Coronavirus: Travelling to the UK from France

The British Embassy, Paris has published their latest guidance for those resident in France and travelling to the UK.

Many of you have asked in recent days and weeks about quarantine measures when travelling to the UK. This evening, the Home Secretary announced new measures starting on 8 June to guard against a second wave of coronavirus infections. They include 14 days’ self-isolation for anyone entering the UK, bar a short list of exemptions.
We’ve summarised the measures below but for more information, please visit www.gov.uk/uk-border-control

Why now?
At the start of the Covid crisis, enhanced monitoring was used on incoming flights from the worst-hit countries, e.g. China, Japan, Iran, Italy. Once the virus was spreading significantly within communities in the UK, the impact of putting in place additional border restrictions would have been negligible to the spread of the virus.
Now, as the transmission rate in the UK falls and the number of travellers arriving in the UK begins to increase in the coming months, imported cases may pose a larger threat as they could become a higher proportion of the overall number of infections in the UK and increase the spread of the disease.

What are the measures?
Contact locator form – arriving passengers will be required to fill this in to provide contact and travel information so they can be contacted if they, or someone they may have been in contact with develops the disease (NB: we’ll share the link here when it’s available);
Self isolation - passengers arriving in the UK will be required to self-isolate for 14 days and could be contacted regularly throughout this period to ensure compliance;
Enforcement - Anyone failing to comply with the mandatory conditions may face enforcement action, including a fine of £1000. Find out more here: www.gov.uk/uk-border-control
Spot checks - Border Force will undertake checks at the border and may refuse entry to any non-British citizen who refuses to comply with these regulations and isn’t resident in the UK. Failure to complete the form could result in a £100 fixed penalty notice. Public health authorities will conduct random checks in England to ensure compliance with self-isolation requirements.
These measures will be brought in from 8 June, and reviewed every three weeks to ensure they remain effective.

Travelling to the UK?
When you arrive in the UK, go straight to the place where you will self-isolate. Your friends or family can collect you from the airport, port or station. Only use public transport if you have no other option. If you do use public transport, wear something that covers your nose and mouth and stay 2 metres apart from other people.
You must not leave the place you’re staying for 14 days.
You can only leave if: you need urgent medical treatment or support from social services; you need food and medicine and cannot get them delivered or get a friend or family member to bring them; there’s an emergency, for example there’s a fire at the place you’re staying; or, you’re going to the funeral of a close relative, or for other compassionate reasons.
You cannot receive visitors, including friends and family, unless they are providing essential support.
Download the NHS Covid-19 app at the border and use it for the duration of your stay in the UK.
After self-isolation, follow the current Government guidelines on social distancing measures.

Exemptions
There will be limited exemptions - see examples below - so please visit gov.uk for a full list.
Road haulage and freight workers, to ensure the supply of goods is not impacted;
Medical professionals who are travelling to help with the fight against coronavirus;
Frontier workers (who live in one country and work in another, travelling at least once a week);
Transit passengers who remain air-side and do not pass border control;
An individual arriving to attend a pre-arranged healthcare appointment.