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Neglected and less reassured than ever: Brits in France face more Brexit anxiety

The final text of the withdrawal agreement coupled with the chaos in Westminster since its announcement has left Britons in France facing yet more limbo, stress and the feeling that they and the 1.2 UK citizens around the EU have simply been used and abused as mere bargaining chips once again.

Published: 16 November 2018 15:18 CET

Neglected and less reassured than ever: Brits in France face more Brexit anxiety

Photo: AFP

While the infighting and chaos within Theresa May's Conservative party has understandably dominated the media coverage of the draft Brexit deal in recent days little has been said about the section of the population considered among those most affected by Britain's seemingly unceremonious departure from the EU.

Three million EU citizens in the UK and 1.2 million Britons in the EU, including around 150,000 in France have faced over two years of uncertainty and anxiety waiting for the outcome of negotiations and now even after a deal has been reached between negotiators in London and Brussels they are still in limbo.

Some of those Britons living in France told The Local on Friday that the draft deal, even though it guarantees their rights to live and stay in France, offers little reassurance and it even strips them and their children of a key right.

Jason Carter said: “We are still in the same position at this stage as nothing is concrete yet.”

“It is not a relief that there is a deal on the table as it shouldn’t have to be there in the first place. I am not reassured at all.”

“Britons in the EU are still being are neglected. We should have been considered from the start and not just as a result of how EU nationals in Britain will be treated. We are not a bargaining tool. We are human beings who are entitled to choose where we live on previous agreements.”

Mary Guyver said: “I am not reassured at all. We've been swept under the carpet and used as bargaining chips.”

While some Britons admitted relief on a personal level that a deal was on the table given it guarantees they can continue to rely on important rights such as reciprocal healthcare, the string of government resignations and the likelihood that a deal will be rejected in the British parliament means the stress and anxiety they have lived through will only be heightened over the coming weeks.

If there is a no-deal then Brits in Franc must rely on the French government taking steps to guarantee their status, although Paris has already said that will all depend on London acting to protect French citizens in the UK

“Looking at the hostile environment in the UK at present , it doesn't bode well , our rights should have been ring fenced right from the start,” said Mary Guyver.

And the worry is taking its toll.

“There's a low grade anxiety always just under the surface,” she said. “I burst into tears during a phone call with my daughter in the UK when Brexit came up. I just couldn't keep the lid on any longer.”

Others talk of having to switch off from reading and hearing about Brexit such was the worry.

Given the limbo of the last two and a half years many Britons have made their own moves to guarantee their futures rather than leave their lives resting on the strained shoulders of the negotiators in Brussels.

“The only things that have provided any feelings of security until the deal survives any attacks is the steps we have taken as a family to become French,” said Ian Proudfoot.

While the number of Brits applying for French nationality have soared, thousands more UK citizens in France are following advice from the Interior Ministry in Paris and applying for a EU residency permit, which in theory and in the words of the withdrawal agreement they will be able to exchange for whatever residency card the French introduce after Brexit.

But following the application process whether for nationality or a carte de séjour residency permit can simply add to the anxiety.

There have already been reports of people being turned down for a carte de séjour and being asked to leave France within 30 days.

Others who have been turned down because they can't prove they have sufficient income to make them self-sufficient in the eyes of the state – even though they have been here for years – are having to take their cases to the EU or pay for lawyers to help them with their appeals.

While others, particularly elderly British residents in France are simply too scared to apply.

“Several elderly people I know who have been here many years are simply too frightened to apply and are sticking their heads in the sand hoping it will be all right on the night,” said Mik Bennett.

(If you have concerns about getting a carte de séjour you can contact RIFT (Remain in France Together) via their website)

A lot of the anger among Brits living in the EU which has been reflected by campaign groups such as British in Europe and Remain in France Together is how both sides tried to give the impression their had delivered on citizens rights.

Michel Barnier the EU's chief negotiator stressed how EU citizens in the UK and the Britons in France could go on living their lives as before.

Yet many won't be able to because they ave been denied the right to onward freedom of movement.

British in Europe's Jane Golding summed up the significance in this column.

“Losing free movement, which many of our members rely on for work and family, is a major body blow For Britons in Europe – losing free movement – which many of our members rely on for work and family, is a major body blow.

“80 per cent of us are working age or younger and many rely on it for work and family.”

“For Helen, a caterer in the French Alps, losing it means she and her husband won’t be able to work in other EU countries at short notice which is what they do now during the summer months. They will only be able to work and have their catering qualifications recognised in France, which means they will lose almost half their annual income and won’t be able to replace it easily.”

Jason Carter said: “Onward freedom of movement is very important. We should have a right to move where we wish within member states as this was a historical right agreed when we first entered the EU.”

While others pointed out it would be their children who will really lose out without the right to settle in another country other than France.

There is still hope however that this loss can be rectified at a later date although hopes are not high given campaigners have been demanding it for two years already.

Although there were some positive voices out there.

Given the potential for chaos in the UK, some are just thankful they are living on this side of the Channel.

“Living in France, even with a wobbly prospect, at least there will be food in the supermarkets and medicine in the pharmacy,” said Rowland Par.

Member comments

Anonymous - 21 November 2018 at 21:09 CET

I’m moving to our French house in December in an attempt to secure our carte de sejour before Brexit, potentially, removes the option.

I’ve just reminded our UK MP that, when he casts his Brexit vote, his (and his fellow MP’s) oh-so-brief and transient act will carry the dreams, the ambitions, and lifetimes work of all those people like us.

He needs to remember and reflect upon that real-world fact at his moment of decision.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

INTERVIEW: 'A lot of people think Brexit is done, but it's not for Brits in Europe'

In the early days of 2021, after the United Kingdom had left the EU and completed the final stage of Brexit, many British citizens returned to their home countries in Europe only to face a grilling at the border.

Though the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) technically guaranteed their right to live and work in the countries they’d settled in before Brexit, there was widespread confusion about these fundamental rights and many were treated like new arrivals.

Over time, the chaos at the airports subsided as border officials and airlines were given clearer guidance on the treatment of Brits. But three years later, a number of Brits who live on the continent still face problems when it comes to proving their post-Brexit rights.

This was the reason campaign group British in Europe decided to set up their new EU-funded ICE project. Starting this year in March, it aims to build valuable connections between UK citizens abroad and mentor the next generation of civil rights advocates around the continent. The acronym stands for ‘Inform, Empower, Connect’ and the project’s organisers describe it as “the first project of its kind”.

“It’s a completely innovative project – especially the fact that it’s across so many countries,” Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe and one of the project’s founders, told The Local.

Bringing together groups from 11 EU member states, the project aims to train up volunteers to understand both the Withdrawal Agreement and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as learning skills like advocacy and communication, using real-life civil rights cases that are referred to British in Europe.

“The ultimate goal is to amplify the messages across the wider group,” said Golding. “You start with the volunteers, they go back to their groups, then the people that we train, they go back and train people. Then they pass on that knowledge to the wider groups, on their Facebook accounts and through social media, and hopefully it all snowballs, not just in their countries but across the EU.”

‘Far-reaching repercussions’

So many years after Brexit, it’s hard to believe that there’s still a need for a project like ICE that empowers Brits to protect their rights. Indeed, the future of groups like British in Europe and regional groups like British in Germany and British in Spain felt uncertain just a year or two ago.

But Golding says there are still serious issues cropping up for Brits in several countries around Europe – they just have a different quality to the problems that arose at the start.

“In some ways it’s needed even more because as we predicted right at the beginning, at the first stage of implementation, you’ve got the more routine cases,” she explained.

“What we’re seeing now is not as many cases, but when the cases come up, they’re complex. They can have such far-reaching repercussions on people’s lives. And of course, memories start to fade. A lot of people think Brexit is already done, but it’s not.”

Volunteers in British in Europe ICE project

The volunteers of the British in Europe ICE project pose for a photo at the kick-off meeting in Brussels on May 21st, 2024. Photo courtesy of Jane Golding

Though the rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement apply across the continent, different countries have taken different approaches to implementing them.

That means that while in Germany, for example, UK citizens simply had to declare that they lived in the country, people in neighbouring Denmark had to apply for their rights.

This led to a notorious situation in Denmark in which as many as 2,000 Brits were threatened with deportation after not applying in time or completing the right application process. According to Golding, this had a lot to do with the fact that people who arrived in 2020 weren’t given the same information as other UK migrants who arrived before.

In Sweden, meanwhile, the situation is still difficult for many Brits who lived there prior to Brexit.

“There have been issues with an anomalously high numbers of refusals compared to other countries, and they seem to be taking a very strict approach on late applications,” Golding explained.

Portugal has been another difficult case. Although the country opted for a declaratory system where Brits could simply exchange old residence documents for a new ID card after Brexit, reports suggest that the authorities have taken years to issue these cards, leaving many of the some 34,000 Brits in the country in limbo.

“While people are still waiting to have their status confirmed and have their card in their hand, it’s difficult to access a whole range of services, like health services, or applying for jobs or dealing with the authorities, or even going to the bank,” Golding said. “All of these problems just affect people’s lives.”

A French border guard checks a passport at the border

A French border guard checks a passport at the border. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

There are also concerns about the EU’s new exit and entry system (EES), due to come into force in October, which is based on biometric documentation.

“We still do not have clear data on how many people in declaratory countries like Germany, where it wasn’t compulsory to apply for the card, don’t actually have a card,” Golding said. “How is that going to play out if it’s a document-based digitalised system?”

A lack of support

In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was still available to support NGOs in Europe helping Brits with their migration and civil rights issues. But that temporary funding soon expired, leaving groups like British in Europe largely on their own.

“The whole point is people’s lives change at very different paces,” Golding said. “And now this project is really going to start to pick up some of those cases and report on those issues, which is really crucial and exciting for the precedent that it sets, and it’s very clearly necessary still, because people don’t just sort their lives in the 18 months that the FCDO chose to supply that funding.”

This feeling of being left alone and increasingly isolated from the UK is one that many Brits in Europe have felt in the aftermath of Brexit. But the upcoming UK election on July 4th could be a game-changer.

This time, following a change in the law, Brits who have lived abroad for more than 15 years will be able to vote for the first time.

Polling station in the UK

A polling station in the UK. Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash

When it comes to the election, the message from British in Europe is clear: “Make your voice count now, make your vote count, make sure you use it,” Golding said.

With the June 18th registration deadline fast approaching, BiE is advising UK citizens abroad to apply for a proxy vote as soon as possible, rather than relying on a postal vote from abroad. Since the 15-year rule was abolished on January 16th, more than 100,000 British citizens have registered to vote, according to official statistics. It is unclear how many were registered before the change in the law.

With an estimated 5.5 million Brits currently living abroad – 1.3 million of whom are in the EU – this could have a significant impact on the electoral landscape, Golding says. But most significantly, the change is creating a feeling of connection and belonging that wasn’t there before.

Nurturing this sense of belonging is one of the main goals of ICE.

With these bridges being built, British in Europe hopes to create a network of support that spans across borders.

“Now we’ve met. We’re going to meet,” said Golding. “We know we’re going to meet again in Berlin in October and then we’ll meet again in the new year in 2025 as well. It means a huge amount because even British in Europe, our steering team, we’ve only met physically three times.”

This opens up the possibility of people sharing their knowledge from country to country, Golding explained.

“There is crossover and the reassurance of having that EU wide view and knowing that you’re not alone and knowing that in this country, we managed to get this solution,” she said. “And then you can go back and say to the authorities in your country, well, in that country they did that – all of that helps. It’s really good.”

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