Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

HEALTH

‘Everything is uncertain’: UK travel ban could scupper last-minute move to France before Brexit

France's ban on travel from the UK is causing misery for many but for some Britons the move to suspend transport links just days before freedom of movement comes to an end could be enough to derail their dream of moving to France.

Published: 22 December 2020 17:13 CET
'Everything is uncertain': UK travel ban could scupper last-minute move to France before Brexit
Photo: AFP

Britons who are resident in France before December 31st 2020 benefit from the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement which gives broad-ranging guarantees that they can stay and work or retire here.

Those Britons who move in 2021 however, cannot take advantage of freedom of movement and will face new rules of entry to France. That means confronting the world of visas which includes financial requirements that not everyone can satisfy.

READ ALSO What are the differences between moving to France before and after December 31st?

When France closed its border to all arrivals from the UK over fears of the new Covid-19 strain, the plans of those people who had anticipated a last-minute move before the end of the Brexit transition period collapsed.

With ongoing uncertainty over entry to France for non-residents, it's now not clear whether they will be here in time for the December 31st deadline.

Two people caught in this anxious limbo are Catriona Taylor, 61, and her husband Martin Ellingham, 67, from Essex, who had planned to pick up the keys of their new French home next week.

The couple have bought a rural property in the Creuse département of central France and had an appointment with the notaire to complete the final paperwork and pick up the keys on December 30th.

Catriona said: “We were planning to travel on December 28th, we wanted one last Christmas in the UK before moving to France, but now we just don't know whether we will be able to travel or not.

“We have been getting PCR tests sorted in case that is a requirement for travel and I've been phoning and emailing everyone that I can think of, it's just a complete rollercoaster of up and down.

“I feel so angry that all this has been caused by the ineptitude of the British government – a situation that should have just been a domestic rule-change has now become this huge international situation.”

IT consultant Catriona, whose father was a French teacher, has long harboured a wish to move to France every since summers spent here as a teenager, but it was only after a three-week holiday over the summer that the couple decided to take the plunge.

She said: “I had always thought about moving to France and with everything that is happening to the UK with Brexit and everything I wasn't sure I wanted to live there any more and I certainly didn't want my taxes going to the current government.

“We were here for three weeks over the summer and it was lovely – my husband discovered that he can get the Test Match cricket (on the radio) so then he agreed!”

They initially signed for their house in September, but legal wrangles around adjoining land meant that they have not been able to finally complete the sale until December, just in time for the Brexit deadline.

Catriona said: “We just want to get there and get to our house, start doing it up and contributing to the local community in our new village.

“But now everything is uncertain.

“Martin had a small business that did a lot of sales to the EU which is now not viable, so we had already suffered from Brexit.”

The British Embassy in France said it had been contacted by others in Catriona's position.

“We understand the anxiety the current situation may be causing, and will continue to seek clarity from the French Government about how your rights will be respected,” the embassy said on Facebook.

The embassy added: “Under the Withdrawal Agreement, you need to be living in France by 31 December 2020, but you don't need to own your property or have a long-term rental contract. However, you want to be able to show you are settled here, or at least have the intention of settling here and have (ideally) started the necessary motions e.g. by applying for a bank account etc.

“The French authorities plan to take a flexible approach and have suggested that temporary accommodation in itself should not be a block to granting residency, as long as you can clearly demonstrate that you arrived no later than 31 December 2020 with the intention of settling.”

Has your last minute move to France before Brexit been thrown into doubt by the travel ban? Please let us know. Email [email protected]

Member comments

  1. Sadly, eleventh hour anything is always a risk in 2020, doubly so when the UK is involved. The rules for moving during the transition have been clear for months. UKers will still be able to get residency, it just may prove to be a bit trickier. Third country nationals have been doing it for decades.
    Thankfully, while French bureaucracy can be ‘thorough’, it’s efficient. Not quick necessarily, but efficient.

  3. A lot of unnecessary panic was generated, because people felt they had to be physically present in France on or by the 31st Dec (11pm GMT). They don’t. Presence on a specific day or days is not a criteria for the residency application. Of course, people normally need to come to France at least once to see where they want to live and make accommodation arrangements, but a lot can be done at distance. It is conceivable, that a person does not in fact need to even go to France at all to obtain the necessary docs to show residency – e.g. if paying an agent or relocation company (with power of attorney as needed) to do the leg-work on paper-work. FOr those already with a second home, converting to permanent residence, I see no obligation to travel to France to do the necessary ‘demarche’. Clearly the eventual ‘convocation’ to the prefecture needs to be honoured in-person, but that will come (much) later.

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a soft launch of the new EU border system – the entry/exit (EES) system – on the assumption that it will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

SHOW COMMENTS