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TOURISM

Reader question: Do British second home owners have to leave France by March 31st?

Brexit has thrown UK nationals into the world of the 90-day rule, along with all over non-EU nationals. Here's how it impacts British second home owners.

Published: 24 March 2021 17:30 CET
Updated: 31 March 2021 13:43 CEST
Reader question: Do British second home owners have to leave France by March 31st?
Photo: Eric Piermont/AFP

Question: We travelled to our second home in France over Christmas and have been here ever since. It’s quiet and remote and we feel it’s the best place to be during the pandemic and we have been very careful with social contact. We have heard we might need to leave now though, is that right? And are there no exceptions due to the health situation?

Pre-Brexit, British people with a second home in France could come and go as they pleased and had no need to keep count of how long they were in France. However with the end of the Brexit transition period on January 1st comes limitations on periods of stay.

These don’t apply to everyone, however.

If you are a permanent resident of France you don’t need to leave but you do need to apply for residency if you haven’t already – find out how here.

If you have a visa you are covered by the duration of your visa.

If you are a dual national and also have the passport of an EU country you can continue to enjoy unlimited stays.

If none of those apply to you, however, you may have to leave.

This is because of the 90-day rule that, since January 1st 2021, has applied to Brits in the same way that it already applied to other non-EU nationals such as Americans and Canadians.

You can find a full explanation of the rule HERE, but essentially Brits can only spend 90 days out of every 180 in the EU or Schengen zone. The day days may be spent as one long trip or several short ones, but in total you cannot exceed 90 days in every 180.

So if you’ve been in France since January 1st you are coming to the end of your 90-day allocation and must leave by March 31st at the latest. If you arrived after January 1st you may stay until 90 days after your arrival date.

The 90-day rule covers the whole of the EU and Schengen zone so you must leave the Bloc altogether and go to a non-EU country, such as the UK.

Travel from France to the UK is currently allowed – although you will need Covid tests and to quarantine when you get there.

READ ALSO Everything you need to know about travel between France and the UK

There is no extension to the 90-day rule because of the health situation, but you may be able to challenge any penalties for over-staying if you can prove that you were sick with Covid when your 90 days expired and where therefore unable to travel.

Penalties for over-staying range from fines to deportation – find out more HERE.

Family members

If you have a spouse or registered partner who is an EU citizen then you are entitled to apply for a spouse visa, but you still need to go through the visa process, you cannot simply stay on with no paperwork. You can find more about French visas HERE, but all visa applications must be made from the applicant’s home country so you will have to go home to make the application.

If you have family members who are residents – for example you are the adult child of British parents who live full-time in France and have a residency card – you may be entitled to apply for a visa or residency status as a family member but again, you cannot simply stay with no paperwork.

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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 government is working on the assumption that the system 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.

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