Our Paris Post-Covid Adventure, Part 3: What You Need To Know

Note: Requirements for entry to France and the US are actively assessed by both governments, and change is likely. We have reflected our experience (June 2021) and, where known, updated accordingly. For US citizens traveling to France, please go to https://fr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

Traveling, especially during this pandemic, is both a luxury and a risk. We acknowledge this by taking every precaution to unsure our safety as well as that of the people in the host cities and countries we visit. This includes testing before our trip and 3 days upon return. Also, we have been vaccinated. With having been to Colombia, Mexico, and Hawaii since November 2020, the requirements for entry to France and return to the US were not unfamiliar to us.

Requirements to enter France from the United States

France requires that US citizens show proof of vaccination and a sworn statement they do not have symptoms of COVID-19 nor contact with someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19. No pre-departure COVID test or quarantine is required. 

Those who are not fully vaccinated may also enter France, but they will need to present a negative COVID-19 test, either the PCR test or the antigen (rapid) test conducted within the 72 hours prior to departure

That said, when departing from a US city by air, every passenger is subject to the rules of the airline. In our case, American Airlines required that we present a negative Covid-19 test prior to boarding the first leg of our flight, in addition to our vaccination card. It is important that you check with your carrier whether their requirements are in line with those of France, or additional.

Upon arrival in France, you will need to turn in the attestation form (which may be given to you on the flight), and present your vaccination card at customs.

Requirements to Enter the United States from France

Ok. For reasons that are lost on me, entry into the United States by US citizens requires a negative Covid-19 test or documented proof from a medical professional of full recovery from Covid-19 at least 90 days prior. This requirement is regardless of your vaccination status, and applies to everyone ages 2+.

Fortunately, most farmacias in France offer Covid-19 tests, with 1hr or less results the norm. It is a good idea to search out where you plan to get your test in the first few days of your travel, and confirm their turnaround time. In our case, the farmacia was 2 blocks from our Airbnb and gave us our results in 15 minutes, printed out and with an official stamp.

Complicated? There's an app for that!

The free mobile app Verifly is recognized by most airlines for the management of your Covid-19 documents and pre-trip validation for your return to the US. It is very easy to use, from our experience.

The process is straightforward: after installing the app, you create a Travel Pass, using one of the pre-populated destinations. If you don't see yours, it means that Verifly is not available. 

Upon selecting the destination, you will enter your flight information, starting with the Airline and Departure city. If either are not listed, it means that Verifly hasn't updated with that information yet (we experienced this for our trip to Rome, Italy, on American Airlines) or that airport/airline is not using Verifly.

You'll then enter information for family you are traveling with and....wait. Once you are 24hrs from your flight, it will allow you to upload a recent picture and your Covid-19 test results. And then....wait. Typically, it should be a few hours, but in our case it was about 4 hours before our flight that we received notification that our test results and information was validated. When we arrived at the airline ticket counter, all we had to do was show the green checkmark for each family member and we were done! We did not have to show any Covid-19 related documents at any other point of our flight home.

This is the 3rd and final of a multi-part blog. Hope it was helpful, please let us know if there any questions or feedback. And, we’re working on a vlog, but that will likely be late July August. Please SUBSCRIBE to our Channel and click the BELL to be notified.