Applying for a Carte de Séjour
France is currently the only EU country (except the UK for now) that hasn’t required EU citizens moving from another EU state to register as a legal resident after 3 months. This means that most UK citizens in France have not applied for a carte de séjour - in fact, figures from the Ministry of the Interior suggest that to date only a huge minority have done so.
There is currently much speculation about the type of card UK citizens, who are afforded the protection of the Withdrawal Agreement, will receive.
On 31 January 2020, the French Government issued an update about future cards but many questions still remain.
What we do know is
1. UK citizens living in France will have until 30 June 2021 to apply for a card
2. Applications will be made via an online system which is due to 'go live' in July 2020
3. There will be no charge for the card
Remember: to obtain/qualify for one of these cards, you must be living legally in France by the end of the Transition Period - currently 31 December 2020. Find out more about living legally in France here.
It is likely that the cards will follow the EU carte de séjour types.
You will find more details about those by clicking on the links below.
1. Pre-Brexit - Retired/Inactive
2. Pre-Brexit Working/Self Employed
KEY POINTS
If you already hold a carte de séjour permanent as an EU citizen you should enjoy an easy exchange. If you don't have one you'll have to apply with more information to prove your 5-year legal residence.
Those with less than 5 years' residence will have to apply for one of the cartes de séjour which will be valid for between 1 and 5 years. The Withdrawal Agreements afford you the right to attain 5 years residence and then apply for a permanent card.
Certain family members (of any nationality) who were living with a British citizen at any cut off date may apply for and receive the same term of the card as the legally resident British family member.
Health cover under an S1 will continue be honoured going forward. Read more about that in our bitesize guide to healthcare.
You can read more about EU citizens' carte de séjours here. Please note this links to an archived page - not all of the information on the archived page is relevant now that the UK has left the EU under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement