Current barrier to entry to Europe etc by Aussies

[Fernbrook]

Folks, apparently without the provision of the EU digital COVID vaccination certificate upon entry to Europe, sleeping, eating or working in most European countries cannot occur without a negative PCR test every 72 hours. The COVID certificate issued by the Australian government is worthless according to my information. When contacted, officials from the Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that the problem was Europe's, not theirs, and nothing will be done by them.
The New Zealand government has signed up for the EU digital certificate- why not our government?
The only recourse is to contact Dan Tehan (Federal Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment) and bring the matter to his attention. In your correspondence mention that the officials from the Dept above said that they will do nothing. The last part is important. In my experience, Dan Tehan will simply ask this Dept. to deal with the matter. If you alert him to the fact that the Dept. has said they will do nothing, he may lean on them more earnestly to do something, rather than assume they are not aware of the issue.Our government needs to sign up for the EU certificate, just as our neighbours have done. I'm writing my letter now. All the best Fernbrook.

[PanEuropean]

Fernbrook:

All you have to do is sent your Australian proof of vaccination records to the French Government, and they will send you a French Covid pass (paper or electronic).

It doesn't matter if you intend to go to France or not, the French pass is valid through all of the EC countries.

Allow about 2 weeks for the French to process your request and get back to you... although things might be quicker now that most everyone has one of these passes.

Here's the link to where to go to begin the process: Applying for a French COVID Pass if you were Vaccinated Abroad

The process is quick and simple, in fact, it probably takes less time to apply for a French pass than it does to write a letter to your local politicians whinging about the matter.

Michael

[Siligent]

I must have missed something. I read this to say you must bring your passport and original certificate to a pharmacy in France.

From your link to the French website:

"How can I apply?
Applications for a vaccine pass of equivalence are made:

• for foreign students: directly online

• for foreign nationals who are not students: in pharmacies in France. They should present their passport and the paper version of the original vaccination certificate in a pharmacy offering the service (a list is available on the Ministry for Solidarity and Health website)."

Can you provide more information? Or did you apply as a student?

crs

[Fernbrook]

Michael, I recall seeing something about applying to the French government but wasn't sure of the process. Thanks for the update. I hope someone knows the answer to Siligent's question for all our sakes. I'll still send a letter in but won't hold my breath. What a mess!. Cheers Fernbrook.

[Rognv]

Hi Fernbrook,

Depending on when you arrive in Europe, it´s the question if you need such a pass. Europe is finally opening upp bit by bit and as long as we don´t get a new wave, the summer of 2022 looks good. The Scandinavian countries for example have already scrapped all the covid rules. I think the rules in other countries will be revised this spring.

Rögnvaldur

[Alanymarce]

Originally Posted by Rognv

Hi Fernbrook,

Depending on when you arrive in Europe, it´s the question if you need such a pass. Europe is finally opening upp bit by bit and as long as we don´t get a new wave, the summer of 2022 looks good. The Scandinavian countries for example have already scrapped all the covid rules. I think the rules in other countries will be revised this spring.

Rögnvaldur

Not just when, but where. I'd give up on Russia for a while now... but not for pandemic reasons.

[Fernbrook]

Folks, I received an answer a few days ago from the Australian Passport office regarding their approach to entering overseas countries using our Covid certificate. Their letter to me is dated the 15th of March, 2022. I have to credit them with replying extremely swiftly to my queries (see my original comments in conversations above).I summarise the main points in their letter to me, below.

!.Covid-19 vaccination certificates across the world come in a range of formats. Australia's uses the International standard developed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.It is accepted in most countries around the world, including in Europe.
2. EUDCC'S (EU Digital Covid certificate program) uses a unique format administered by the European Commission. The Commission has been encouraging non-EU countries to join the EUDCC program by applying for 'equivalence'. However, this process only recognises, as equivalent certificates, those issued in the EU format-not other formats.To obtain equivalence, countries issuing certificates in other formats would have to oversee a number of changes to processes to re-issue EU format certificates.
3. Australia (along with other countries) is trying to encourage the European Commission to develop a Europe-wide solution for acceptance of certificates in other formats.
4. France, Belgium and Latvia allow travellers to obtain an EUDCC by showing a foreign vac. certificate. Other countries e.g. Cyprus, Finland and Malta accept foreign certs. without an EUDCC. In the UK, proof of vaccination is seldom or never required to enter venues.
5. Changes are afoot in Europe. The Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland have dropped Proof of Vaccination requirements.
Cheers Fernbrook.

[Tomkat]

Originally Posted by Fernbrook

5. Changes are afoot in Europe. The Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland have dropped Proof of Vaccination requirements.

Be a bit careful with this advice. As far as I know the UK is pretty unique in abandoning all covid precautions, and is seeing rocketing case numbers as a result. From the above list, I looked up France as an example and sure enough they do have proof of vaccination requirements.

https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/covid-...ational-travel

In fact in France a vaccine pass is required to get into many venues.

https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/co...ed/#sommaire_3

[Fernbrook]

Folks, a brief comment. The Passport office maintains that the Australian authorities are trying to get the European Commission to accept other vaccination formats, such as Australia's. Nothing has happened to date in that regard I gather, so I think many travellers will make alternative arrangements to enable entry to Europe, assuming the Aust vaccination certificate is not accepted in some countries of Europe. This is the obvious course of action I think. I wonder how the NZ government managed to enable their passport holders to enter Europe? Nuff said about the matter!

[AnTyx]

Originally Posted by Fernbrook

5. Changes are afoot in Europe. The Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland have dropped Proof of Vaccination requirements.
Cheers Fernbrook.

Estonia as well. No need to show covid passes any more, but masks still required indoors.

In practice, people with non-EU covid passes could just show them (printed out) and they were generally accepted. That's not so much for borders, but certainly for entry into events, restaurants etc.

[Mcraw]

I (an Australian) have been in UAE, Italy, Malta and Tunisia this year. i have been vaxed 3 times before leaving Aus, I have the medicare app on android and a copy of the offline international covid certificate with the QR code within the App. They try to scan the,QR code, it doesn't work but they then read the details. Has worked everywhere.I tell them the QR won't work. Also I tried a paper copy but they prefer government logo of the app

hope this helps

Mark