The vaccination pass is compulsory for all people in France.
And therefore, in particular, to French expatriates and foreigners passing through or returning to the country.
But things are more complicated in practice if they have received a vaccine which is not authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and is therefore not administered in France, and even more with a product not recognized not more by the World Health Organization (WHO).
So, will you be deprived of access to bars, restaurants, cinemas and many public places during your visit to France if you have been vaccinated with the Chinese product Sinovac or the Russian Sputnik, for example?
We take stock, depending on your case.
The General Directorate of Health indicates that the rules are the same for French people and for foreigners, with a few exceptions.
Vaccinated with a product authorized in France
If you have received a vaccination schedule with Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Janssen in a foreign country, an online form allows you to request the conversion of your certificate into a valid vaccination pass in France.
On condition of being up to date: having received a complete vaccination schedule (two doses or a past infection and a single dose) less than four months ago, or otherwise having also received a booster dose.
Vaccinated with a product recognized by the WHO
This concerns you, in particular, if you have received a Chinese (Sinovac or Sinopharm) or Indian (Covovax or Covaxin) vaccine.
As these products are not authorized in Europe, your two doses are not recognized as being a complete vaccination schedule.
As a result, you must receive a booster dose of messenger RNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna), once you arrive in France.
You “will be considered as having just started a vaccination cycle”, indicates the Directorate General of Health.
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Your vaccination pass will not become active immediately, however, because you have to wait a week.
Until then, you will have the possibility, with a negative test, to have a vaccination pass for 24 hours.
This derogation had been granted by the government in order to encourage the unvaccinated to reach out.
If you are of French nationality, any test carried out in this context within fifteen days of your arrival in France is free (because it is reimbursed by Social Security).
Vaccinated with a product not recognized by the WHO
Some vaccines are not recognized by either the EMA or the WHO.
This is the case, in particular, of Russian products (including Sputnik).
In this case, even if you have received your two doses, you are considered in France as having received… none.
“You enter the field of unvaccinated people” and “you must start a complete vaccination scheme”, indicates the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
However, as in the previous scenario, a first dose of vaccine accompanied by a negative test will entitle you to the vaccination pass for 24 hours.
What if I tested positive abroad recently?
This is, a priori, the simplest scenario.
Because the vaccination pass is also valid, for four months, if you have tested positive.
From mid-February, a positive test result obtained in any foreign country can be transformed into a certificate of recovery valid in France.
It will simply be necessary to make the request on the dedicated site.
But conversion service will only concern French people who have tested positive abroad.
It "is not intended for students and foreign nationals", indicates the DGS.
Tourists who test positive in their country will therefore not have access to it.