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Can you really drive on an expired photocard licence in France?

The UK government has updated its Brexit information for those British nationals living in France with UK driving licences and it has corrected wrong information it published around the expiry of photocards.

Published: 17 October 2019 15:34 CEST

Can you really drive on an expired photocard licence in France?

Photo: AFP

The issue of the impact of Brexit, especially a no-deal exit from the EU, on driving licences has been a real concern for Britons in France.

Initially Britons in France were advised to exchange their driving licences as soon as possible to avoid the prospect of having to take a driving test in France.

That led to thousands of Britons inundating French authorities with exchange applications which led to a huge backlog. Many have been waiting over a year to get their French driving licence.

Eventually French authorities decided to stop accepting applications unless it was to replace a lost, stolen or soon-to-expire licence.

Then in April the French passed a decree that said authorities would continue to recognise UK driving licences in the future even in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

That came as a huge relief to many drivers, although it wasn't much help for those who had already applied and were stuck in the system.

The British government is still advising people not to seek to exchange a British driving licence for a French one because of long delays.

In a sign of the difficulty around getting the right information to Britons in France, the UK government has had to correct information around the expiry of photocards after The Local contacted French authorities to confirm it.

Initially the British government said that anyone with a UK photocard licence that is about to expire did NOT need exchange it.

“Only the expiry of your entitlement is concerned, not that of your photo card. The expiry of your photo card does not restrict your right to drive in France,” the site read.

The British government said only those with four months remaining on the actual licence, rather than the photocard, should apply to exchange it.

But after The Local asked French authorities to confirm if this was correct and if British drivers would be able to take to French roads with out-of-date photocards, the advice changed again.

French authorities in Nantes told The Local they have been in touch with the British government to flag up the problem.

Now anyone who has a photocard licence due to expire within 6 months is advised to apply to exchange it for French licence.

Drivers with British licences can request a certificate of entitlement from the the DVLA authority in the UK which specifies more clearly when the person's actual licence will expire, rather than their photocard ID.

While in theory drivers are able to drive using the “Certificate of Entitlement” even if their photocard has expired they may run into problems if they are stopped by the French police.

Kim Cranstoun, who runs the Facebook group Applying for a French Driving Licence told The Local most gendarmes or police will be sympathetic as long as you exchange is in the system.

She recommends getting the Certificate of Entitlement from the DVLA if your licence is expired or is about to.

She also recommends some other tips to British drivers.

“If people have applied for an exchange, it is recommended that they keep a copy of all correspondence in the car as evidence should they get stopped. Even though the officials can check they do like to see a piece of paper,” she said

Having a copy of France's no deal decree in the car is also recommended. The decree tells people to exchange their licence if it is due to expire in six months.

A spokesperson for the British embassy told The Local: “It’s advisable for British drivers in France to have a valid photo card. Though your driving licence entitlement may be valid, if the accompanying photo card has expired, there is a risk the police may challenge you.”

The government says anyone who needs a change of licence to drive other types of vehicles or those who have committed driving offences in France resulting in points deductions or even a suspension should exchange their licence.

“In all other cases, if you are resident in France before the day the UK leaves the EU, you do not need to exchange your licence to drive legally in France. French authorities will continue to recognise your licence as before Brexit,” reads the government website.

It also notes that the Centre d’Expertise et de Ressources des Titres (CERT) in Nantes, which deals with exchanges is being reorganised “to deal with the backlog with delays which are currently between 8 and 12 months.”

If you are in the process of exchanging your UK licence via CERT, do not try to renew in parallel with DVLA because this will invalidate your CERT application. Applications in the UK with a French address cannot be processed.

In terms of driving in France after Brexit, the government reminds Britons that: “If there is a deal, driving licence rules will stay the same during the implementation period,” which currently ends on December 31st 2020.

If Britain leaves without a deal on October 31st then anyone “resident in France on the day the UK leaves the EU will continue to be able to drive in France with your UK driving licence under the same conditions as any resident.”

But for those who move to France after Brexit day, if there's a no-deal then they “will have a one-year period to exchange their UK driving licence for a French one.”

Member comments

Anonymous - 16 October 2019 at 12:53 CEST

Shouldn’t a lot of these British living here have exchanged these licences ages ago before all this brexit kicked off.

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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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