France removes Turkey from travel restriction list

According to the Turkish Consulate in Paris, an official announcement by France has removed Turkey from their orange list of COVID-19 restricted travel countries, moving it to the least restrictive green list and easing travel between the two countries.

Why were the measures put in place and when were they lifted?

The restrictions were originally put in places to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Europe. However, on March 31 France updated their travel restrictions, making the decision to remove Turkey and 45 other countries from their orange list and include them in their green list. This move means that Turkish citizens no longer need to have a valid reason to arrive in France and prove it when they want to travel.

How were countries classified by France?

France made their travel classifications in accordance with the heath situation and vaccination levels of the general population of each country. They then divided this list into three categories using a traffic light system: red, orange, and green.

Travellers from countries on the green list have no travel restrictions imposed upon them and even if they have not been vaccinated, they only need to have a COVID-19 negative test to prove that they are not carrying the virus when they arrive. Travellers from countries on France’s orange list do not need to give a reason to visit the country if they are vaccinated, but they do need to submit a negative COVID test result.

COVID-19 cases across the world

According to data research by the U.S Johns Hopkins University, since the start of the pandemic in December 2019, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 6.17 million people from 192 countries around the world. Data shows that there has been over 494 million total cases recorded worldwide.