Health pass for the French of Hong Kong: point of situation

At a time when many French people living outside the European Union have decided to return to France for the holidays, the question of access to the Sanitary Pass arises. If many French people living abroad have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in their country of residence, the French authorities do not however recognize all the vaccines, a situation which poses practical problems. Update on the situation

QR Code mandatory

Following President Emmanuel Macron's speech on July 12, the presentation of the "health pass" in the form of a printed vaccination certificate or QR Code, an RT-PCR test (currently free for French expatriates), a negative antigen test or a COVID-19 recovery certificate is mandatory from July 21.

Indeed, anyone over the age of 17 has been required since this date to present this "health proof" in order to be able to go to all places of leisure and culture bringing together more than 50 people. At the beginning of August, this will be extended to cafes, restaurants, shopping centers (over 20,000 square meters), hospitals, retirement homes, medico-social establishments, as well as travel by plane, train and coach for journeys from long distance.

The Health Pass obligation has been postponed until August 30 for young people aged 12 to 17 to give them time to get vaccinated.

Companies that fail to comply with the monitoring obligations would be liable to a fine of up to 45,000 euros and one year in prison. The draft bill was discussed this Monday, July 19 in the National Assembly.

The problem of recognition of BioNtech and Sinovac vaccines for residents of Hong Kong

The French and residents of Hong Kong nevertheless encounter a problem: that of the recognition of vaccines available in their country of residence. Indeed, if the European Medicines Agency only recognizes the following four vaccines: BioNTech/Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca (suspended in March, then relaunched) and Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, the World Health Organization recognizes four more: Sinovac, Sinopharm and the two AstraZeneca serums made in India and South Korea.

In addition, only vaccines carried out in the European Union can, at this stage, be registered in the Health Pass. Persons vaccinated outside the EU, even with a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency, will therefore not be able to use this device.

Rejection of the amendment defended by Anne Genetet on the health pass

Faced with this difficulty, the deputy Anne Genetet for French nationals living abroad spoke at the National Assembly in favor of an amendment for the French authorities to facilitate access to the health pass for French nationals living abroad. stranger from a serological test rather than doing a PCR test every 48 hours.

This amendment was ultimately rejected, Olivier Véran calling for a vote against:

Here is what is envisaged at this stage

To access almost all places subject to the Sanitary Pass, French nationals living abroad will therefore have to carry out an RT-PCR or antigen test on a case-by-case basis. For more details on how the Sanitary Pass works, click here.

Entry into the EU: the headache for passengers from Hong Kong

Are placed in the green zone, the countries of the European area (European Union, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein , Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Holy See, Switzerland) and the following countries and territories: Albania, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada, South Korea, United States, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Kosovo, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Montenegro, New Zealand, Serbia, Singapore, Taiwan, Vanuatu. A compelling reason is not necessary to access French territory from these countries.

The vaccinated traveler must present on boarding: a vaccination certificate and a sworn statement, attesting that they have no symptoms of coronavirus infection, and that they are not aware of having been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 within fourteen days of travel.

The unvaccinated traveler over 11 years of age must present: the negative result of an RT-PCR or antigen test carried out less than 72 hours before departure (the departure of the first flight in the event of a journey with a connection ) and a sworn statement, attesting not to show any symptoms of coronavirus infection, and not to be aware of having been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the fourteen days preceding the trip.

For more information, visit the website of the Consulate General of Hong Kong and Macao. Download the sworn statement on the website of the Ministry of the Interior in the corresponding section.

In France, how to obtain the Health Pass for people vaccinated in Hong Kong?

For people vaccinated in Hong Kong with or without a social security number (even inactive ), the Health Pass can be created through a practitioner authorized to administer COVID-19 vaccines (doctor or pharmacist). Indeed, by presenting the Hong Kong vaccination certificate, the latter will be able to fill in the fields of the Health Insurance platform (CNAM), and identify him as "patient not affiliated with the French health insurance scheme" . For the vaccine batch number, the practitioner can opt for the "other" choice and manually record the batch number of the Fosun Pharma/BioNTech (Comirnaty) injected in Hong Kong. If the practitioner has any doubts about the vaccines administered in Hong Kong, go to the website of the Consulate General of Hong Kong and Macao.

For some French residents of Hong Kong who are already in France, it is not yet clear whether antibody tests will be accepted by Pass Sanitaire or whether Sinovac Biotech's CoronaVac can be registered.

And for French nationals living abroad who are not vaccinated?

If the French government encourages French nationals living abroad to be vaccinated in their country of residence, it is possible to be vaccinated for free in France without presenting a vital card. To do this, all you have to do is present a certificate from the Caisse des Français de l'étranger (CFE) if you are a member or an identity document.

Be careful, however, you must be able to plan enough time in France to receive the two doses of vaccine, at least three weeks between the two injections of Pfizer or Moderna and nine weeks for AstraZeneca. So to get around this long wait, some French people living abroad prefer to opt for the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson, which requires a single dose and can be injected in pharmacies.

Warning: some information may change depending on the evolution of regulations. Please check the information with the Consulate and your airline before travelling.

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