New ‘amber plus’ status for France with mandatory home quarantine for arrivals – what does it mean?

Even driving nonstop through France from Belgium or Germany will trigger the requirement to self-isolate

Travellers from France who are fully vaccinated by the NHS were expecting the need to quarantine to end at 4am on 19 July – in line with the relaxation of international travel rules that day.

Instead, self-isolation will continue to be mandatory for arrivals from France, and costs for travellers will increase with an extra PCR test required on day eight of quarantine.

These are the key questions and answers.

A reminder of the ‘traffic light’ system?

Arrivals from high-risk countries on the “red list” must go into 11 nights of hotel quarantine at their expense. Nations include India, the UAE, Turkey, South Africa and every country in South America.

From “amber list” locations – which include the vast majority of popular holiday destinations, including France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, mainland Spain and the US – the requirement is 10 days of self-isolation.

Quarantine-free admission to the UK is allowed only from a handful of “green list” locations, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Gibraltar, Iceland, Malta and Madeira.

When the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, announced the system on 12 May, he said: “While the number of countries on the green list is initially low, I anticipate it will grow over time as the situation improves globally.”

Instead, a new category, “green watchlist,” was introduced between green and amber. And now “amber plus” has been created for a single country: France.

The system now goes, from best to worst: green, green watchlist, amber, amber plus, red.

What had travellers to France been expecting?

On 8 July the UK government announced that people who had been fully vaccinated by the NHS would no longer need to quarantine when returning from “amber list” countries. A large majority of popular nations are in this category, including France, Spain, Italy, Greece and the United States.

The idea was that from “Freedom Day,” 19 July, anyone who had been immunised would be regarded as low risk and able to avoid quarantine – along with under-18s, who have generally not been vaccinated.

Such a policy is common around Europe and the world. Arrivals from France, as well as Italy, Spain and Greece, were all set to benefit. Bookings to many amber list destinations soared as the prospect for quarantine-free holidays loomed for tens of millions of fully jabbed travellers and their children.

What has happened now?

Less than 60 hours before international travel is due to become easier for vaccinated British travellers, the government announced France is to be left out of the scheme.

Fears about the “beta variant” of coronavirus have led ministers to create a new category for incoming travellers: effectively, “amber plus”.

Unlike the regular amber list, from 4am on Monday arrivals from France must quarantine in their own accommodation for 10 days and complete two PCR tests, regardless of vaccination status.

France is second only to Spain in terms of British visits, and is home to hundreds of thousands of UK expatriates and property owners. Hundreds of thousands of travellers who were banking on quarantine-free travel back from France have had their hopes dashed.

Why wasn’t France put on the red list?

That was an alternative considered by ministers, requiring hotel quarantine from all arrivals. But it is believed the “managed quarantine” system would not have been able to cope with the numbers of arriving travellers.

Will there be an almighty rush home?

No, because effectively for travellers from France, the rules simply stay as they are – there is no deadline to beat.

Anyone travelling over the weekend from France to a neighbouring country such as Belgium, Italy or Spain will not benefit. The test is: have you been in France in the past 10 days? If so, then you must self-isolate for 10 days – though travellers arriving in England can pay for an extra test on day five and leave quarantine if it proves negative.

Is there any way to avoid quarantine?

You could travel from France to a lower-risk country such as Spain and spend 10 days there to “launder” your French visit.

I have a holiday booked in France. What are my rights?

Many people made late bookings for summer holidays in France because it appeared to be a safe, quarantine-free location for vaccinated British travellers.

Legally, travel firms can say they are able still to offer the holiday as booked; the fact that travellers must self-isolate is not their problem.

In practice, airlines, ferry firms and tour operators are likely to offer flexibility with the chance to postpone the trip, but will stop short of giving full refunds.

What about travel insurance?

The Foreign Office does not warn against travel to France, which means standard travel insurance policies will still be valid. But it is most unlikely that insurers will pay out for the additional costs involved – from extra tests to lost wages.

Can I avoid quarantine if I travel through France without stopping?

Motorists passing through France in transit to the UK from Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany or anywhere else will be regarded as arriving from France, and be subject to self-isolation when they reach Britain.

Eurostar rail passengers from Brussels, Rotterdam and Amsterdam to London St Pancras International will be unaffected. The train passes through France without stopping.

Changing planes at Paris?

Many travellers have booked trips on Air France via Paris CDG. But spending any time at all at Charles de Gaulle airport on your way back will consign you to quarantine. It may be possible to re-route via Amsterdam on Air France’s sister company, KLM.

What if I still want to go to France?

The good news is that, starting on 18 July, British visitors who have been fully vaccinated need not test before departure to France.

The French Embassy in London said: “if you have not been vaccinated you must present a negative PCR or antigen test less than 24 hours old to travel to French territory from the UK.

“If you have been fully vaccinated you will therefore no longer have to present a test in order to enter French territory.”

Vaccines are now deemed to have become effective just a week after the second dose – and there is also an allowance for people who have had a previous infection and one dose.

To allay concerns that some have expressed about versions of the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in India, known as Covashield, the French Embassy said: “France recognises the AZ-Covishield vaccine, so it is possible to travel to France with this type of vaccine if you have been fully vaccinated.”

Will other countries join the amber-plus category?

Almost certainly. The government is probably wishing it had thought of the “medium-high-risk” classification earlier, since it allows mandatory self-isolation to continue without obliging all arrivals to go into expensive and arduous hotel quarantine, but while limiting the risk to public health in the UK.

The data analyst Tim White said it had been “a huge mistake not to have a category between amber and red, or make it clear ‘old amber’ would stay for some”.

He said: “Luxembourg is finding the ‘Brazilian’ variant (gamma) is becoming dominant. We await new data from Luxembourg’s neighbours, Belgium and Germany. Both countries are seeing rising infections now, a little later than most of their neighbours and from a low base.

“Sequencing data won’t be available for at least another week from current infections. But I would not be surprised if the government’s advisory committee is looking closely at the situation there.

“The Netherlands shares borders with Belgium and Germany. It’s had some of the strongest Covid-19 growth we’ve ever seen. The Dutch infection rate is now more or less level with the UK’s and still rising.

“I’ve seen no evidence that Spain or Greece are affected by new or dangerous variants. But the sometimes random way this government has acted regarding travel, does not inspire me with confidence.”

It is also possible that some of the 60 countries on the red list could be moved to the less-onerous amber plus category.

What does the travel industry think?

There is universal fury at the move. “This will ruin summer for many people,” said John Keefe of Eurotunnel, which runs the Shuttle operation for cars between Folkestone and Calais.

“It is disappointing that the government has cancelled the option of quarantine-free travel for double-vaccinated parents and their families so close to the school holidays and so soon after they had confirmed that travel to France was safe.”

Willie Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association (Iata), said: “The UK has no coherent policy on international travel. The government is flip-flopping and making life impossible for people who are desperate to see friends and family.

“They promised freedom on the back of a successful vaccine programme and now pull the rug out from people at the eleventh hour.

“The UK is entrenching itself as an outlier in its confused approach to travel. This, in turn, is destroying its own travel sector and the thousands of jobs that rely on it.”

How does the government respond?

The health secretary, Sajid Javid, said: “We have always been clear that we will not hesitate to take rapid action at our borders to stop the spread of Covid-19 and protect the gains made by our successful vaccination programme.

“With restrictions lifting on Monday across the country, we will do everything we can to ensure international travel is conducted as safely as possible, and protect our borders from the threat of variants.”