UK travellers heading to France and Portugal are not allowed to present their Covid-19 results from self-administered tests.
The Foreign Office travel advice pages have been updated to clarify the testing requirements for British travellers heading to the destinations.
The test results must be certified by a laboratory to be accepted in France. The self-administered tests are not valid for travel.
If you have an antigen test, make sure it meets the standards set out in the EU common list. Self-administered tests are not accepted.
You should not use the testing service to get a test in order to go somewhere else. You should take a private test.
The Independent newspaper reported that hundreds of tourists have been fined by the Portuguese authorities for violating new testing rules that require them to take a lab test.
The report said that many UK travellers take self-administered tests, which do not qualify, although some airlines have mistakenly accepted them.
The Telegraph said France is considering imposing tougher travel restrictions on Britons as part of its attempts to counter a rise in the Omicron variant.
The expectation is that France will mirror the testing regime that French travellers face on coming to the UK.
Britons bound for France would have to take a test within 48 hours of departure, followed by a test on arrival. It is likely that it would cover anyone over the age of 12.
The picture is by anyaivanova.
