SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

TRAVEL NEWS

Is there really a minimum cash requirement for British visitors to France?

Brexit has ushered in a host of travel changes for Brits coming to France, but is there really a minimum amount of cash you need to enter the country? We look at financial requirements for visitors.

Is there really a minimum cash requirement for British visitors to France?
Brits entering France now face a host of extra checks. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

UK media have recently been reporting a ‘new’ announcement from Spanish authorities about a minimum amount of money needed for British tourists – but in fact this has always been the case for non-EU citizens and applies equally to France.

Who does this affect?

This is for tourists, visitors and second-home owners – people who do not live in France and do not have either a residency card (carte de séjour) or a visa.

If you enter with a carte de séjour or visa you will not be asked to provide proof of financial means (although you may need to provide them during the visa/residency application process).

If you are a visitor with an EU passport (eg French or Irish) this does not apply to you. 

What can French border guards ask you?

Non-EU citizens entering France can be asked to provide a range of documents, in addition to a valid passport:

  • Proof of accommodation – either a booking for a hotel/gite/Airbnb if you are a tourist, proof of your address if you are a second-home owner or an attestation d’acceuil if you are staying with friends or family – full details on the attestation d’acceuil here;
  • A return or round-trip ticket (or proof of onward travel if you do not plan to return to your home country at the end of your stay in France);
  • Documents proving your purpose of entry;
  • Proof that you have the financial means to support yourself while in France.

This doesn’t mean that every non-EU citizen entering France is asked for all these documents – far from it in fact – but French police are entitled to ask and if you are unable or unwilling to provide these documents you can be refused entry to the country.

How much money do you need?

There is a sliding scale for how much money you need to prove you can support yourself financially while in France:

  • If you are staying in a hotel, gite, Airbnb, campsite or similar you need €65 for each day of your stay – so for example €650 for a 10-day stay;
  • If you are staying with friends or family (and have the attestation d’acceuil) you need €32.50 for each day of your stay;
  • If you do not have accommodation booked for your entire stay, or are staying with friends and family and do not have the attestation d’acceuil, you need €120 a day.

How do you prove it?

The EU states that proof of means that will be accepted are; cash, travellers cheques, bank statements for the last three months showing the balance of your account at the required level or credit cards (debit cards are not accepted).

Showing a current online bank statement is not considered sufficient.

Come on, are they really going to check all British tourists?

It’s pretty unlikely. As mentioned, this has always been the rule for non-EU citizens arriving in France – the only change is that since Brexit it now applies to Britons too.

But anecdotal evidence from American, Canadian and Australian tourists entering France suggests that financial checks are rare, although it’s not unusual to be asked about the purpose of your visit or for proof of where you are staying.

Anecdotal evidence from other non-EU citizens suggests that, unfortunately, racial profiling does happen, so people of colour are more likely to be asked extra questions at the border.

But random checks could take place, and French border guards are entirely within their rights to refuse you entry if you are unable to supply the required proof.

So this is Brexit-related?

Yes. This is the rule for non-EU citizens and applies in all EU countries (although each country sets their own level of financial requirements) – since the UK left the EU it now applies to Brits entering EU Member States, too.

This is one just one many extra travel requirements for Brits entering France since Brexit, including passport-stamping, new rules for pets and restrictions on the items that can be brought in.

Travel to France: What has changed since Brexit

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

BRITS IN FRANCE

Bad food but good culture: What the French really think of the UK

They might not love British cuisine but the UK remains a very popular destination for French people to visit, while thousands of them also want to make the move permanently.

Bad food but good culture: What the French really think of the UK

Almost three million French tourists travel to the UK every year with the country’s vibrant cities, history and culture given as the top reasons for their trip.

And a recent survey has revealed a surprisingly positive view of their neighbour from French people – with one exception.

The French participants in the study were asked to rank 60 different countries based on several different topics – tourism, culture, people, exports, governance, immigration and investment. 

So what did they say about the UK?

Bad food

French survey respondents placed British food at the very bottom of the list – in 60th place out of all 60 countries. 

This is far lower than the UK’s average, which was 18th amongst the other nationalities interviewed.

In an interview with The Guardian about how the French feel about British food, the British comedian, Tatty Macleod, who was raised in France said “English food to [the French] is essentially fish and chips (…) they think of Brits as beer louts with unhealthy diets”.

This has been a longstanding feeling amongst the French – in 2018, another comedian, Al Murray, went across the Channel with the documentary series ‘Why does everyone hate the English?’

In France, he teamed up with radio host Antoine de Caunes, and when launching the programme, they conducted a small survey of several hundred viewers to find out the top 20 things the French ‘hate’ about the English.

There were a couple of food-related comments: “Their inability to cook” came in fourth place, the “lack of variety in their diet” took 11th place and “the fact that they put ketchup on everything” came in 12th place, according to a round-up by Ouest France.

It’s been suggested that many French people have bad memories of food they were given on school trips to the UK, often decades ago, and certainly bad food is a recurring theme in French films and TV shows about trips to the UK.

Worth visiting

Despite not having a taste for British cuisine, the French did have a positive view of UK tourism, placing the country 5th for both “vibrant city life and urban attractions” and for being “rich in historic buildings and monuments” in the IPSOS study.

According to Visit Britain, the UK welcomed 2.8 million tourists from France in 2022.

In the culture category in general, the French ranked the UK in third place out of all 60 countries. 

One aspect of British culture that French people seem to really enjoy is the royal family.

In 2021, 6 million people in France watched the funeral of Prince Phillip, 4 million watched the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and the royal weddings of princes William and Harry attracted 9 and 8 million French viewers respectively.

Charles de Gaulle once remarked: “The French have a taste for princes, but they will always look abroad'”.

READ MORE: Why British royals are so popular in France

And in terms of visiting the UK, IPSOS’ findings are in line with previous data about where French people choose to go on holiday – the UK was the fourth most popular country among French people, as of 2019, according to Le Monde.

A 2021 study by Visit Britain also found that 10 percent of French people would pick the UK as their top global destination.

Moving to the UK

And there are plenty of French people who decide to make their stay a long-term or even permanent one.

The UK ranked in third place as of 2023 for French students to study abroad.

It also comes in third place – behind Switzerland and the US – for having the most French people living there.

After Brexit, over 240,000 French people applied for the EU settlement scheme in the UK from 2018 to 2021, and once applications were reviewed, approximately 130,000 received settled status and 93,100 received pre-settled status. 

Among the French, London is sometimes nicknamed ‘France’s sixth city’ due to the number of French people living there.

Polite, well-mannered and funny

The French ranked Brits in 21st place for the question “If visited, people would make me feel very welcome”. This is an increase of two spots from the 2022 results.

When scouring the internet, British politeness does come up often in French clichés about the UK.

Ouest France reported that over a third (36 percent) of French people interviewed for Al Murray’s show “appreciated the politeness and good manners of the English.”

Three out of every 10 people also thought Brits had a good sense of humour – and Brits felt this way about themselves too. 

In a 2009 survey exploring British views of the French, 71 percent of participants said that the French are ‘sexier’ than the British, but 80 percent said the British had a better sense of humour. 

READ MORE: Do the French really have no sense of humour?

Driving on the left-side

And finally, to get a better idea of French opinions about Brits, The Local turned to Google.

We searched both anglais (English) and britanniques (British) because the French do have a bit of a tendency to mix them up and refer to all inhabitants of the UK (and sometimes even the Irish) with the sweeping les anglais. 

The first suggested response had to do with driving on the left-side of the road, which also popped up in the survey by ‘Why does everyone hate the English?’ as the number 1 thing the French ‘hate’ about the British.

READ MORE: Tea and Dordogne: How do the French perceive the Brits?

SHOW COMMENTS