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BREXIT

What are the rules for driving in France after Brexit?

With Brexit just days away, we look at the rules for British drivers - both residents and tourists - in France after the UK exits the EU.

Published: 16 January 2020 14:02 CET
Updated: 7 December 2020 08:39 CET
What are the rules for driving in France after Brexit?
Don't fall foul of the gendarmes. Photo: AFP

Driving from Britain to France has in recent years been a fairly painless experience – slap a GB sticker on your car, make sure your headlights have correctors and you are carrying a high-vis yellow vest and warning triangle and off you go.

READ ALSO France scraps law forcing drivers to keep breathlysers in cars

British driving licences are accepted and most standard car insurance packages will cover you for driving in France.

But how is Brexit changing that?

Transition period

Until the end of the transition period on December 31st nothing changes. But after that there are some big changes for both residents and visitors.

Brits who are resident in France

For people living in France, driving licences as a whole have been the cause of quite a confusing Brexit saga.

At first British people who were resident in France were advised to swap their licence for a French one, then were told only to do so in certain circumstances (such as a lost or stolen licence) and then were told they would have to swap them after all.

Before December 31st

Currently, only certain groups of people can swap their licence, and any other applications will be refused.

You must swap your licence if;

  • The licence has been lost or stolen
  • You have added a new driving category to your licence
  • You are specifically instructed to exchange it by a gendarme (this usually happens if you have committed a driving offence)
  • Your licence or photocard is due to expire within six months – anyone turning 70 must exchange their licence and the photocard licences need renewing every 10 years for most categories.

Everyone else can carry on driving on their UK licence. The swap can be done via an online portal – find out more here. 

After January 1st

After January 1st every British resident in France must swap their licence for a French one – but you have until December 31st 2021 to get your application in.

Despite the introduction of a new online portal it's likely that this influx of applications for a driving licence swap will lead to more delays.

You can help minimise these by;

  • Waiting until after January 1st – there is no point trying to 'jump the queue' by putting your application in before then, if you don't meet the pre-January criteria your application will be rejected
  • Ensuring that you fit the criteria and have the correct documentation. You need to have been a resident in France for at least 185 days before you can make your application and only certain documents are accepted as proof of this – full details here

Rejected applications will just clog up the system and make things slower for everyone.

Kim Cranstoun, who runs the Facebook group Applying for a French Driving Licence, which offers detailed advice and guidance on the process, said everyone should not rush at once to apply.

She said: “CERT (who process the applications) want people to exercise caution and not to apply all at the same time, you have 12 months to apply for your exchange.

“If everyone applies again at the same time we could end up with the same position we were in early 2018 where we broke the system.”

For more information, help and advice about exchanging licences, head to the Facebook group Applying for a French Driving Licence.

Moving to France later

The above all applies to anyone who has become a permanent resident of France at any time before December 31st, 2020.

As things stand now, new arrivals who come to France after December 31st will have to apply for a French licence as Third Country Nationals.

The system – the same one currently in place for non EU residents such as Australians – gives you 12 months after moving to exchange your licence. You will only be able to drive on a UK licence for 12 months, so if you don't manage to exchange it in that time you will be faced with taking the French driving test to gain a French licence.

However a separate deal may be done between now and December 31st.

Just visiting

The above all applies to people who actually live in France, but what about people who are visiting, either regularly in the case of second home owners or infrequently in the case of tourists?

Well during the transition period nothing changes and you can continue to drive on your UK licence during trips to France.

After January 1st visitors can continue to drive on a British licence – there is no need for an International Driving Permit.

Before your trip, you will also need to obtain a 'green card' from your insurance company. Readers of a certain age may remember these, they are issued by the insurance company to state that you are covered while driving abroad.

And another thing

Not specifically related to Brexit, but something that there seems to be some confusion over is re-registering of British cars in France.

If you move to France and bring your British car with you – or buy a British car after moving – you will have to re-register with a French registration plate and you only have three months after moving to make your application.

Read more on that process here.

Obviously anyone driving in France needs to obey French road rules – here's how some of those rules changed in 2020.

Check out The Local's Preparing for Brexit section for updates and details on residency, healthcare and rules on second home owners.

Member comments

  1. I can’t understand why the British, if they live here, feel under no obligation to change their licence. Perhaps they think by having a British one it exempts them from penalty points. It’s the same attitude why they don’t register their cars here.

  2. We don’t exchange our licences because even the French authorities don’t have a plan and don’t know what to do with our submissions. If you had to deal with the bureaucracy then (maybe) you’d understand. It’s not about attitude; it’s about inefficiency.

  3. If you don’t want to comply with the French regulations and their laws and systems you better stay in the UK!

  4. What is the position after 31st December 2020 for second home owners or visitors who have a valid UK Disabled Pass (the Europe wide version)

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For members

EES PASSPORT CHECKS

How will the new app for Europe’s EES border system work?

With Europe set to introduce its new Entry/Exit biometric border system (EES) in the autumn there has been much talk about the importance of a new app designed to help avoid delays. But how will it work and when will it be ready?

Published: 7 May 2024 10:29 CEST
How will the new app for Europe's EES border system work?

When it comes into force the EU’s new digital border system known as EES will register the millions of annual entries and exits of non-EU citizens travelling to the EU/Schengen area, which will cover 29 European countries.

Under the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), non-EU residents who do not require a visa will have to register their biometric data in a database that will also capture each time they cross an external Schengen border.

Passports will no longer be manually stamped, but will be scanned. However, biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard when the non-EU traveller first crosses in to the EU/Schengen area.

Naturally there are concerns the extra time needed for this initial registration will cause long queues and tailbacks at the border.

To help alleviate those likely queues and prevent the subsequent frustration felt by travellers the EU is developing a new smartphone app.

READ ALSO: What will the EES passport system mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The importance of having a working app was summed up by Uku Särekanno, Deputy Executive Director of the EU border agency Frontex in a recent interview.

“Initially, the challenge with the EES will come down to the fact that travellers arriving in Europe will have to have their biographic and biometric data registered in the system – border guards will have to register four of their fingerprints and their facial image. This process will take time, and every second really matters at border crossing points – nobody wants to be stuck in a lengthy queue after a long trip.”

But there is confusion around what the app will actually be able to do, if it will help avoid delays and importantly when will it be available?

So here’s what we know so far.

Who is developing the app?

The EU border agency Frontex is currently developing the app. More precisely, Frontex is developing the back-end part of the app, which will be made available to Schengen countries.

“Frontex is currently developing a prototype of an app that will help speed up this process and allow travellers to share some of the information in advance. This is something we are working on to support the member states, although there is no legal requirement for us to do so,” Uku Särekanno said in the interview.

Will the 29 EES countries be forced to use the app?

No, it is understood that Frontex will make the app available on a voluntary basis. Each government will then decide if, when and where to use it, and develop the front-end part based on its own needs.

This point emerged at a meeting of the House of Commons European scrutiny committee, which is carrying out an inquiry on how EES will impact the UK.

What data will be registered via the app?

The Local asked the European Commission about this. A spokesperson however, said the Commission was not “in a position to disclose further information at this stage” but that travellers’ personal data “will be processed in compliance with the high data security and data protection standards set by EU legislation.”

According to the blog by Matthias Monroy, editor of the German civil rights journal Bürgerrechte & Polizei/CILIP the Frontex app will collect passengers’ name, date of birth, passport number, planned destination and length of stay, reason for travelling, the amount of cash they carry, the availability of a credit card and of a travel health insurance. The app could also allow to take facial images. It will then generate a QR code that travellers can present at border control.

This, however, does not change the fact that fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing into the Schengen area.

So given the need to register finger prints and facial images with a border guard, the question is how and if the app will help avoid those border queues?

When is the app going to be available?

The answer to perhaps the most important question is still unclear.

The Commissions spokesperson told The Local that the app “will be made available for Schengen countries as from the Entry/Exit System start of operations.” The planned launch date is currently October 6th, but there have been several delays in the past and may be another one.

The UK parliamentary committee heard that the prototype of the app should have been ready for EU member states in spring. Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the UK Department for Transport, said the app will not be available for testing until August “at best” and that the app will not be ready in time for October. The committee previously stated that the app might even be delayed until summer 2025.

Frontex’s Särekanno said in his interview: “Our aim is to have it ready by the end of the summer, so it can then be gradually integrated into national systems starting from early autumn”.

READ ALSO: How do the EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Can the system be launched if the app is not ready?

Yes. The European Commission told The Local that “the availability of the mobile application is not a condition for the Entry/Exit System entry into operation or functioning of the system. The app is only a tool for pre-registration of certain types of data and the system can operate without this pre-registration.”

In addition, “the integration of this app at national level is to be decided by each Schengen country on a voluntary basis – as there is no legal obligation to make use of the app.”

And the UK’s transport under secretary Guy Opperman sounded a note of caution saying the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

When the app will be in use, will it be mandatory for travellers?

There is no indication that the app will become mandatory for those non-EU travellers who need to register for EES. But there will probably be advantages in using it, such as getting access to faster lanes.

As a reminder, non-EU citizens who are resident in the EU are excluded from the EES, as are those with dual nationality for a country using EES. Irish nationals are also exempt even though Ireland will not be using EES because it is not in the Schengen area.

Has the app been tested anywhere yet?

Frontex says the prototype of the app will be tested at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, in Sweden. Matthias Monroy’s website said it was tested last year at Munich Airport in Germany, as well as in Bulgaria and Gibraltar.

According to the German Federal Police, the blog reports, passengers were satisfied and felt “prepared for border control”.

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