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French firm’s message to British workers highlights confusion over residency after Brexit

In an example of the confusing and often contradictory instructions to Brits in France one France-based company has demanded that all its UK staff produce a carte de séjour residency permit within SIX months of Brexit - despite the French government planning to allow Brits a one-year grace period in which to secure their futures.

Published: 1 October 2019 15:59 CEST
French firm's message to British workers highlights confusion over residency after Brexit
Photo: AFP

The company – which employs a large number of British staff, many working part time or from home – has sent out an emailing saying that employees from the UK need to provide a copy of their carte de séjour residency permit to the firm's HR department within six months of the date of Britain leaving the EU.

The translation and linguistics company says “staff will have six months to ensure that they are able to work and reside in France” and asks for a copy of the carte de séjour residency permit.

This has sparked panic among its British staff, many of whom do not have residency permits and have not even been able to start the application process.

One staff member who lives in south west France told The Local: “I just got this email out of the blue saying we needed to show them a copy of the carte de séjour within six months of Brexit.

“But my local préfecture has stopped accepting applications so at the moment I have nothing and there's nothing I can do.

“There's no guarantee that I will have a card in six months. I'm not sure what to do,” said the member of staff.

The employee asked that neither her name nor the company's name be included in the article for fear of losing her job, but wanted to highlight the problem around the confusing instructions being given to Brits.

The French government's no-deal Brexit decree states that British people who are already resident in France on Brexit day will be given a one-year grace period to organise their residency status, although they must apply for residency within six months of the leave date.

Although France's plan still depends on the UK providing a reciprocal guarantee for the French in Britain.

For the last six months, local authorities in many areas of France have not been processing applications from British citizens, preferring to wait until the outcome of Brexit negotiations.

After Brexit people who already have a long-term residency card – a carte de séjour permenant – will be able swap it for the new carte de résidence longue durée but everyone else will have to start the process from scratch.

The French government has said it is setting up a new website that will allow people to make the applications online, but that is not up and running yet.

READ MORE: UPDATED No deal checklist for Britons in France

The email sent by the company to its British staff reads: “If there is a no deal, staff will have six months to ensure that they are able to work and reside in France. Ensure to send / hand / put in the HR box a copy of your carte de séjour as soon as you have it.”

When questioned, the company responded: “Many British people working in France already have a current carte de séjour or have applied for French nationality. As a French company we will be required to respect French law on employing third country immigrants, which is what British people will be if there is no deal.”

One of their staff told The Local: “The tone of it was just so abrupt, sickening really. I pointed them to information on the British embassy page and in other places about the one-year grace period but they didn't seem to want to listen.

“I only work for them part time and I have other sources of income, but I know people who depend on them for all of their income and they are really worried.”

The latest advice from the British Embassy in Paris is: “If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, UK nationals living in France on the day the UK leaves the EU will be given a grace period of one year to obtain their residence card. You will have six months from this day to apply for your card and you will receive it before the end of 12 months from exit.

“During this grace period, you will retain your right of residence, and associated work and social rights.”

 

Member comments

  2. For once I agree with (antagonist) Boggy. 🙂

    But, come on, those employees saw the writing on the wall in 1976, when Britain joined, and that one day they would leave?

    And low the UK announced, what, 3 years ago?

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For members

EES PASSPORT CHECKS

How will the new app for Europe’s EES border system work?

With Europe set to introduce its new Entry/Exit biometric border system (EES) in the autumn there has been much talk about the importance of a new app designed to help avoid delays. But how will it work and when will it be ready?

Published: 7 May 2024 10:29 CEST
How will the new app for Europe's EES border system work?

When it comes into force the EU’s new digital border system known as EES will register the millions of annual entries and exits of non-EU citizens travelling to the EU/Schengen area, which will cover 29 European countries.

Under the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), non-EU residents who do not require a visa will have to register their biometric data in a database that will also capture each time they cross an external Schengen border.

Passports will no longer be manually stamped, but will be scanned. However, biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard when the non-EU traveller first crosses in to the EU/Schengen area.

Naturally there are concerns the extra time needed for this initial registration will cause long queues and tailbacks at the border.

To help alleviate those likely queues and prevent the subsequent frustration felt by travellers the EU is developing a new smartphone app.

READ ALSO: What will the EES passport system mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The importance of having a working app was summed up by Uku Särekanno, Deputy Executive Director of the EU border agency Frontex in a recent interview.

“Initially, the challenge with the EES will come down to the fact that travellers arriving in Europe will have to have their biographic and biometric data registered in the system – border guards will have to register four of their fingerprints and their facial image. This process will take time, and every second really matters at border crossing points – nobody wants to be stuck in a lengthy queue after a long trip.”

But there is confusion around what the app will actually be able to do, if it will help avoid delays and importantly when will it be available?

So here’s what we know so far.

Who is developing the app?

The EU border agency Frontex is currently developing the app. More precisely, Frontex is developing the back-end part of the app, which will be made available to Schengen countries.

“Frontex is currently developing a prototype of an app that will help speed up this process and allow travellers to share some of the information in advance. This is something we are working on to support the member states, although there is no legal requirement for us to do so,” Uku Särekanno said in the interview.

Will the 29 EES countries be forced to use the app?

No, it is understood that Frontex will make the app available on a voluntary basis. Each government will then decide if, when and where to use it, and develop the front-end part based on its own needs.

This point emerged at a meeting of the House of Commons European scrutiny committee, which is carrying out an inquiry on how EES will impact the UK.

What data will be registered via the app?

The Local asked the European Commission about this. A spokesperson however, said the Commission was not “in a position to disclose further information at this stage” but that travellers’ personal data “will be processed in compliance with the high data security and data protection standards set by EU legislation.”

According to the blog by Matthias Monroy, editor of the German civil rights journal Bürgerrechte & Polizei/CILIP the Frontex app will collect passengers’ name, date of birth, passport number, planned destination and length of stay, reason for travelling, the amount of cash they carry, the availability of a credit card and of a travel health insurance. The app could also allow to take facial images. It will then generate a QR code that travellers can present at border control.

This, however, does not change the fact that fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing into the Schengen area.

So given the need to register finger prints and facial images with a border guard, the question is how and if the app will help avoid those border queues?

When is the app going to be available?

The answer to perhaps the most important question is still unclear.

The Commissions spokesperson told The Local that the app “will be made available for Schengen countries as from the Entry/Exit System start of operations.” The planned launch date is currently October 6th, but there have been several delays in the past and may be another one.

The UK parliamentary committee heard that the prototype of the app should have been ready for EU member states in spring. Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the UK Department for Transport, said the app will not be available for testing until August “at best” and that the app will not be ready in time for October. The committee previously stated that the app might even be delayed until summer 2025.

Frontex’s Särekanno said in his interview: “Our aim is to have it ready by the end of the summer, so it can then be gradually integrated into national systems starting from early autumn”.

READ ALSO: How do the EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Can the system be launched if the app is not ready?

Yes. The European Commission told The Local that “the availability of the mobile application is not a condition for the Entry/Exit System entry into operation or functioning of the system. The app is only a tool for pre-registration of certain types of data and the system can operate without this pre-registration.”

In addition, “the integration of this app at national level is to be decided by each Schengen country on a voluntary basis – as there is no legal obligation to make use of the app.”

And the UK’s transport under secretary Guy Opperman sounded a note of caution saying the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

When the app will be in use, will it be mandatory for travellers?

There is no indication that the app will become mandatory for those non-EU travellers who need to register for EES. But there will probably be advantages in using it, such as getting access to faster lanes.

As a reminder, non-EU citizens who are resident in the EU are excluded from the EES, as are those with dual nationality for a country using EES. Irish nationals are also exempt even though Ireland will not be using EES because it is not in the Schengen area.

Has the app been tested anywhere yet?

Frontex says the prototype of the app will be tested at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, in Sweden. Matthias Monroy’s website said it was tested last year at Munich Airport in Germany, as well as in Bulgaria and Gibraltar.

According to the German Federal Police, the blog reports, passengers were satisfied and felt “prepared for border control”.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

 
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