Where to go for help

Years after Britain formally left the European Union, worrying administrative issues keep cropping up for Brexit Britons living legally in France. Here’s where you can turn for help and advice

A recent article about British students being denied access to a French rent guarantee scheme highlighted the fact that – even several years after the fact – it’s still very easy for individuals and institutions to get mixed up about Brexit.

It was far from the first such article we’ve run on administrative issues linked to Article 50 Withdrawal Agreement residency rights.

We’ve posted pieces about Britons being incorrectly held at Schengen borders, a now-solved technical issue that stopped French online admin algorithms from accepting Brexit carte de séjour numbers, the Briton who grew up in France but fell foul of post-Brexit residency requirements, D-Day Brexit checks for British soldiers, and the British-born teacher who fell foul of similar rental agency issues. Not to mention numerous related pieces on post-Brexit travel, food, and second homes.

For most people, agencies and organisations in France, except for border officials who deal with this sort of thing daily, it seems Brexit is old news, something that has happened to other people and can now be mostly forgotten.

And there are still – as the student story demonstrated – instances in which the rights of Britons legally resident in France under Article 50 of the Withdrawal Agreement are not completely understood.

This isn’t entirely surprising, since the Withdrawal Agreement is a pretty complex legal text guaranteeing the rights of Briton resident in the EU before December 31st, 2020, to live, work and study here as they had done prior to the UK’s departure, along with reciprocal rights for EU-nation citizens who have moved to the UK.

It basically gives a different status to one small group – Brits who lived in the EU before Brexit – they don’t quite have the same rights as EU nationals, but they have more rights than other non-EU citizens, including the Brits who moved here after Brexit.

That covers a whole lot of ground – starting with residency rights and including whether current or future employers have to complete additional paperwork on your behalf (they don’t, which should please them), to swapping driving licences, the right to study at university without a student visa, and much more besides.

Before we go on, please remember that all of this legal stuff is expected to be instantly understood upon presentation of a credit card-sized document featuring a black-and-white photograph of the holder, their name, a number, the words Article 50 TUE, some dates and a chip.

There’s no wonder that, sometimes, people and institutions get it wrong. No matter how frustrated and worried you are, it’s important to remember that ‘old news’ Brexit is still not the fault of the employee of the CPAM office / the local gendarme / the official at the préfecture. Nor, given that their job involves dealing with rather more French people than British ones, that they may not necessarily be entirely au fait with its intricacies.

So, what does that small card entitle its holders to, and where can they get accurate information?

The post-Brexit Article 50 TUE card, sometimes also known as the WARP card, is a special type of residence permit that was issued to Britons in France who had been legally resident here before Brexit.

It is generally only issued to adult Britons living in France before December 31st, 2020 – although in some cases a spouse or close family member of a card-holder who arrived later may have been entitled to the card as well.

However, Brits moving to France since 2021 come under the general rules for non-EU nationals and need a visa.

As a starting point for those with an Article 50 TUE card, the British government website has a section called Living in France which gives an overview of the rules for British people in France that was last updated in October 2024 – gov.uk/guidance/living-in-france – as well as a more general section for Britons who were living in Europe before Brexit came into effect – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-europe

The French government’s dedicated Brexit website – which is in both English and French – hasn’t been updated for some time, but remains online and has details of the specific rules for individuals and businesses, which haven’t changed. Find the site at brexit.gouv.fr

Meanwhile, France’s Service Publique website has information, last officially checked in February 2025, about what Britons must do to live in France – with sections on those here before December 31st, 2020, and those who arrived after. It’s in French, and you will find it here www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F35032

While there’s not necessarily a lot of new information about post-Brexit residency in France, the British Embassy in Paris has an active Facebook page that touches on related topics from time to time – facebook.com/ukinfrance

Remain in France Together (RIFT) – which has been busily advocating for the rights of post-Brexit Britons who want to study in France recently, as well as fighting for an EU-wide redress mechanism for cases similar to those we have highlighted – has a similar site with lots of information and bitesize guides, as well as an active Facebook page of the same name – remaininfrance.fr

Your Europe Advice, meanwhile offers a free legal advisory service from independent EU law experts. The specific section on the website is here – europa.eu/youreurope/advice/index_en.htm

The Franco-British Network has a lot of information and guides for British people and British-owned businesses in France – franco-british-network.com

Don’t forget The Local France, either! In our Dealing with Brexit section you will find lots of information on residency, healthcare, driving, travel, pensions and pets.

We are also happy to answer questions from our members.

Meanwhile, if you are feeling brave, you can read the EU Commission’s complex, technical and quite intimidating document Enforcement of individual rights of United Kingdom nationals under the Withdrawal Agreement here:

commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/relations-united-kingdom/eu-uk-withdrawal-agreement/citizens-rights-0_en

And, finally, the Brexit-specific contact point at the French Interior Ministry – useful when local authorities are misapplying rules – is: contact-demandeenligne-brexit-dgef@interieur.gouv.fr

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