren’t using a smart phone.

 

[Calgary]

Am travelling from Canada to walk the Camino Frances in August. I know I need a negative Covid test within 72 hours to arrive in France. Are there any restrictions walking into Spain from France? Thank you

Hi Cecile....I live in Calgary and am leaving on Monday (Aug 16) for the Camino. I don't know if you're vaccinated or not, but if you are, according to the info in the following link re landing in France), you only need to show your proof of vacc and fill out a Health Declaration form which can be downloaded online. I too will be walking from SJPP into Spain and don't plan to take any additional steps. Fingers crossed!!
Buen Camino. It's my 1st one, so I'm excited but due to COVID, am staying in hotels!! Perhaps our trails will cross at some point!
Leanne

COVID-19: Can I enter France?

As we enter a new phase of the pandemic, the health check system at borders has been lifted.

ca.ambafrance.org

 

[Kathar1na]

A lot of information in this thread is already out of date.

 

[JabbaPapa]

A lot of information in this thread is already out of date.

Indeed.

Though on the related question of a quick crossing of the land border by taxi, bus, bike, on foot, from Spain to France to start at SJPP, I read something in the press that I was able to verify first hand, which is that the French border control where it exists is focused on the prevention of illegal immigration from Africa, so that if you don't look African they just wave you through.

This does mean that pilgrims of North African or black African ethnicity may need to be more careful with their documentation than others may need to be.

The border police won't be racist as such, and pilgrims with their documentation will be treated with courtesy and respect, but on that particular border and in these particular circumstances, some pilgrims will need to be more exacting with their documentation than others.

 

[peregrina2000]

I am going to close this thread. Too much out of date information.