News Digest: UK Moves France to its Amber List

Yesterday also saw the extension of France’s Health Pass (Pass Sanitaire), with new laws coming into force across the country. From now on, a Health Pass is required for entrance to all cultural venues and large events (including gyms, concerts, and tourist sites); all cafés, bars, and restaurants (both for indoor and outdoor seating); all long-distance buses and trains (but not regional trains, metro trains, or trams), and for visitors to hospitals and retirement homes.

A period of ‘adaptation’ has been mentioned for the first week, indicating that there may be some leniency as businesses and individuals adopt the new rules, after which there will be fines for businesses who fail to comply.

In order to activate your Health Pass, you will need proof of vaccination, a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours, or proof that you have recently recovered from Covid-19.

Read our article France’s Health Pass (Pass Sanitaire): Everything You Need to Know for all the details.

Back in June, we announced news of the long-awaited deal for UK driving licence holders to exchange their licence for a French one. This was good news for those whose UK licences are not yet due to expire (it’s no longer required to exchange your licence before the end of the year), as well as for those whose licences had already expired (expired licences can still be exchanged under the new deal). However, there has been some confusion over the process.

Some UK licence holders have reported issues obtaining the ‘certificate of entitlement’ or ‘Attestation de droits de conduire’ that is required as part of the paperwork. This certificate is issued by the DVLA and can take some time to acquire – French authorities have also been asking for this to be translated into French, adding further delays.

However, the French Interior Ministry and British Embassy have now confirmed that for British licences issued by the DVLA, the ‘Check Code’ print-out will be accepted. This service is available on the DVLA website here and allows you to print out or share a copy of your driving record – a far easier and quicker procedure than formally requesting a Certificate of Entitlement. The British Embassy has also indicated that translations will not be required.

Have you recently exchanged your driving licence or used the ‘check code’ print-out to complete your driving licence application? We’re keen to hear about your success stories or difficulties to better understand how this process is working in practice. Get in touch with me at: [email protected]