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BREXIT

French government’s new decree for Brits in no-deal Brexit: What you need to know

The French government on Wednesday morning published a new decree laying out the rights of British people living in France in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

French government's new decree for Brits in no-deal Brexit: What you need to know
Although negotiations are ongoing, the French government has published a decree in the case of a no-deal Brexit. Photo: AFP

The government decree covers British people who are already resident in France on the date that Britain leaves the EU – which is currently scheduled for April 12, although this could be extended – and only applies in the case of a no-deal Brexit.

It is the first time the French government has laid out in detail exactly what criteria various different groups of British people – employed people, self-employed, students and family members – will have to fulfill if they want to remain in the country.

 

An ordonnance published in February gave British people in France a one year 'breathing period' after a no-deal Brexit in which they could apply for a carte de sejour.

The new decree lays out what paperwork each group will need to apply for residency.

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People who already have a permanent carte de séjour as European citizens will be allowed to simply exchange it for one of the new cards by providing their valid passport and their current residency card. 

If you are applying for a residency card for the first time, and have lived in France for more than five years, you will need to submit the following documents:

  • A valid passport.
  • A recent photograph.
  • A document confirming the date of your arrival in France.
  • Proof that you meet the standard conditions for a temporary residence permit.

These conditions vary for different groups of people and they are as follows;

If you are applying for a student residency permit, you will need the following documents:

  • A certificate of enrolment in a public or private school or college or vocational training organisation.
  • If you have been enrolled for more than one year, you will need to prove your attendance and also the seriousness of your studies. 
  • If you apply for a multi-year student residency permit, you need documented proof that the course you are studying is covered by a EU programme. 

If you are applying as an employee, you will need the following documents:

  • Your employment contract. It must be a long-term contract, known in France as CDI, rather than a short-term one.
  • A recent payslip from the last six months.

If you are applying for a temporary working permit, you will need the following documents:

  • The fixed term contract, known in France as CDD.
  • A recent payslip from the last three months.

If you are applying as a freelance or self-employed, you will need to present the following documents:

  • Proof of registration in the trade and companies registry or proof of a social security registration for self-employed people. 
  • Justification of sufficient resources to support yourself, regardless of benefits and allowances. Your resources will be individually assessed. If your resources are not deemed sufficient, you might still qualify for a permit if you can prove that you are the owner of your accommodation or receiving free accommodation.

*You will not be required to prove sufficient resources if you receive a disability allowance.

If you are applying as a family member to a British national who already has a permit, you will need:

  • Proof of the family link.
  • If you are dependent on the family member's income, you will need to prove they can financially and materially support you.
  • A copy of the passport of the accompanied British national.
  • If you are applying as someone who had a relationship before the withdrawal date but that broke up after that date, you must also present proof of the separation and also a copy of the passport of the British national you were connected to.

The decree does not specifically mention retired people, but anyone who doesn't fall into any of the above categories will need to apply for a residency card and supply:

  • A valid passport.
  • A recent photograph.
  • A residency permit (carte de sejour)
  • If you do not have a residency permit, documents establishing the date of your arrival in France
  • Justification of sufficient resources to support yourself, regardless of benefits and allowances.

The decree does not contain any figures as to what is deemed a “sufficient resource” but says that applications will be individually assessed.

However there is an upper limit –  in no case must this be more than the level of the French in-work benefit RSA, Kalba Meadows from the campaign group RIFT has pointed out.

The RSA limit is currently set at  €559.74 per month for someone living alone, and €839.62 per month for a couple. 

There are other figures for families with children – see the government website here for details. 

The decree adds that if resources are not deemed to be sufficient, anyone who can prove that they own their own home – or are entitled to free accommodation – may receive a favourable decision, although this is not guaranteed.

What about people who have lived in France for less than five years?

People who have lived in France for less than five years cannot exchange a carte de sejour if they already have one, but must make a new application. 

The paperwork needed for each group is broadly the same as for people who have lived in France for more than five years, with a couple of exceptions:

If you are applying as an employee you will apply for a four-year carte de séjour pluriannuelle only if you have a long-term CDI contract.

If you are on a short-term CCD contract you will apply for a carte de séjour temporaire marked ‘travailleur temporaire’, which last for one year at a time.

Anyone who is in receipt on jobseekers allowance must provide

  • proof that you're registered as a job seeker;
  • salary slips showing at least 3 months working activity in the previous year;
  • proof that you have health cover.

Anyone who is retired or otherwise economically non-active must provide

  • proof that you have resources that are 'sufficient to maintain yourself', not including social security benefits (for example RSA);
  • proof that you have health cover.

So how has the decree gone down with Britons? Is it good news or bad?

Kalba Meadows from RIFT says in a post: “It's a mixture, and there are some clarifications needed before we can properly answer that question!”
 
For those over 65, on the whole it's good, as it reduces the level of 'sufficient resources' from its current (and higher) level of ASPA down to the lower RSA level.
 
For those who are working or self-employed, it means that you'll have to justify a certain level of resources for the first time – previously you'd have been required only to show that your work was 'genuine and effective'.

The first application for any residency permit will also incur a fee of €100 so the fee will be applicable for those without a carte de sejour.

Although British people are entitled to remain in France for up to a year after the withdrawal date, applications for residency must be filed within six months of the date that Britain finally leaved – which is currently set for April 12, but may yet change again.

The decree was published on Wednesday in the Journal Officiel, where all new French laws and decrees must be published before they come in to force.

To READ more about your rights in France you can visit the RIFT website.

Member comments

  1. has anyone an idea how to prove the date they entered France over 5 years ago taking into account the inavailability of travel ticket after this time and UK passport not being stamped within EU? This seems to be a new requirement that the majority here will find it impossible to comply with.

  2. You will have to supply 5yrs. worth of tax returns to prove you have lived here and paid all your dues and not tried to fly under the radar. A certificate can be obtained from your local Tax Office, but they will probably still want to see French bank accounts, utility bills etc. for 5yrs. as well, plus note of pensions if this is applicable.

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BREXIT

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

A new project from citizens campaign group British in Europe aims to empower Brits in the EU to advocate for their post-Brexit rights. The Local spoke to BiE chair Jane Golding about the problems British citizens face in Europe and why the project is still needed.

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”. 

READ ALSO: Hundreds of Britons across Europe given orders to leave

“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.” 

READ ALSO: What Brits in Europe need to know about UK’s new minimum income rules

‘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. 

READ ALSO: Brits in Sweden still in limbo years after Brexit deadline

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?”

READ ALSO: How Europe’s new EES border checks will impact flight passengers

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. 

READ ALSO: How Brits living in Europe can register to vote for UK election

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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