UK expats residing in France have been given a glimmer of hope that they’ll have the ability to nonetheless reside, work and drive in France after the British and French governments have come to post-Brexit agreements which safeguards UK residents’ rights.
UK expats who hadn’t but sorted out their post-Brexit residency permits breathed a sigh of aid when the French authorities introduced they’re extending the June thirtieth software deadline for an additional three months. And expats who’ve been having issues acquiring a French driving licence have been instructed they’ll nonetheless drive in France on UK driving licences.
Residency Allow Extension
The brand new extension permits expats to safe native healthcare, employment and pensions in addition to entry to property leases and mortgage functions till they obtain their permits. Below the phrases of the Brexit withdrawal settlement, UK residents who had been legally resident in France on the finish of the Brexit transition interval are eligible for everlasting residence, defending their fundamental rights.
In keeping with the British embassy, 135,000 Britons in France have already utilized for post-Brexit residency, however this leaves roughly 13,300 which have nonetheless not utilized, placing them liable to falling by the online which may end in a lack of housing, employment and healthcare.
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The primary folks in danger are older individuals who have lived in France for many years, these in care houses, those that are married to French residents or younger British individuals who grew up in France and don’t realise they nonetheless have to have a allow to remain. Individuals who have already got residency permits from the sooner system additionally nonetheless want to use for a post-Brexit allow with a view to adjust to the regulation. The three-month extension means these at-risk teams now have time to make their functions.
Driving Licence Settlement
Along with the allow extension, French and UK authorities have lastly reached an settlement on the popularity of British driving licences in France. This had brought about nice fear amongst UK expats who wanted to drive for work or as a result of they lived out within the countryside however couldn’t get a French driving licence as a result of varied issues with the post-Brexit system.
The French authorities insisted that British expats residing in France would want to alternate their UK driving licences for French ones, or they would want to take a French driving check. Nonetheless, complaints began flooding because the French processing system in Nantes and Paris battled to cope with over 100,000 functions, a lot of whom had have had their licence functions rejected by the brand new French licensing web site, ANTS (Agence Nationale des Titres Sécurisés) as a result of there had been no reciprocal licence settlement between the UK and France.
These residing and dealing in French rural areas felt panicked on the considered receiving a nice of €15,000 if their licence wasn’t exchanged, or alternatively having to fork out practically €2,000 for French driving classes and a idea examination.
Now the British Embassy in Paris have confirmed that UK driving licences issued after January 1st 2021 will nonetheless be legitimate for as much as a 12 months from the date of situation of the resident’s new post-Brexit residence allow. These with licences issued earlier than that date are nonetheless capable of drive in France for so long as that licence is legitimate. All of which supplies expats a bit extra time to type out the alternate of licences.
For extra data on functions for residency permits and driving licences in France, please seek the advice of the UK authorities’s Brexit web site on Residing in France. And should you’re an expat who needs to begin a enterprise or open an organization in France, check out our free downloadable information beneath, name our skilled crew on 0033 (0)1 53 57 49 10 or e mail us from our contact web page and we’ll be pleased to assist.
