London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Covid-19: Quarantine-free travel from France resumes as UK rules change

Covid-19: Quarantine-free travel from France resumes as UK rules change

Fully vaccinated people can now visit France without quarantining on their return to the UK, after travel rule changes came into force at 04:00 BST.

Brittany Ferries said it had received a "surge" of bookings following the rule changes announced on Thursday.

But travel agents said the relaxation of quarantine for one of the UK's most popular destinations came "too late to save the summer".

Meanwhile, travellers in Mexico had to rush back to avoid hotel quarantine.

Under the latest changes to the UK's traffic light system for travel, the rules have been relaxed for a dozen countries.

France moved from its own amber-plus category on to the amber list, which means children and fully vaccinated passengers do not have to quarantine on their return, although unvaccinated travellers still have to self-isolate at home for 10 days.

It comes as the UK recorded 27,429 new Covid cases on Sunday, as well as 39 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.

Sunday's data means that after a consistent fall since mid-July, the weekly total of cases has shown a slight increase over the previous seven days, of 1.9%.

Among those to benefit from the rule changes is Emma Wood, who lives in Laon, France. Her parents, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, are planning to visit France next week to meet Emma's six-month-old daughter for the first time.

"We're so pleased but we daren't get our hopes up until they're here," she said. "They were going to come before but then they introduced the new amber-plus list."

She said she usually saw her parents five or six times a year but had not seen them in more than 12 months.

"My mum has been desperate to see her granddaughter," she added.

Emma Wood can't wait for her parents to meet their new granddaughter

Londoner Kyle Frank has also booked a trip after the change was announced. He plans to drive to Nice because he feels it is safer than taking a plane - and so he can bring his puppy, Indy, with him.

"It would have been great to book it before but everything has been changing so rapidly it's hard to understand when it will be safe to travel. So I'm trying to go now while I can," he told the BBC.

"There's no quarantine when I get back to London so I can get straight back to work."

Kyle Frank says he plans to drive to France, so he can travel with his puppy, Indy


At a glance: The latest changes


Moved from amber to green: Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania and Norway

Moved from amber-plus to amber: France

Moved from red to amber: India, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE

Moved from amber to red: Georgia, Mexico, La Reunion and Mayotte

Christophe Mathieu, chief executive of Brittany Ferries, said the company had seen bookings surge after it was announced travel rules for France were being relaxed.

But the company still only expects to carry a quarter of its usual number of passengers.

"Let's be realistic, we would need tens of thousands of people booking to make up for the poor season," Mr Mathieu said.

"It's more than welcome this announcement, it's good news, but it comes in a year when at the end of the day for us everything is about 2022 and making that a real, normal year."

The UK government sets the red, amber and green lists for England, while the other nations are in charge of their own lists. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland confirmed they will be adopting the same changes as England - although Wales criticised the UK government for not consulting them.

There are now 36 countries on the green list - from which even unvaccinated travellers do not have to quarantine - following the addition of seven more nations, including Germany, Austria and Norway.

And India, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have been moved from the red list to the amber list.

Countries have their own rules about allowing visitors - so being on the UK's green list does not guarantee travellers can visit.

'Too late to save summer'


But one travel agent said the latest changes had only made a small difference and testing requirements were still putting many Britons off booking foreign trips.

"It's far too late to save the summer," said Julia Lo Bue-Said, from the Advantage Travel Partnership.

She said a lot of people had already made their holiday plans and the increase in bookings had been "marginal".

"When you think that most businesses are 80% down, you need a huge volume to make up the shortfall they're experiencing," she said.

Four destinations are also subject to tighter restrictions. Mexico, Georgia, and the French overseas territories of La Reunion and Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, have been added the red list.

Only British citizens, Irish citizens, and UK residents can travel from red list countries and they must stay for 10 days in hotel quarantine at a cost of £1,750 for one adult - which increases to £2,285 from 12 August.

Lotis Bautista, one of thousands of Britons on holiday in Mexico when the announcement was made, paid hundreds of pounds to cut short her trip by a week and rush back home before Sunday's deadline.

She said she and her husband could not have afforded the costs of hotel quarantine.

"I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't incredibly upset when it happened. Even though you know there are risks, you hope there might be a more responsible way of doing things from the government," Ms Bautista said.

"We're eighteen months into he pandemic and we're still being being given two, three days' notice."


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×