Eurostar COVID Travel Requirements

[duncanp]

I am due to travel from London to Lille by Eurostar on 23rd November.

I am fully vaccinated, but my NHS COVID Pass does not show my middle name, whereas my passport does.

Is this likely to be an issue with French immigration control at St Pancras station? (ie. Will they accept my NHS COVID Pass as proof of vaccination despite it not showing my middle name?)

I would be interested to hear of the experience of anyone who has travelled on Eurostar recently and has been in a similar situation.

 

[Cdd89]

Not only is my middle name not shown, my first name on my “Travel” Covid Pass is formatted differently from my passports. It hasn’t caused a problem yet (including France).

 

[big_rig]

I looked this up out of interest and I haven’t got my middle name in any of my various covid passes - not caused any grief at Eurostar or any other departures, you’ll be right.

 

[duncanp]

I looked this up out of interest and I haven’t got my middle name in any of my various covid passes - not caused any grief at Eurostar or any other departures, you’ll be right.

Thank you.

Sounds as though I will be OK then.

I think if there had been an issue, we would have heard about it in the papers by now.

With travel to the United States opening up on Monday, I hope the immigration officials there take a similar line, as I am (finally - after two years delay ) going there in April next year.

 

[zero]

Nobody's covid pass in the UK has a middle name.

It hasn't been an issue in Europe as there doesn't seem to be a requirement that the vaccine name matches the passport name exactly.

It has been an issue in some Asian countries which do have this requirement.

I haven't read the US requirements but as an English-speaking country they may also take a practical view, after all the US vaccine proof is a handwritten card.

 

[Jamiescott1]

Do french customs even check covid documentation?
Admittedly I've only flew but in 11 flights in past 18 months I've never been asked for covid details by customs / immigration?

 

[AlterEgo]

Not only is my middle name not shown, my first name on my “Travel” Covid Pass is formatted differently from my passports. It hasn’t caused a problem yet (including France).

My surname is rendered differently on the app than my passport, and I have not had any problems anywhere.

 

[kristiang85]

I've recently booked a trip to Belgium for December, but I've since found out that they don't accept double vaccination from the UK, and you need to do a pcr on arrival and quarantine yourself until you get the result (up to 24hrs). Obviously on a 3 day trip that is pretty inconvenient....

Is there anything stopping us from going to the Netherlands straight from Brussels instead? As I will happily spend time there if it means avoiding the stupid testing regime.

 

[AlterEgo]

I've recently booked a trip to Belgium for December, but I've since found out that they don't accept double vaccination from the UK, and you need to do a pcr on arrival and quarantine yourself until you get the result (up to 24hrs). Obviously on a 3 day trip that is pretty inconvenient....

Is there anything stopping us from going to the Netherlands straight from Brussels instead? As I will happily spend time there if it means avoiding the stupid testing regime.

Belgium does accept double-vax proof, but still requires you to quarantine OR take a pre-departure PCR test to avoid this. The Netherlands will need PCR or antigen test anyway, even if you continue from Brussels and arrive indirectly from the UK.

 

[Cdd89]

and you need to do a pcr on arrival and quarantine yourself until you get the result (up to 24hrs)

I don’t think that’s correct, unless the FCO is wrong.

Belgium FCO Advice

take a test on day 1 or 2 after arrival and quarantine until you receive a negative result. Alternatively, you can provide evidence of a negative PCR test upon arrival, taken no more than 72 hours before arrival in Belgium

this indicates that the post-arrival test (and wait for a result) is only if you decide not to take a PCR test 72 hours before arrival.

 

[kristiang85]

Belgium does accept double-vax proof, but still requires you to quarantine OR take a pre-departure PCR test to avoid this. The Netherlands will need PCR or antigen test anyway, even if you continue from Brussels and arrive indirectly from the UK.

Ah OK so there's no way round it. Damn. I just assumed European countries were accepting double vaccination certificates.

But I've heard the the Belgians are not accepting pre departure pcr tests and only accepting their own? Although with the circumstances of my trip (the wilds of Scotland before I head down to meet my eurostar via the Caledonian), I won't be able to get a pcr anyway.

 

[williamn]

I wonder how this applies to passengers in transit - I am spending 7 hours in Brussels between arriving Eurostar and departing sleeper. I guess I get a PCR to be sure.

 

[Horizon22]

I am due to travel from London to Lille by Eurostar on 23rd November.

I am fully vaccinated, but my NHS COVID Pass does not show my middle name, whereas my passport does.

Is this likely to be an issue with French immigration control at St Pancras station? (ie. Will they accept my NHS COVID Pass as proof of vaccination despite it not showing my middle name?)

I would be interested to hear of the experience of anyone who has travelled on Eurostar recently and has been in a similar situation.

Not at all from my personal experience.

 

[duncanp]

I wonder how this applies to passengers in transit - I am spending 7 hours in Brussels between arriving Eurostar and departing sleeper. I guess I get a PCR to be sure.

If you are in Belgium for less than 48 hours, you do not have to take a test or quarantine, as per the Foreign Office website

Travellers who are staying in Belgium for less than 48 hours must complete the Belgian Passenger Locator Form, but are not required to quarantine or take a test. This does not apply to travellers returning from a third country classified as a very high-risk zone (see the Belgian government’s website).

The UK is currently classified as "High Risk" by Belgium, not "Very High Risk"

I will be in Belgium for just a few hours later this month. I am travelling from Lille via Tournai, and walking along an old railway line ("La Voie Verte Des Gueules Noires") the first few miles of which are on the Belgian side of the border. I have completed the Belgian passenger locator form, and as far as I can see there is nothing else that I need to do.

 

[zero]

Do french customs even check covid documentation?
Admittedly I've only flew but in 11 flights in past 18 months I've never been asked for covid details by customs / immigration?

Customs officers usually don't do very much in Europe unless there is a tip-off

French immigration officers can check covid documents if they want to, but they usually don't bother.

 

[Mag_seven]

If you are in Belgium for less than 48 hours, you do not have to take a test or quarantine, as per the Foreign Office website

Travellers who are staying in Belgium for less than 48 hours must complete the Belgian Passenger Locator Form, but are not required to quarantine or take a test. This does not apply to travellers returning from a third country classified as a very high-risk zone (see the Belgian government’s website).

The UK is currently classified as "High Risk" by Belgium, not "Very High Risk"

I will be in Belgium for just a few hours later this month. I am travelling from Lille via Tournai, and walking along an old railway line ("La Voie Verte Des Gueules Noires") the first few miles of which are on the Belgian side of the border. I have completed the Belgian passenger locator form, and as far as I can see there is nothing else that I need to do.

Did a journey in the opposite direction from Germany to London via Brussels today. No requirement to do a Belgian locator form as I had not been in a "very high risk country" in the past 10 days and was arriving in Belgium by rail from a country in the Schengen area and would be there for less than 48 hours. Only check (outside the normal Eurostar passport/security check area) was a vaccine passport check to get into the main station after alighting from the train from Germany!

 

[KeithMcC]

I flew in to Belgium for a 1 night trip recently. BA wanted vacc. certificate and Belgian forms loading to their system and checked before I could check in, but nothing was checked by Belgian immigration directly. In and out in 48 hours so no quarantine or tests needed.
Getting home was another story.

 

[Watershed]

I flew in to Belgium for a 1 night trip recently. BA wanted vacc. certificate and Belgian forms loading to their system and checked before I could check in, but nothing was checked by Belgian immigration directly. In and out in 48 hours so no quarantine or tests needed.
Getting home was another story.

The Belgian PLF does unfortunately need to be filled out when coming from outside the EU/Schengen area (i.e. the UK), even if you are only in Belgium for less than 48 hours. And then you need to fill out the UK PLF when returning.

With the demise of the red list it really does seem superfluous having a PLF any more.

 

[island]

Do french customs even check covid documentation?
Admittedly I've only flew but in 11 flights in past 18 months I've never been asked for covid details by customs / immigration?

French customs don't check anything much. French immigration checked my vaccine pass visually (without scanning) when I entered France Friday before last.

I don’t think that’s correct, unless the FCO is wrong.

Belgium FCO Advice


this indicates that the post-arrival test (and wait for a result) is only if you decide not to take a PCR test 72 hours before arrival.

The option to test beforehand is not offered by the Belgian government website, which I would consider more authoritative about the country's requirements.

 

[scarby]

You need to also complete a "statement of honour" on entering France, basically to say you are symptom-free.

It can be found here under the section "You wish to enter Metropolitan France" - it's just a Word document that takes a few minutes to complete.

https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/Actua...ere/Certificate-of-international-travel#from2

I have no idea if these are checked but it would surely be wise to travel with it.

 

[D6130]

I have no idea if these are checked but it would surely be wise to travel with it.

Nobody checked ours when we travelled from St Pancras to Paris - en route to Italy - on 15th September.

 

[kristiang85]

Nobody checked ours when we travelled from St Pancras to Paris - en route to Italy - on 15th September.

I flew to France and offered it at immigration to be met with a dismissive hand wave. All they wanted was my passport and vaccination papers.

I guess it just makes you *think* about whether you are well to travel.

 

[Jim the Jim]

French customs don't check anything much. French immigration checked my vaccine pass visually (without scanning) when I entered France Friday before last.

The option to test beforehand is not offered by the Belgian government website, which I would consider more authoritative about the country's requirements.

Last I checked (in August), the Belgian government website was significantly more confusing than those of the other Eurostar countries as far as covid immigration information was concerned, so it's possible the FCO are right and what they are saying is actually on the Belgian website but buried away somewhere.

 

[island]

Last I checked (in August), the Belgian government website was significantly more confusing than those of the other Eurostar countries as far as covid immigration information was concerned, so it's possible the FCO are right and what they are saying is actually on the Belgian website but buried away somewhere.

I'm open to that as a possibility, but my starting point is that the Belgian government is more likely to know what Belgian rules are than some other country's government is.