If you are thinking of going to France. Be prepared.

[Anthony1]

My brother drove to France a couple of days ago - he has a house there. This is what he had to do to get there, via Eurotunnel - in his words.

I ordered two COVID-19 Self collection kits from Prenetics via Eurotunnel site. There is a discount code - it was EUROTUNNELFTT but they may change it - and it would seem anyone can use it, i.e. you don’t need a booking reference, and they were £59 each.

We first used a NHS test, as if that was positive and we had Covid, we didn’t want to waste the self collection kit. The NHS test was negative, and so we then used the Prenetics kit. (That wasn’t pleasant poking that stick down my throat) and posted that off on Monday 5th July. Our results were available on Wednesday 7th via a login on the Prenetics website. Both negative!

I downloaded a copy of our NHS Corona virus vaccination records (to phone and also printed it).

We each completed the French ‘Sworn Undertaking Form…’ (Engagement-sur-l-honneur-orange).

Completed ‘UK to FRANCE COVID-19 EXIT CHECKLIST’. (possibly unique to Eurotunnel)

Printed out ‘FRANCE to UK COVID-19 EXIT CHECKLIST’ (need to complete this for our return).

For Eurotunnel uploaded the PDF of French Health Declaration and the Negative Covid Test

For the return trip to UK we will have to create a UK Government ‘Passenger Location Form’ (which gives details of where you are in the UK, to check you are quarantining I suppose.) which meant creating an account via GOV.UK (with a complicated password of at least 14 characters) and then the usual SMS verification code and confirmation emails.

Filled out the form ‘cerfa-15678’ for French Customs for some items we were bringing, (vacuum cleaner and electric drill) – (not sure if we needed to do this, no one asked for, or looked at it)

Obtained green card insurance details - (may no longer be required now)

We both obtained International Driving Licences last year – (may no longer be required now)

Put a GB sticker on the car, apparently if you have the small one at the edge of the registration plate it is no longer valid.

I wish I had investigated all this sooner!

Anyway at Eurotunnel check-in the chap asked if we have done the PCR test and if it was negative (we had already uploaded the results but perhaps they require verbal confirmation)

The French stamped our UK passports. But didn't really look at them, just opened them and stamped them. It may different on their return.

That was it. We weren't asked to show any documentation as presumably they already had it on their system

…but of course all this may change…

PS.
...we went into the shop at the terminal (which is now 'duty free') and apparently we should have pre-registered and obtained a QR Code for them to scan, in order to buy anything. They said the QR code is also on the confirmation email from Eurotunnel (I didn't get one)

I think it must be a bit like at airports when they want to scan one's boarding pass in duty free.

 

[CaliAzur]

This sounds complex, and some of it seems to be ‘Brexit’ fruit unfortunately. Within ‘Europe’ we can travel pretty freely with an App that contains a QR code to prove double vaccination, or having been infected and recovered within X months. At least you can come, I understand the constraints for us to take our Cali to the UK currently are prohibitive, but they change regularly

 

[Anthony1]

This sounds complex, and some of it seems to be ‘Brexit’ fruit unfortunately. Within ‘Europe’ we can travel pretty freely with an App that contains a QR code to prove double vaccination, or having been infected and recovered within X months. At least you can come, I understand the constraints for us to take our Cali to the UK currently are prohibitive, but they change regularly

In what way prohibitive? Just not allowed or very complicated/expensive?

 

[Ting Tong]

Thanks for that. I’d be interested to hear his return procedure.

The outbound tip is to upload your documents to the eurotunnel website BEFORE you get there. Apparently if you don’t you have to do it in the terminal and there’s a very very long queue.

It seems we also need recent tests to cross internal borders eg France-Spain-France

 

[vmaxkiddy]

My brother drove to France a couple of days ago - he has a house there. This is what he had to do to get there, via Eurotunnel - in his words.

I ordered two COVID-19 Self collection kits from Prenetics via Eurotunnel site. There is a discount code - it was EUROTUNNELFTT but they may change it - and it would seem anyone can use it, i.e. you don’t need a booking reference, and they were £59 each.

We first used a NHS test, as if that was positive and we had Covid, we didn’t want to waste the self collection kit. The NHS test was negative, and so we then used the Prenetics kit. (That wasn’t pleasant poking that stick down my throat) and posted that off on Monday 5th July. Our results were available on Wednesday 7th via a login on the Prenetics website. Both negative!

I downloaded a copy of our NHS Corona virus vaccination records (to phone and also printed it).

We each completed the French ‘Sworn Undertaking Form…’ (Engagement-sur-l-honneur-orange).

Completed ‘UK to FRANCE COVID-19 EXIT CHECKLIST’. (possibly unique to Eurotunnel)

Printed out ‘FRANCE to UK COVID-19 EXIT CHECKLIST’ (need to complete this for our return).

For Eurotunnel uploaded the PDF of French Health Declaration and the Negative Covid Test

For the return trip to UK we will have to create a UK Government ‘Passenger Location Form’ (which gives details of where you are in the UK, to check you are quarantining I suppose.) which meant creating an account via GOV.UK (with a complicated password of at least 14 characters) and then the usual SMS verification code and confirmation emails.

Filled out the form ‘cerfa-15678’ for French Customs for some items we were bringing, (vacuum cleaner and electric drill) – (not sure if we needed to do this, no one asked for, or looked at it)

Obtained green card insurance details - (may no longer be required now)

We both obtained International Driving Licences last year – (may no longer be required now)

Put a GB sticker on the car, apparently if you have the small one at the edge of the registration plate it is no longer valid.

I wish I had investigated all this sooner!

Anyway at Eurotunnel check-in the chap asked if we have done the PCR test and if it was negative (we had already uploaded the results but perhaps they require verbal confirmation)

The French stamped our UK passports. But didn't really look at them, just opened them and stamped them. It may different on their return.

That was it. We weren't asked to show any documentation as presumably they already had it on their system

…but of course all this may change…

PS.
...we went into the shop at the terminal (which is now 'duty free') and apparently we should have pre-registered and obtained a QR Code for them to scan, in order to buy anything. They said the QR code is also on the confirmation email from Eurotunnel (I didn't get one)

I think it must be a bit like at airports when they want to scan one's boarding pass in duty free.

For EU travel, from September, the GB sticker is to be replaced with UK, to show solidarity with Northern Ireland.

 

[B J G]

For EU travel, from September, the GB sticker is to be replaced with UK, to show solidarity with Northern Ireland.

great bit of Government solidarity, put a border between GB & NI then as an afterthought change GB International sticker to UK to show quite what?

 

[CaliAzur]

Politics…. I can’t see how that will heal the ‘wounds’ in NI, the old or the new.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

Politics…. I can’t see how that will heal the ‘wounds’ in NI, the old or the new.

You are right it won’t heal the wounds. It’s not part of the political agenda.

 

[andyinluton]

You would have thought that there would be no more paperwork / politics involved to change the rules to allow Northern Ireland to use NI as there is to change the rest of the Uk from GB to UK.