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Carte de séjour: What’s the latest Brexit advice on getting French residency permits?

Residency has been a worry for many British people in France, here's the latest on getting a carte de séjour residency permit.

Published: 28 January 2020 12:29 CET
Carte de séjour: What's the latest Brexit advice on getting French residency permits?
Photo: AFP

When do I need it by?

Well the good news is that there's no rush. As the UK left with a deal, we now enter a transition period, which lasts until at least December 31st (and could be extended).

READ ALSO Brexit: What do I need to do before January 31st?

During this period most things stay the same for British citizens, including the fact that they can continue to live in France without the need for a residency permit (carte de séjour). They can also travel to and from France freely without a card.

Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, British residents have until six months after the end of the transition period (so June 2021 on the current date) to apply for their carte de séjour.

The Withdrawal Agreement also makes provision for countries themselves to extend the deadline for up to a year if they have 'administrative difficulties'.

So if the French system becomes hopelessly bogged down with the sheer number of applications there is the option for French authorities themselves to extend the deadline.

The French authorities have a problem in that – because residency registration has not been compulsory before – nobody actually knows how many British people live here.

It is thought to be between 150,000 – 300,000 which could quite a burden on the issuing authorities.

What do I need?

The Withdrawal Agreement states that anyone who is legally resident – which is not quite the same thing as simply being in the country – at the end of the transition period is eligible to stay, but you still have to formally apply for residency, it is not automatic.

READ ALSO So you're living in France, but are you legally resident?

Justine Wallington from citizens' rights group Remain in France Together said: “There should be some attempt for a consistent approach to Withdrawal Agreement implementation even if each state can make its own plans. It’s at least potentially better than the no-deal legislation passed with massive differences between each country.”


Some things are still to be decided by French and British leaders. Photo: AFP

How do I apply?

There has been a lot of uncertainty about this, and various different pieces of advice given since 2016, but the French government has now announced that it will be running an online application system – similar to the no-deal Brexit online portal that was briefly active in October.

You can find out more here about how that is likely to work, but it will not go live until July 2021.

They key thing to note is that everyone will have to use the system – if you already have a carte de séjour permanent you simply need to swap it for the new card but everyone else has to make a new application.

The exception to this is people who already made their applications online on the no-deal portal back in October – theirs will be transferred to the new system.

What will I need to make my application?

Although most people cannot make their application just yet, you can get your paperwork together so that you are ready when the system opens.

The basic criteria  under the Withdrawal Agreement is that you need to be legally resident in the country. This has always been the case for EU migrants, but because France has not until now had a registration process, many people have been unaware of this.

To be a legal resident you need to be either working, retired, self-employed, a student or otherwise economically inactive – or a family member of or in a durable relationship with someone who meets one of these conditions.

If you are retired or not working, you need to prove that you have sufficient resources not to be a burden on the French state, and this includes showing that you have health cover (for British pensioners being registered under the S1 scheme is sufficient for this).

READ ALSO What are the healthcare changes for British people in France after Brexit


If in doubt, hang on to any documentation you have about your French life. You may need it later. Photo: AFP

So the type of documentation you are likely to need includes proof of income (payslips, work contracts or tax returns) proof of health cover, proof of address (rental agreement, house ownership papers and utility bills) and proof of ID (passport).

The Withdrawal Agreement also states that the residency application process must be 'smooth, transparent and simple' and that application forms should be 'short, simple and user friendly'.

It's fair to say that this isn't the case with a lot of French bureaucracy, but the no-deal online application form was notably user friendly (and available in English) and required far less supporting documentation than the préfectures had been asking for, so hopefully the new online system will be the same.

Does it make a difference how long I've been here for?

Yes. If you've been legally resident in France for five years or more you can apply directly for permanent residency. Permanent residency also gives you the right to be away from France for up to five years without losing residency status.

If you've been in France less than five years you will need to apply for temporary residency, then apply for permanent residency once you reach the five-year mark. Your permanent residency will be granted on the same basis as the Withdrawal Agreement, even if you don't reach the five-year mark until several years after the end of the transition period. The five years residency must be continuous, and you cannot be out of the country for more than six months of the year (part from certain exceptional circumstances).

People who have been here for longer than five years and already have a permanent (10 year) residency card do not need to supply documentation proving their eligibility, but they do need to swap their current card for the new card, using the same system as everybody else.

So any paperwork that shows your arrival date in France – work contract, rental agreement, house purchase – is worth hanging on to.

What don't we know?

The above all only applies to people who are already resident in France by the end of the transition period. What the deal will be for people wanting to move after that is yet to be agreed.

READ ALSO Can British people still move to France after Brexit day

 

Member comments

  1. Are you able to say, what happens to applications that were lodged with Prefectures, before the lockdown commenced. It is good in one sense, as the 3-month expiry rule cannot apply owing to the Prefecture holding the paperwork, but if they have all our documents, we will be unable to apply via the new on-line system.

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LIVING IN FRANCE

5 things Brits in France need to know about swapping driving licences

Now that the dust has settled from the somewhat chaotic post-Brexit period, the system for swapping a UK driving licence for a French one seems to be running fairly smoothly. There are, however, some things that UK licence holders need to know.

Published: 3 May 2024 17:20 CEST
5 things Brits in France need to know about swapping driving licences

This article is aimed at holders of a UK or Northern Ireland driving licence who are living in France – tourists, visitors and second-home owners can continue to drive in France on a UK licence and do not need an international driving permit.

British students who are studying in France on a student visa can continue to drive on their UK licence during their studies – if however they settle in France afterwards, they need to follow the below process for swapping their licence. 

1 You’re special

Well, maybe special is over-stating it, but the system for holders of UK and NI licence holders is different to that of other non-EU nationals, and also different to the system for EU licence holders.

The reason for this is that a pragmatic post-Brexit agreement was (finally) reached between France and the UK, in order to avoid the chaos that was triggered when thousands of Brits in France all tried to swap their driving licences at once.

Unlike almost all other post-Brexit agreements, this one applies both to people who moved to France before the end of Brexit transition period in 2021 and those who have moved here since. 

The below terms apply to everyone who has a UK or NI licence, regardless of their nationality or when they moved to France. 

2 But you still have to swap

It was technically always the case that Brits who were living in France should have swapped their licence for a French one, just as other EU licence holders do now, but in reality many people lived here for years or decades without ever exchanging their licence and there was little or no enforcement of the rule.

That has now changed and you must swap according to the following timetable;

If your UK licence was issued after January 1st, 2021 – you must swap within one year of moving to France.

If your UK licence was issued before January 1st 2021 – you only swap when you meet one of the following conditions;

  • The licence itself or the photocard is within six months of its expiry date. For more people the photocard expiry will come around first, but UK licences also require renewal when the holder reaches the age of 70
  • Your licence has been lost or stolen
  • You have been ordered to exchange your licence by a gendarme after committing a driving offence

For people who are exchanging because the licence is about to expire, it is important that you don’t start the process until your licence is within six months of the expiry date – early applications will simply be rejected.

3 It might not be as much of a nightmare as you think 

Unlike the old days when licence swaps were done by préfectures, the whole process has now moved online and is run through a single, central system.

The online portal for requesting a swap is known as ANTS and you can find it HERE.

If you haven’t used it before you will need to create an online account, or if you already have online accounts for French government services such as Ameli or tax declarations you can login by clicking on the France Connect button.

Once logged in, select Je demande l’échange ou l’enregistrement de mon permis de conduire étranger (I request the exchange or registration of a foreign driving licence) and fill in the details requested on the form such as name, address etc.

You might be pleasantly surprised by the fact the form itself is relatively straightforward (as French admin forms go), asking basic questions such as your personal details and the details of your driving licence.

You will have to upload supporting documents, but these are likely to be things that you already have to hand including

  • Proof of ID (passport or carte de séjour)
  • Proof of address (a recent utility bill or attestation from your utility provider)
  • If your driver’s licence is in a different name to your passport, you will need to supply your full birth certificate

You will also need to supply a photo – you can either use the internet-enabled Photomaton booths – find your nearest here – to create a digital photo with the required security code, or you can use the normal photo booths to print out a physical photo and send it by post after you have made your application. 

Once completed, you can use the ANTS site to track the progress of your application and upload any other documents that are requested.

4 But don’t leave it too late 

If you’re applying because your licence is about to expire then you cannot apply until you are within six months of the expiry date.

But it’s a good idea not to leave it until the last minute as the whole process does take time – things have improved massively since the dark days of 2020 and 2021 when people were waiting for years and their licences expired while they waited.

But it still takes time – the current average for a straightforward application with no extra documents required seems to be between four and five months, although processing times can vary, especially over holiday periods.

It’s therefore a good idea to make the application fairly soon after you enter that magic six-month window.

Once you make the application you should get an automated response acknowledging receipt – this is usually sent by SMS and/or email, it’s a good idea to check your spam folder if you don’t get the email.

Don’t panic if you don’t then hear anything for the next few weeks or even months, this appears to be normal. If your application is complete and there are no outstanding queries or other documents required, the next step will be a request to send in your old UK licence.

You send this by post (recorded delivery with a signature is strongly recommended) and at the same time you can download an Attestation de Depot de Permis de Conduire (certificate of deposit of driving licence) – you can use this to prove your continued entitled to drive in the period between sending in your old licence and receiving your new one.

Your French licence is then sent by registered post, and the window between posting the old licence and receiving the new one is usually not more than a month, you 

5 Help is out there 

If your application runs into problems or you have an untypical situation or find the ANTS website hard to use, don’t panic – help is available.

The Facebook group Driving in France – French Licence Applications is a good place to start with comprehensive guides and knowledgeable admins who are quick to respond to questions.

You can also chat to others in your situation and get updates on how long processing times seem to be.

If you have problems using the online system, your local France Services office may be able to help.

You can also head to The Local’s reader questions section, or email us at [email protected] if you have questions.

Digital licences

You might have heard about France’s new digital driving licence – unfortunately this is only available to people who have French citizenship (including dual nationals).

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