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Brexit: What does the transition period mean and what do I do now?

So the UK is no longer a member of the European Union and British people have lost their status as EU citizens. Here's what you need to know about the next 11 months.

Published: 1 February 2020 09:00 CET

Brexit: What does the transition period mean and what do I do now?

Photo: AFP/ egal/Depositphotos

So we're out of the EU – what happens now?

As we left with a deal, what happens next is covered by the Withdrawal Agreement. This offers cast iron legal guarantees to British people living in France and also creates an 11-month transition period while we deal with what happens next.

For governments the big thing about the transition period is agreeing a trade deal, but it's also important for British citizens in France as it gives us time to sort out our affairs.

Doubtless there will be a lot of brinkmanship and political posturing as the trade talks go on, but the important thing to remember is that the Withdrawal Agreement is a legally binding document that cannot be taken away.

Even if the UK cannot agree terms and crashes out of the EU without a trade deal, the protections outlined below in the Withdrawal Agreement will still stand.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson now has a strong majority. Photo: AFP

So what happens from February 1st?

Well in practical terms for British people who either live in France or visit frequently not a lot changes.

Travel will continue as it did before Brexit and British residents in France will not immediately have to gain any extra paperwork or permits.

All UK citizens who do not have dual nationality lose their EU citizenship and people living in France will no longer be able to vote in municipal elections or stand for office.

The next municipal elections in France are in March and at this time many British local councillors will have to stand down.

How long does the transition period last?

At the moment the transition period ends on December 31st, 2020. It was originally intended as a two-year period during which the UK and the EU could negotiate their future trading agreement, but repeated Brexit delays from the original date of March 29th 2019 have whittled it down to just 11 months.

There is an option to extend it up to a maximum of two years (so until December 31st 2022 at the latest) but that would need to be agreed by June 2020.

Trade experts say making a deal in just 11 months will be extremely difficult, but British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is adamant that he will not ask for an extension (although it's worth pointing out that he also said that about the October 2019 Brexit date).

What should I be doing during the transition period?

For people already living in France this is the time to sort out your affairs. For people who do not already live here it's a time to consider what you want your future relationship with France to be and to take the necessary steps.

The Withdrawal Agreement covers all British people who are legally resident in France before December 31st 2020.

But being legally resident in France is not the same as simply being in the country and if you do not meet the criteria for legal residence it would be best to get your affairs in order as soon as possible.

There are several criteria for being legally resident – read in more detail here – but the key one if that you must either be working, self-employed, studying or – if none of those apply – prove that you are self sufficient. Or be a family member of someone who meets those criteria.

For residents

During the transition period British people can continue to live in France without residency permits, but this will change.

The deadline to get applications in for the carte de séjour residency permit is six months after the end of the transition period (so on the current date that would be June 2021).

France announced on Friday that the process to make applications will be an online one, but the applications site will not be open until July. You can find out more about it here, but there is good news for anyone who already made online applications on the no-deal Brexit portal that was briefly active in October – they won't need to reapply and their applications will be transferred to the new system.

So although most people cannot actually get their applications in yet, you can start making sure that all your paperwork is in order so you are ready to make your application when the time comes – find out more here.

Under the Withdrawal Agreement you will qualify for residency if you are legally resident as outlined above, or if you are a family member or in a durable relationship with someone who is.

Durable relationship does not necessarily mean married or in a PACS (civil partnership) but if you intent to apply via this route it would be good to asses whether you have enough official paperwork to prove that you are a couple – ie joint bank accounts, joint tenancy agreements, both names on utility bills.

Anyone who already has a carte de séjour permenant (10 years) does not need to prove their legal residence again, but will need to swap their card for the new residency card. This will be via the online process that goes live in July.

One thing you can do now is get your professional qualifications recognised if necessary. Exactly how this will work after the transition period we don't know, so if you are working in France in a profession where this is necessary, it would be best to get any UK-acquired qualifications recognised now under EU rules.

It is also worth checking that everything is in order with your health cover – through the S1 system if you are a pensioner or under the French system if you are working – and your driving licence and car registration as well as your tax returns.

If there are outstanding things that need to be arranged it will almost certainly be easier to do them during the transition period than as a Third Country National afterwards.

For non residents

For people contemplating making the move to France, this might be the time to do it. It is still not clear what the requirements will be for British people wanting to make the move after the end of the transition period, but it could be similar to the process that American and Australian citizens already have to go through.

They face much stricter requirements for residency than those offered to British people who are in the country by the end of the transition period, so if it is possible to make the move earlier that may well be the better option.

If you intend to make the move between now and December 31st make sure you keep all paperwork relating to your arrival date in France, as this will be important when you come to apply for residency.

Likewise travel for non-residents will be much stricter after the end of the transition period, so anyone who has always dreamed of spending four months travelling though Europe will find it a lot easier to do that now.

For second home owners there will also be important decisions to be made, as it seems likely that after Brexit they will be restricted to spending just 90 days out of every 180 in their French homes. So people who might currently spend the summer in France and the winter in the UK could find that is no longer possible without visas.

During the transition period the UK and the EU will attempt to make a deal on their future trading relationship, among other things. Photo: AFP

What don't we know?

As ever with Brexit, there are still plenty of unanswered questions.

There is also a lot that still needs to be negotiated around what will happen after the transition period ends, including exactly what the rules will be for people moving to France after that date.

We also don't know whether British people will need to exchange their driving licences for French ones once the transition period ends, but for the moment the advice is not to unless you fit one of these criteria.

For second home owners, there is still no certainty on how long they they will be able to stay at their French property after the transition period ends.

Most of the existing French legislation was passed in relation to a no-deal Brexit, so if the UK exits with a deal, these will need to be revisited.

Check out The Local's Preparing for Brexit section for more detail and updates as we get them. if you have questions, please send them to us here and we will do our best to answer them.

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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 Spain-based group EuroCitizens 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 British In Europe

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 4.7 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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