Dave and Gabi

Hi there,

My partner and I are currently in the UK and looking to escape the rat race and move to Italy.
I am Scottish and my partner is Spanish. We have recently got civil partnered.
We would like to drive across as we have just bought a motorhome to go over and find some property.

Can anyone advise us on what is needed to get to Italy through France from the UK

C.2s

I think you might need to clarify what you mean. Are you asking what route people recommend? Or what are the current covid rules? Or what are the rules about visas etc post Brexit? Or something else?

jiminalpago

[QUOTE=Dave and

Can anyone advise us on what is needed to get to Italy through France from the UK[/QUOTE]
The simple answer is that you need to satisfy the French authorities of your vaccination status (EU "Green Pass or UK equivalent - UKGOV website has the detail) and your intention "on your honour" to transit France. You will have no further border controls (if you avoid Switzerland).
Once in Italy, if you intend to stay, you then have to apply for the permit to stay, and so on. Your Spanish Partner should take the lead at that point.
That is "big hand, small map" advice but, with a camper, you have flexibility.

C.2s

That's not necessarily true. I've driven across the borders of various EU states many times and the vast majority of times I was not stopped... but I have also been stopped on a number of occasions. A few times this was not at the border but at the first motorway exit/toll station and I've also been spot-checked at service stations. It's just like getting stopped by the police in the UK. Maybe it doesn't happen often but it can happen.

Why is this important? At the moment you need to complete a Passenger Locator Form online, and you need to follow certain rules about covid tests and isolation... what you need to do depends on your vaccination status. Even if you're fully vaccinated, if you have been in the UK in the previous 14 days you still need to do a covid test in the 48 hours before you enter Italy...so you would need to factor that into your travel plans.

Of course you can just take the risk, and yeah you probably won't get stopped, but....

ononno

All good advice, but the real question is, do you really need to swop 1 rat race for another, just as bad if not worse..

Plan B

Oh so very true!

jiminalpago

As I said, "big hands, small map"; the OP will get the nitty gritty of the Covid measures from the French and Italian official sites - and unless they satisfy the French they don't get on the ferry!
If I had an aim, it was perhaps to inform the OP that, based on my experience, and the reports of others, the land route is not an obstacle course.

C.2s

True. Except the OP hadn't said that they would check the official sites. Maybe they were just going to rely on our advice? Like you suggest my most recent experience driving our campervan from Scotland to Italy at the end of August was no problem. The French weren't really that interested in checking anything (they had a quick look at the declaration I had printed) and there were no checks whatsoever when crossing from France to Italy. It was all very easy, and I don't mean to put anyone off. The only obstacle I hadn't thought about before leaving the UK was this business of getting a Covid test in the 48 hours before we entered Italy. We'd spent three days in France. So for us that meant getting a test in France on a Sunday morning or just entering Italy, not filling in the passenger locator form and not having the test and hoping nobody stopped us...I couldn't possibly confirm or deny what we did

jiminalpago

And our OP doesn't yet know that he has an "Out of Jail" card.
I have yet to be stopped by a policeman or Carabinieri who was not fascinated by the idea of Scotland. Good old Mel Gibson!

C.2s

Show them that video of Scots celebrating Italy beating England on penalties by marching down the street playing the Italian national anthem on bagpipes and they'll be inviting you back to their house for drinks!

jiminalpago

😇
Is Schadenfreude allowed after Brexit?