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.

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

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

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.

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.