What can not be imported into France. French customs regulations. When entering from Russia and non-EU countries

Regulated by the European Commission Regulation 206/2009 and several other documents. The rules are as follows:

It is forbidden to import meat, meat products, products containing meat, milk, dairy products, products containing milk. That is, grandmother's meat pies or sandwiches with cheese are better to eat on the plane;

Permitted to import food products with a small amount of milk or cream: chocolate, pastries, confectionery;

Allowed to import fish and seafood, total weight must not exceed 20 kilograms. And here there is a funny explanation in the law that if one fish weighs more than 20 kilograms, then it can be imported! In the imagination, a Russian tourist is immediately drawn, who is transporting a 30-kilogram catfish to France in a suitcase. And in this case, he has every right to import it!

It is allowed to import honey and beekeeping products, live seafood, snails, eggs and other (not mentioned above) food products of animal origin, the total weight should not exceed 2 kilograms;

You can import any baby food, but no more than 2 kilograms per person. But it must be in its original packaging, not previously opened, not requiring cooling before opening the package.

Foods of plant origin

You can import fruits, vegetables, nuts, dried fruits, flowers, if they:

Carried in personal luggage;

Intended for personal consumption;

Do not pose a threat to human health;

Not prohibited for import by other legislative acts, we recall that it is forbidden to import potatoes and seeds into the EU;

Quantities are small;

Unfortunately, there is no explanation for the concept of “small quantities”. Usually, this phrase means a weight of no more than 5 kilograms. However, this is very subjective. The customs officer with whom you communicate may have a completely different opinion.

It is allowed to import finished products: bread, pastries, chocolate, sweets, seasonings, food additives, pasta, soups and other dishes. The main thing is that they do not have meat filling or meat in their composition. Also, dishes should NOT contain more than 50% eggs or fish.

Items for personal use

These include: clothing and footwear, jewelry and inexpensive jewelry, personal electronics, personal care products. Attention! Perfume and eau de toilette do not belong to personal belongings under EU law.

All these items are transported without restrictions and duty-free. Naturally, the quantities must be reasonable.

Rest

All items, excluding tobacco products, alcohol and personal belongings, must have a value of no more than 430 euros per adult passenger and 150 euros per child (under 15 years old). This is the norm for sea passengers and air transport. For land transport passengers (cars, trains) the norm is 300 euros for an adult and 150 euros for a child.

We wish you to pass any inspection quickly and without problems, and read our useful for tourists and interesting articles about France the list below).

Not only fashionistas go to France for shopping and sales, but also people who dream of seeing the Champs Elysees, the Eiffel Tower, the embankments of Cannes and Nice and gourmets who want to drink real French wine with a luxurious snack. All positive impressions from this country can be crossed out instantly if the traveler was not aware of the customs rules in advance.

What can you bring into France

It is allowed to import currency into France in any amount, but tourists from non-European Union countries must declare amounts in excess of 10,000 euros at customs. Persons over 17 years of age are allowed to import the following goods without duty:

• up to 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars
• up to 1 liter of strong alcohol
• up to 2 liters of fortified wine
• up to 2 liters of table wine
• up to 500 grams of coffee
• up to 100 grams of tea
• up to 50 ml perfume
• up to 250 ml of eau de toilette

Tax-free, you can bring with you personal belongings worth no more than 175 euros per adult and no more than 90 euros per child. Jewelry and gold weighing up to 500 grams are transported free of charge, and everything above the norm must be declared.

The following foodstuffs are allowed to be imported with duty:

• 250 grams of caviar
• 2 kg of fish and seafood
• 5 kg of vegetable products
• 1 kg animal products

At the same time, the goods must be marked with an expiration date.

You can bring baby food and drugs that are necessary for people with chronic diseases.

Pets can be brought across the border, if available international certificate from a veterinarian and a certificate of vaccination in French.

What can not be imported into France

Since France is a member of the EU, from January 1, 2009, it is forbidden to import meat and dairy products, lard, chocolates and canned food into its territory. If such goods are found, they will be confiscated and the passenger will pay a fine.

It is also prohibited to import the following goods and items:

• drugs and narcotic drugs
• edged weapons, this includes small switchblades
• plants, flowers, birds, animals and products from endangered species

You can not import into the territory of this state dogs of certain breeds: pit bull, mastiff and Staffordshire terrier. It is also not allowed to bring kittens and puppies less than 3 months old, parrots and other small birds with you.

What can not be exported from France

Such items, of course, include things of artistic or historical value for the country. Also not exportable narcotic substances, weapons and ammunition

French law establishes customs regulations in accordance with the generally accepted in others. And although there are no big bans on the transport of food, difficulties may arise regarding the transport of gifts to friends when returning home.

Watch the video on our youtube channel: how to enter for Russians in 2019: registration and receipt on your own, documents

Import bans on certain goods are similar all over the world. For France it is:

It is forbidden to export

• Art objects and historical exhibits, antiques;
• Up to 3 liters of duty-free spirits;
• Precious metals, or dyeing over 500 grams without declaration.

Personal items

You can import various goods into France, but only for personal purposes. It can be clothing, cosmetics, alcohol and tobacco products. The main thing is that the border guards clearly see that the tourist does not pursue the goal of selling brought goods and products.

Similar rules apply to the export of things. There will be no complaints against the tourist if the number of goods indicates a purchase for himself or his closest friends.

Cash

As such, the EU and France do not establish restrictions, you can carry as much money as you like. However, there is a rule that funds in the amount of 10,000 euros or more must be declared. This procedure will show that the tourist does not import or export ill-gotten or stolen funds.

In addition to money, the declaration procedure applies to the transportation of precious metals, jewelry and other valuables, the estimated value of which is 10,000 euros or more.

If the carrier manages to escort airport employees and declare a smaller amount of valuable property, then the previously stamped passport will be considered invalid, and the violator will bear at least administrative responsibility.

It is not possible to declare an amount of 50,000 euros or more. There must be documents for all the money, customs officers should clearly see where the tourist gets the money from.

You can freely spend the amount of 9,999 euros. It is better to save money and time that the procedure takes. Well, if we are talking about a larger amount, then you can’t do without declaring.

An important fact: the amount of 10,000 euros means both cash in the euro currency and in any other. It also includes banking metals and securities. That is, the sum can consist of several parts.

French customs officers do not look at the eye, but carefully count all the funds found. Although the calculation, and possibly the transfer at the official exchange rate, takes a long time, the responsible persons strictly observe the customs regulations.

Traveling with your family is no different from traveling on your own. You need to declare the same 10,000. The amount of money applies to the whole family, it is impossible to transport such large funds individually. The same principle applies to a married couple - the amount of 10,000 euros or more for two is declared.

How much money you need to take to Paris for a week in 2019: see prices in the French capital on our youtube channel

This rule differs from the general European one. In Europe, each person individually can carry 10,000 euros in cash, but in France, the money is carried by the whole family. It will not be possible to object to the border guard, there are no indulgences in France.

Arriving at the airport, first of all, you need to remember that if funds need to be declared, you should go along the red corridor, if not, along the green one. Otherwise, the next check will definitely cause trouble.

Electronic system

The operation can be performed even before departure to France, and the airport of the Russian Federation. Follow the link: you can see the electronic declaration system.

Here you can see the electronic declaration system.

Valuables must be declared online before travel 30 to 2 days. The procedure is completely free. The difficulty lies in the lack of a Russian interface. Three languages ​​are currently available: Spanish, English and French.

The site is not difficult to understand even for beginners. The manual describes step by step how to use the electronic system.

Sanctions

You will have to answer before the law of France if the money was deliberately undeclared. Upon detection of illegally exported / imported funds, the border guards will ask the violator what the matter is. If an indistinct answer is given, the conversation will continue at the police station.

The penalty for smuggling money can be a fine of 50% of available cash. However, this is the maximum fine, the workers themselves will decide how severe the violation of customs rules was.

What does inspection look like?

No matter how you travel, by plane, by land or by sea, when entering France from a country that is not an EU member, you need to be prepared for a search of things.

Having found during the search the amount of 10,000 euros or more, the border guards will ask you to declare the funds at a certain point. There, the tourist will be asked a few questions, thereby checking the legality of the money being transported.

If the declaration was not made according to the law, but the amount exceeds the allowable amount by only a few hundred euros, then most often you can count on a pardon, the border guards are in no hurry to issue a fine. At the same time, such verification can take a lot of time.

When the amount is much higher than allowed, then the most important thing is that the money should not be hidden or disguised. Then, if the answer to the question about the origin of funds satisfies customs service, tourist can be free. Of course, the money will be withdrawn until the fine is determined.

While waiting for the verdict, it's a good idea to hire a lawyer. His activities will make it possible to mitigate decisions by pointing out the circumstances due to which it was not possible to declare the money. If the punishment seems too harsh, the ego can be challenged in court, but often additional proceedings do not bring a digestible result.

If the money was deliberately hidden, or nothing is known about its origin, especially if the amount exceeds 50,000 euros, the violator can be placed under arrest for 1-3 days until the case is clarified.

While at the station, you should contact your relatives as soon as possible, or submit a request to the consulate to find a lawyer. If this is not possible, then the authorities themselves assign a lawyer and translator to the Russian.

Such violations are subject to prosecution under the following articles:

• Deliberate concealment of undeclared money;
• Money laundering.

The second article will be applied if the illegality of receiving funds is proven. The verdict can serve up to 5 years in prison and up to 375,000 fines. In addition, the transported money will be confiscated. So it's better not to save on a lawyer.

How much wine and other alcohol can be taken out of France in 2020

Tourists often buy cognacs, champagne and wines known all over the world as gifts for friends and relatives. You can export from France an unlimited amount of alcohol, but it is limited.

Without paying tax, you can import into the Russian Federation in 2020 up to three liters of alcoholic beverages. The person carrying must be at least 18 years of age. For subsequent liters, you must pay an additional 10 euros for each. Because of this, the transportation of alcohol from France to Russia is financially unprofitable, for this money you can buy the same drinks in your own country.

Import regulations for tobacco in France

There is no point in exporting cigarettes from France. They are expensive and don't have a great reputation. In the reverse order, you can carry the same amount of tobacco as when entering the country.

Food

You can import 500 grams of coffee, or 200 coffee extract; 100 grams of tea and 40 tea extract.

In addition, there is a whole list of restrictions on the import of products into France. They rock every guest of the country personally.

• Mother's milk substitute - up to 2 kg;
• Baby food - up to 2 kg;
• Sturgeon caviar - up to 125 g;
• Fish and seafood - up to 20 kg. Moreover, they must be in the package, confirming the safety;
• Fruits, vegetables and edible roots - up to 5 kg, this does not include citrus fruits;
• Animal products - up to 1 kg;
• Honey - up to 2 kg;
• Live oysters, mussels and snails - up to 2 kg.

From France, pates, foie gras, sausages and cheeses are often brought. You can export products in unlimited quantities. But the Russian Federation sets a limit of 5 kg for any product.

And age doesn't matter. Even a child can take this amount. Products must be ready to eat. You can not transport raw fish or meat, as well as semi-finished products.

Food must be in its original packaging. If the goods are simply wrapped with film or foil, they can be confiscated at customs.

Duty-free import of goods, currency.
There are no quantitative restrictions for the import of foreign currency. If the imported amount is 7500 euros or more, it must be declared. Allowed to import duty-free:

Items for personal use (not for commercial purposes);
goods purchased in the countries of the European Union, provided that the relevant taxes have been included in their value (this can be confirmed by the presentation of receipts);
goods purchased in countries outside the European Union, subject to one of the following conditions:
taxes and fees have already been paid on them (confirmed by invoices and customs receipts)
them total cost does not exceed 175 euros;1
Import of alcohol, tobacco products, tea, coffee.
Free import allowed individual(arriving from a country outside the European Union):

200 cigarettes, or 100 cigarillos, or 50 cigars, or 250 g of smoking tobacco;
2 liters of wine, or 1 liter of alcoholic beverage with a strength above 22 degrees;
2 liters of alcoholic beverages with a strength of less than 22 degrees (with the exception of wine).

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products are allowed to be imported by persons over 17 years of age.

50 ml of perfume or 250 ml of eau de toilette;
500 g coffee or 200 g coffee extract;
100 g of tea or 40 g of tea extract;
2 kg of fish;
250 g of sturgeon caviar;
1 kg of animal products.
Import of animals.
France is a party to the UN Convention on International Trade Rare Species of Wild Animals and Plants (CITES). When importing rare species of animals that are under the protection of the CITES Convention (http://www.tamognia.ru/laws/law_843.html), special rules must be followed. Depending on which CITES Annex the imported animal is assigned to, a person must submit an export, import CITES permit, a certificate of origin2. Animals listed on Appendix I require a CITES export and import permit, Appendix II requires a CITES export permit, and Appendix III requires a certificate of origin. For the import of items made from animals or plants protected by the Convention (corals, reptile skin products), a special certificate will be required. To import a cat or dog, you must have a vaccination certificate, a medical certificate in French3.

Goods prohibited for import.
You cannot bring into France:
counterfeit (fake) goods under the brands "Christian Dior", "Nina Ricci", "Lankom", etc.;
certain types of toys that may be dangerous for children due to their chemical (toxic paint) and physical properties(loosely fastened small parts);
drugs;
objects of historical value;
weapons and ammunition.

Customs regulations and laws of France
If you are going to France, then you need to remember that the following are allowed for unhindered export by French customs: tobacco products (200 cigarettes, or 100 thin cigars, or 50 cigars, or 250 g of tobacco), dry wines (2 l) or strong drinks ( 1 l), perfume (50 g), coffee (500 g), tea (100 g), medicines (in reasonable quantities), other goods - in the amount of 1200 francs (for persons over 15 years old) or 600 francs (for persons under 15 years of age). Tobacco products and alcoholic beverages can only be carried by persons over 17 years of age.

If during your stay in France you bought a large number of things and paid value added tax (in Russian VAT, and in French TVA), then on the way back you can get it refunded by presenting a sales receipt. This operation does not take much time, but in this case it is better to arrive at the airport half an hour early.

With regard to illegal imports, France is taking the most drastic measures to combat smuggling, in particular with the transportation of fakes (bottles, watches, spirits, medicines, toys, etc.). And this is not surprising: of the 10 global firms most often copied by scammers different countries, 7 firms - French. This is especially true of French cosmetics and perfumes.

As you know, under French law, the mere fact that you have any fake is considered a serious offense and entails confiscation of fakes, a customs fine or even prosecution. Be law-abiding and careful!

Please note that there is no green or red channel for customs at Paris Airport. Two or three customs officers stand at the exit from the baggage hall and carry out the so-called "selective control" (as a rule, people with a very large amount of baggage or oversized baggage are checked). At the slightest suspicion, you can be stopped and inspected. Be prepared for this behavior as it is regulated by the French customs code.

There are no red (where you need to declare goods) and green (nothing to declare) corridors at the Paris airport. Several customs officers stand at the exit of the baggage claim hall and selectively control passengers' luggage. The probability of control is higher if you are an Arab with very large luggage (five suitcases even for 1 girl looks like a lot) or with non-standard luggage. And if you are stopped by customs officers, it is better to be nice and not be indignant, because if you swear, the French police may also come and resolve the issue at a different level. And the French have a right to all this. So if you really don’t like something, it’s better to just file a complaint about illegal actions in the European style. When moving between EU countries, goods are not subject to duty. Unless you are carrying something in industrial quantities, there should be no special questions. If you are entering from countries outside the EU (such as Russia, Ukraine), then remember the following restrictions:

Duty-free import of currency:

There are no quantitative restrictions for the import of foreign currency into France. If the imported amount is 10,000 euros or more, it must be declared.

Allowed to import duty-free:

• items for personal use (not for commercial purposes);
• goods purchased in the countries of the European Union, provided that the relevant taxes have been included in their value (this can be confirmed by the presentation of receipts);
• goods purchased in countries outside the European Union, subject to one of the following conditions:
• taxes and fees have already been paid on them (confirmed by invoices and customs receipts)
• their total cost does not exceed 175 euros (for persons under 15 years old - 90 euros);
• Import of alcohol, tobacco products, tea, coffee.

Allowed to import goods (per 1 person):

• 200 cigarettes, or 100 cigarillos, or 50 cigars, or 250 g of smoking tobacco;
• 2 liters of wine, or 1 liter of alcoholic beverage with a strength above 22 degrees;
• 2 liters of alcoholic beverages with a strength of less than 22 degrees (with the exception of wine).
  • Alcoholic beverages and tobacco products are allowed to be imported by persons over 17 years of age.

• 50 ml of perfume or 250 ml of eau de toilette;
• 500 g coffee or 200 g coffee extract;
• 100 g of tea or 40 g of tea extract;
• 2 kg of fish;
• 250 g of sturgeon caviar;
• 1 kg of animal products.

Jewelry and valuables It is better to declare upon import so that there are no problems when leaving the country.

Import of animals.

France is a party to the UN Convention on International Trade in Rare Species of Wild Animals and Plants (CITES). When importing rare species of animals protected by the CITES Convention, special rules must be followed. Depending on which CITES Annex the imported animal is assigned to, a person must submit an export, import CITES permit, a certificate of origin2. Animals listed on Appendix I require a CITES export and import permit, Appendix II requires a CITES export permit, and Appendix III requires a certificate of origin. For the import of items made from animals or plants protected by the Convention (corals, reptile skin products), a special certificate will be required. To import a cat or dog, you must have a vaccination certificate, a medical certificate in French (issued no earlier than 5 days before the trip).

You CANNOT bring into France:

• counterfeit (fake) goods under the brands "Christian Dior", "Nina Ricci", "Lankom", etc.;
• some types of toys that may be dangerous for children due to their chemical (toxic paint) and physical properties (loosely fastened small parts);
• drugs;
• objects of historical value;
• weapons and ammunition.