Arrival checks at Brussels Gare du Midi at the moment?

[33Hz]

Hi, has anyone been through Gare du Midi recently to know if the Belgians are doing checks on arrival for vaccination status and the like?

The reason I ask is I am planning a trip that would need a Eurostar to ICE connection and wondered if the usual 20 minutes XX:05 arrival to XX:25 departure is sensible to consider at the moment?

Note, I know that as a transiting passenger I still need to fill in the PLF but a pre-departure test is not required for Belgium. Is this true for Eurostar, even though it goes through France and it's French border control that will check you in London?

 

[Watershed]

Hi, has anyone been through Gare du Midi recently to know if the Belgians are doing checks on arrival for vaccination status and the like?

The reason I ask is I am planning a trip that would need a Eurostar to ICE connection and wondered if the usual 20 minutes XX:05 arrival to XX:25 departure is sensible to consider at the moment?

Note, I know that as a transiting passenger I still need to fill in the PLF but a pre-departure test is not required for Belgium. Is this true for Eurostar, even though it goes through France and it's French border control that will check you in London?

Back at the end of October, I experienced a vaccine passport check upon arriving on Thalys from Germany. So I certainly wouldn't rule it out, though it would make little sense seeing as you would have had that all checked before departure.

It didn't take more than a minute or two though, so I wouldn't allow a massive amount of time for it.

 

[banjo125]

There was a check in place on Monday, but I managed to get the ICE @ XX:25

 

[33Hz]

Thanks both.

@banjo125 did you need to show a test result to the French authorities on check in?

 

[banjo125]

No test result was required, I think that's currently just required in France, as Brussels is in Belgium their "rules" are different, but as things can change rapidly my advice would be to check the government website regarding foreign travel in the days leading up to your trip, links are also available on the Eurostar website.
Also the exit in use was the one half way down the platform as opposed to the buffer stops end.

 

[33Hz]

Thanks - that's useful, as I would have assumed that one would be closed and they'd make you go to the front and chosen a seat appropriately.

 

[Beebman]

Although this is regarding NL rather than BE, I've just seen this Tweet from Anna Holligan, the BBC's Netherlands Correspondent, who is currently at St.Pancras:

https://twitter.com/annaholligan/status/1469963657157218308

Chaos and confusion among @Eurostar passengers at St Pancras. Those exempt from quarantine in NL told by staff negative test required to board the train. Rapid test companies doing a roaring trade

 

[33Hz]

That's worrying as my preferred timing is on the service that continues to Amsterdam.

Their own website says testing only required for stays in Belgium over 48 hours. Someone didn't get the memo.

 

[Beebman]

She's just posted a follow-up tweet in which she says a different Eurostar staff member just waved her through after she'd spent £40 on a test:

https://twitter.com/annaholligan/status/1469975084597194754

 

[biko]

The Netherlands do require a test and quarantine for travellers entering from the UK. However, if you’re fully vaccinated, the quarantine isn’t necessary.

Belgium has different rules altogether, so you shouldn’t look at the Dutch rules at all, because you’re not going there.

 

[banjo125]

Also (& slightly off topic) vaccination certificate checks have been made on certain DB services in the past week, on a mixture of ICE, IC & regional services

 

[DanielB]

Also (& slightly off topic) vaccination certificate checks have been made on certain DB services in the past week, on a mixture of ICE, IC & regional services

That's because in Germany 3G rules apply on public transport, so you should be vaccinated, tested or recovered. (Geimpft, Getested, Genesen in Germany; hence 3G)

 

[33Hz]

Belgium has different rules altogether, so you shouldn’t look at the Dutch rules at all, because you’re not going there.

Indeed, I'm aware that the rules for the Netherlands are completely different - but if staff are asking to see negative tests for everyone getting on that Amsterdam train, even people alighting at Brussels for onward travel, they are in the wrong.

 

[StephenHunter]

The UK is on the Belgian red list, so a test is required:

FPS Public Health

www.info-coronavirus.be

 

[33Hz]

The UK is on the Belgian red list, so a test is required:

FPS Public Health

www.info-coronavirus.be

Not if you are there less than 48 hours.

 

[StephenHunter]

Not if you are there less than 48 hours.

Not according to the FCDO.

 

[33Hz]

Sorry but the Belgians' own website disagrees.

 

[OldandRambling]

What does not via a carrier mean? I assume a train is a carrier, rather than your own car, for example.
It sounds to me as though the "less than 48hrs" is part of the not arriving by carrier deal?

 

[XAM2175]

Sorry but the Belgians' own website disagrees.

What does not via a carrier mean? I assume a train is a carrier, rather than your own car, for example.
It sounds to me as though the "less than 48hrs" is part of the not arriving by carrier deal?

Yes, I'm reading that as saying that exemption applies only to people who have travelled by private means and who are remaining in Belgium for no longer than 48 hours - so if you are travelling to Belgium with a public carrier (such as Eurostar) you do not qualify for the exemption regardless of the duration of your stay.

 

[samuelmorris]

I have just returned from a trip to Germany using Eurostar and DB.

The checks at Midi on the way out are as follows: a man standing between you and the escalator, yelling "PLF s'il vous plait!" and then looking at a QR code on your phone. The QR code could be of anything, mind. The check was extremely brief, but that was about it.

On the way back to the UK, however, the full passport control and documentation check applies.

Belgium make it clear as mud with the regulations, but to visit Belgium on Eurostar you do need:
- a clinic-certified negative LFT or PCR test for your outbound travel
- a clinic-issued LFT (with online verification, not just an NHS one you do yourself) to take while away before you come back
- a PCR booked after your arrival back in the UK
- a passenger locator form for Belgium, completed before you travel out (this is checked in the UK)
- a passenger locator form for the UK you'll likely have to complete while away, due to having a 48-hour expiry
- for onward travel to Germany, separate PLF forms for each direction in Belgium, and a separate PLF for Germany (the latter was never checked)
- your covid pass showing proof of vaccination with both doses and an ACTIVE QR code (the QR codes expire after 30 days so make sure you don't have an old PDF / printout)
- your usual travel documents, passport I assume
- your Eurostar / DB / whatever tickets of course

Note, I know that as a transiting passenger I still need to fill in the PLF but a pre-departure test is not required for Belgium.

I need to state, this is NOT correct. This caught me out too as I believed this to be the case, but Eurostar would not allow you to enter security at St Pancras without a negative departure test due to recent changes to Belgian restrictions not listed on either the Eurostar or the gov.uk website, ye be warned!

No checks were made on my train from Brussels to Cologne with Thalys, but it was a busy evening peak train, perhaps that is to be expected.
Covid pass & PLF checks were made on the DB train from Cologne back to Brussels. People that didn't have a PLF didn't seem to be impeded in any way, but were warned that they could be in trouble later in their journey.

I think that covers everything? (I'm obviously not liable if I've left something out or if it's changed again by the time you travel!) It's a real hassle, honestly, which is a shame as otherwise, getting the train into Europe and back would have been really quite easy.

 

[StephenHunter]

The Collinson Group on the first floor at St Pancras is a very good place to get a pre-departure LFT test from my experience. Pre-book though.

 

[Birkonian]

Yes, I'm reading that as saying that exemption applies only to people who have travelled by private means and who are remaining in Belgium for no longer than 48 hours - so if you are travelling to Belgium with a public carrier (such as Eurostar) you do not qualify for the exemption regardless of the duration of your stay.

If you dig further into the info-coronavirus.be website you can read this clarification:

"For short-stay travel (less than 48 hours) in Belgium or abroad, please tick the relevant box on the Passenger Locator Form and no text message will be sent. In this case, quarantine is not mandatory. This does not apply to travellers returning from a third country classified as a very high-risk zone. There are currently no countries classified as very high-risk zones."

This contradicts the info on our own Gov.uk site which says that the 48 hours short stay/no quarantine option has been removed. A friend of mine contacted VisitFlanders who replied that they weren't completely sure but "thought" that it was still o.k. The rules for Belgium have been as clear as mud for months.

BTW I arrived in Midi at 18:05 a few months back, walked from carriage 3 to the middle escalator (next to carriages 10/11) was subject to a vaccination check at the bottom of the escalator and still managed to catch a train from one of the furthest platforms 18 at 18:19, dragging a heavy suitcase.