Tens of thousands of Britons in France must renew their Brexit Withdrawal Agreement (WA) cards this year – here we look at common areas of confusion we have seen with suggestions to help.
A number of readers have been in touch to ask questions or report difficulties faced, however this is not widespread, suggesting that many other people have been able to complete the process – or have yet to try.
Some readers have also been in touch to praise the ease of the renewal process at their prefectures.
Below we answer frequent confusion points on the process.
I have a five-year card and will apply for the 10-year card on expiry but I don’t know if this is a renewal or a new application
Prefecture sites call this a renewal if you are applying near to the first card’s expiry.
However, you should automatically be issued with a new 10-year card marked ‘séjour permanent’ (permanent residency) in replacement of a first expiring five-year Brexit card.
This process is not considered a full new application (that would involve checking your rights to live in France) but rather an exchange of cards, for which officials essentially need to check you still live in France.
Documents required are therefore fewer than when applying for an initial five-year card.
I’m worried that my income is lower than when I first applied
When 10-year cards were issued for the first time after Brexit, to people who had already been living in France at least five years (five-year cards were issued if that was not the case), the paperwork asked for was simple, and did not include checks of a person’s income.
As mentioned above, that is also the case now, to renew a five-year card for a 10-year card.
In fact the short, simple, list of documents needed for that purpose is fixed in a French decree, and it does not include having to supply bank statements or income tax returns etc.
So, there is no need to worry unduly about this.
I can’t find information on the renewals process in my area
Around a quarter of prefectures offer a similar process based on a template provided by the Interior Ministry.
This involves an initial application via a website called Démarche Numérique, formerly called Démarches Simplifiées.
Departments not offering this process have alternative requirements, which may include:
Note that Brexit card renewals are NOT made on the ‘Anef’ website which is now used for many other residency card procedures.
You can check the list in this article for prefecture-specific information that we have identified.
This list is regularly updated but is not exhaustive (let us know at feedback@connexionfrance.com to pass on information on your area that has not been included yet).
To check your prefecture’s site yourself, find its homepage with an internet search such as ‘préfecture Var’. It will usually consist of the department name followed by .gouv.fr.
Click on Toutes les démarches (all procedures) at the top, then look for information on topics such as Etrangers (foreign people) or titres de séjour (residency cards).
Check the resulting pages for anything about renewing Brexit WA cards, such as Renouvellement titre de séjour Brexit.
If you can find no information in our listings or by following the steps above, check the website to find out how to make contact for further information, whether by email, online messaging, phone or by booking an appointment.
Example:
A reader reports contacting the prefecture of the Indre (36) and being directed to this page, titled Etrangers dans l’Indre, but being unable to complete the online form.
We note that on that page is wording saying Ressortissants britanniques et Brexit : cliquez ici (British citizens and Brexit, click here).
The information at that link states applicants to renew a Brexit card should fill out a standard residency card form (you should print it out from the link given) and send this and other required documents to a postal address.
Therefore, you should not try to fill out the online forms that relate to other kinds of card.
I’m not sure what information to use to log in at Démarche Numérique
To use these websites, where provided, you need to sign in either via FranceConnect (eg. with log-ins from a partner site such as impots.gouv.fr or ameli.fr) or by creating an account on the site itself, demarche.numerique.gouv.fr.
For the latter you just need to give your email, and set up a password.
You then need to apply online via the prefecture’s specific Démarche Numérique portal, attaching digital versions of the documents requested (see below).
Once an official has checked your application the prefecture will contact you to offer an in-person meeting to which you should bring paper copies of the documents for a final check.
I don’t have a translated birth certificate - do I need one?
No, you do not need a birth certificate to apply to renew your Brexit card.
The only essential items for this are:
Valid British passport (including copies of the main identify information, validity dates and entry stamp pages)
A ‘justificatif de domicile’ proving living in France, less than six months old. Most people use a utility bill for this, such as electricity, gas, home internet, landline telephone.
If you live with another person and do not have bills etc. in your own name, then also a signed and dated attestation in French from the other person, stating that you live with them at their address, plus copies of French ID card, passport or residency card of that person (plus justificatif de domicile in their name).
Copy of your expiring residency card.
Officials have said that you can ‘optionally’ include any relevant documents clarifying changes in family situations, such as births of children, deaths in the family etc. However, this is not obligatory. So, you should never need to send your own birth certificate.
Three recent identity (‘passport’) photos – not copies, are also required. These are usually brought to the physical meeting at the prefecture.
Note that renewals for Brexit cards are free of charge unlike for other residency cards.
I don’t know when to apply
The latest information we received from the interior ministry is that it is ideal to apply exactly two months before your card will expire.
If you leave it later that will not allow much time for administration / processing, but some prefectures do not want to receive applications earlier than this.
We have been told not to apply early - is that right?
Legally, it is possible to apply for a 10-year Brexit WA card at the point at which you have been living in France for more than five years.
However, the interior ministry’s latest guidance is that the Démarche Numérique sites are not aimed at this (despite it being legally allowed). So, if you wish to do this, you should contact your prefecture about its preferred method.
Practically speaking, with almost all five-year Brexit cards expiring at some point in the year ahead, it may be simpler to wait and do it on expiry at this stage.
My French may not be good enough for the language test for a 10-year card
Brexit WA cards fall under their own rules as they derive from an international treaty (the WA) and no language tests (or civic tests) are required for a five-year or 10-year Brexit card. Your level of France is not taken into account for this.
The 10-year Brexit cards (‘séjour permanent’) should not be confused with 10-year cartes de résident, which is a standard category of national French residency card where tests can apply.
The prefecture site says to fill in a promise to respect the principles of the Republic but I thought this was not needed
Legally, it is not obligatory, as Brexit WA cards fall under their own rules as they derive from an international treaty.
However, if your prefecture asks for this we would suggest completing it to avoid any delays with processing, as it is simple to do and we can see no obvious negative consequences.
I don’t know if I can plan any travel this year due to this
To avoid any issues with travel outside the Schengen area – especially now the new EES digital borders system is increasingly in place – you should make sure to carry with you valid proof of being a resident in France.
If you apply as requested around two months before expiry, you should obtain a prefecture appointment at which you will be given a récépissé document, stating that you have applied to renew, and that your residency rights are valid for a given period of months during processing (three to six).
You should not have to hand over the old card until a new one has been issued to you. So, when travelling, carry as a minimum, the old expired card and your récépissé.
I worry that my residency will be at risk if the process takes too long
We hope that most people following the procedures outlined above will get their new 10-year card in time so they are not left without either a valid card or récépissé.
If this was to happen, however, you should know that Britons’ rights under the WA are legally considered secure after five years of settled residency, as you can read in the European Commission’s note on ‘permanent residence’.
It states that their permanent rights begin “by automatic operation of the Withdrawal Agreement once they meet the relevant conditions […] with effect from the moment when the Withdrawal Agreement confers it, not the moment when they are issued with a residence document, which may be later.”
The notes can be downloaded and printed out in French, if required to show your prefecture.
I have moved departments recently and so the address on my card is incorrect. Is it a problem?
Usually, if you move house, one of the required formalities is to update the authorities about this within three months, which is done on the Anef website (Je déclare un changement de situation). It is not obligatory to also request a new physical card and if you do not, an attestation will be provided to the effect that you declared the change.
So, you may wish to do this before renewing your card, if time permits. Otherwise, apply to renew and clarify the change of address during the renewal process.
If you have a point to raise on this topic please forward it to us via feedback@connexionfrance.com.
