Will a paper Covid pass be valid in Europe?

Q

We are retired and enjoy travelling through Europe by train. Our destination is usually Switzerland, staying for a couple of days in France.

We would like to return, but we do not have a smartphone to confirm our vaccination status. Nor do we know anyone who can show us how to use one. All the reports we have read state that we must obtain a pass sanitaire by downloading a QR code on to an app. Is it compulsory to have a smartphone or is there a paper alternative?

– Ann and Rodney de Mello

A

Having just returned from France, I can confirm that you will have a frustrating time if you do not have smartphone proof that you are double vaccinated. I saw British tourists with paper printouts of their NHS vaccination status turned away – once in a restaurant and twice at museums – as staff could not scan the NHS QR code into their phones to produce the green tick. The pass sanitaire is also required for long-distance train travel.

Despite your reluctance to buy a smartphone, packing one is going to be almost essential in the future. And it’s not all bad. You can use apps to store the QR codes for digital train tickets, check the weather, translate a menu, set an alarm, get alerts about service delays, buy tickets for museums and reserve tables in restaurants.

I asked a few tech-savvy contacts about the best phone for a beginner and they all recommended the compact iPhone SE 2020, which costs £399 (apple.com). Second-hand phone shops also sell cheaper reconditioned phones.

Asking a friend or relative to teach you doesn’t always work. You need someone who is used to teaching new users. I spoke to Hampshire Library Services to see if any of the libraries near where you live have smartphone or iPad classes, but they still focus only on laptop computing. Similarly the National Careers Service knew of no government-funded schemes.

Fortunately, there are plenty of freelance IT tutors. I tracked down Neil Kingsbeer (01425 628309), who runs Bare Technology in New Milton, a few miles away from you. He has a great deal of experience of teaching older people to use computers and mobile phones and can come to your home. He charges £30 an hour, which, he says, is enough time to teach the basics.

So I recommend embracing the new digital world and discovering the myriad ways in which a smartphone can enhance your holiday.

App, app, appy talk: visitors to Switzerland will have to embrace smartphone technology if they want to travel long-distance by train