Living in France

This page tells you what to do ahead of the UK leaving the EU. It will be updated if anything changes, including if a deal is agreed.

• read

  Attend essentiala informationcitizen outreach meeting

  The British Embassy regularly holds events across France for UK nationalsnationals. Attend one of our citizen outreach meetings to keep up to date on working and living in France after Brexit

  You can also:

  • read Living in the EUEU: prepare for Brexit
  • read the French government’s guidance on the UK leaving the EU
  • attend one of our citizens outreach meetings
  • sign up for the Embassy’s newsletter, Voisins Voices. Read previous newsletter editions

  Visas and residency

  Check the entry requirements for France.

  Before Brexit you can still apply for a European carte de séjour at your local préfecture under the current system, although it is not compulsory. With the extension of the Article 50 period, préfectures should continue to accept applications, give and honour appointments, and issue EU cartes de séjour to UK nationals. If your residency application is refused or you think it has been handled incorrectly by your préfecture, please contact British Embassy Paris.

  You should include:

  • information about the issue
  • when the event took place
  • which préfecture (département) it relates to

  We will provide feedback to the French Ministry of the Interior and push for improvements if needed.

  After Brexit, whether you have obtained a European carte de séjour or not, all UK nationals resident in France will need to obtain a new type of residence permit relevant to their situation to claim their rights. This includes UK nationals waiting for French nationality and UK nationals married to or PACsed to (in a civil partnership with) French nationals.

  If the UK leaves the EU with a deal, you will have until at least June 2021 to apply for the new card. The agreement on citizens’ rights will allow UK nationals to stay in their Member State of residence after Brexit.

  If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, UK nationals living in France on the day the UK leaves the EU will be given a grace period of one year to obtain their residence card. You will have 6 months from this day to apply for your card and you will receive it before the end of 12 months from exit.

  During this grace period, you will retain your right of residence, and associated work and social rights. European cartes de séjour that have already been issued will also remain valid for one year following exit. However, whether you have obtained a European carte de séjour or not, you must apply for a residence card under the new system during the first six months of the grace period.

  The card you are issued if there’s no deal will depend on your personal situation. The categories, which have been specified, are as follows:

  • UK nationals who have been living in France for five years or more
  • UK nationals who have been living in France for less than five years and fall under one of the below categories:
  • salaried worker with a Contrat à Durée Indéterminée (CDI)
  • salaried worker with a Contrat à Durée Déterminée (CDD)
  • self- employed
  • during the last year have either graduated in France or worked for at least three months and are now looking for work or creating a business
  • students
  • family members of UK nationals who qualify for one of the above categories
  • UK nationals who have been living in France for less than five years but do not fulfil any of the above categories

  Applications for a residence card will cost €119 if there’s no deal. UK nationals who have lived in France for at least five years and hold a permanent carte de séjour prior to Brexit will be able to exchange their card for the new card with reduced formalities once the new system is launched.

  The French Ministry of Interior have detailed this information in an ordonnance and accompanying decree. You can read their question and answers on residency (in French).

  The French Government will in due course be updating their Q&A and will communicate details of the application process. However, in anticipation of this, you should start to gather together relevant documents(e.g. bank statements), to show you have been lawfully resident in France.

  You can read the French government’s official guidance for UK nationals living and working in France and how to prepare for the Brexit (in French), or download our non-official English translation:

  

  French Ministry of Interior - Residency information ENG

  ODT, 15KB

  This file is in an OpenDocument format

  Passports and travel

  You can apply for or renew your British passport from France.

  See our travel advice for France and sign up to email alerts for up-to-date travel information on local laws and customs, safety and emergencies.

  Passports and travel after Brexit

  After Brexit, the rules on travel will change. Check your passport is valid for travel before you book your trip. You’ll need to renew your passport before travelling if you do not have enough time left on your passport. If there is a deal, nothing will change until at least the end of 2020. During this time you can continue to travel freely in the Schengen area with your UK passport. What happens after 2020 will form the next part of negotiations.

  If there’s no deal, new travel rules will apply. You must have at least 6 months left on an adult or child passport to travel to most countries in Europe (not including Ireland).

  If you renewed your current passport before the previous one expired, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the 6 months needed.

  If there’s no deal, UK nationals will not need visas for short stays elsewhere in the EU. You will be able to stay up to 90 days in another EU, EEA or EFTA country, within a 180-day period. You must retain evidence of travel (such as train and plane tickets), in case these are requested by national authorities. If you hold a residence permit from an EU, EEA or EFTA country, you will be able to transit through other EU, EEA or EFTA countries to reach your country of residence. We will update this guidance as more information becomes available.

  Healthcare

  You must register for healthcare as a resident in France, and ifin necessary,addition, you can sign up for top-up health insurance.insurance (mutuelle). Read the NHS guidance on who is able to access healthcare in France, and how to register.

  If you are legally resident in France, you can get a French social security card for healthcare (carte vitale). To get a French social security card, you will need to register with your local Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie (CPAM). They can tell you which documents they need for your registration. Top-up insurance cover (mutuelle) also exists to cover the cost of healthcare not covered by a Carte Vitale.

  EHIC cards

  If you arehave been resident in France,France for more than 3 months you shouldcan notapply useto abe covered by the French healthcare system (PUMA).

  European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)

  If you are resident in France, you must not use an EHIC from the UK for healthcare in France.

  When you travel from France for a temporary stay in another European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland, you can use an EHIC to access state-provided healthcare in that country. During that short stay:

  • EHIC covers treatment that is medically necessary until your planned return home
  • an EHIC is not a replacement for comprehensive travel insurance
  • for more information read our travel advice page and advice on foreign travel insurance

  State healthcare — S1

  If you live in France and receive an exportable UK pension, contribution-based Employment Support Allowance or another exportable benefit, you may currently be entitled to state healthcare paid for by the UK. You will need to apply for a certificate of entitlement known as an S1 certificate.

  Read the NHS guidance on France.

  If you are a student, read the NHS guidance on healthcare and studying abroad.

  You should check your prescriptions are legal in France.

  You can find information on mental health in France.

  Healthcare after Brexit

  If there is a deal, your current rights on access to healthcare in France will remain the same until the end of the implementation period, as long as you remain a resident in France.

  If there’s no deal, your access to healthcare is likely to change. You must take action now to ensure you have the necessary healthcare cover in order to apply for your new residency status during the 6 month application window following exit day.

  If you currently have your healthcare costs paid for by the UK government, we can help if you are aasked permanentto orpay temporaryfor resident,treatment during the first 6 months after Brexit. To organise a payment, you shouldmust reviewgive your healthcare cover.provider’s details to the NHS Business Services Authority’s Overseas Healthcare Services.

  Following new legislation, the French government has indicated that if there’s no deal, UK pension holders with an S1 that are resident in France before Brexit will continue to be entitled to healthcare for up to 2 years on equal terms to local healthcare users.users, This is while arrangementswe arenegotiate negotiateda tolonger-term provide similar agreements for French citizens.agreement.

  Healthcare entitlements from employment in France should not be affected.

  The UK has offered to maintain the EHIC scheme if there’s no deal, but this would be reliant on France continuing to accept UK EHICs. The French Government has indicated that your EHIC will no longer be valid if there’s no deal.

  YouIf must take action now to ensure you arereturn ready to apply for your new residency status during the 6 month application window following a no deal and decide how you will ensure access to healthcare if there’s no deal. Should UK nationalspermanently face changes in their circumstance and wishmeet to return to the UK,ordinarily theyresident willtest, haveyou’ll anbe entitlementable to access NHS servicescare aswithout soon as they take up ordinary residence in the UK.charge.

  Read the NHS guidance on healthcare for UK nationals in France and how it may change after Brexit.

  Working in France

  Read our guidance on working in another EU country.

  To apply for a job you may need to provide a:

  • UK police certificate
  • UK equivalent of a casier judiciare
  • International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) criminal records check from the ACRO Criminal Records Office to work with children

  Working in France after Brexit

  If there is a deal, your right to work will stay the same until the end of the implementation period.

  If there’s no deal, UK nationals living and working in France on the day the UK leaves the EU will keep their right to work for a period of one year whilst their application for a residence card is in process (read our residency guidance). If you are living and working in France on the day the UK leaves the EU, this residence card will allow you to keep your right to work.

  Read the guidance on providing services after Brexit if you’re planning to start a business, provide a service, or do a job in a regulated profession after Brexit.

  You can look at the French government’s website on working in France after the UK leaves the EU (in French).

  Money and tax

  The UK has a double-taxation agreement with France to ensure people do not pay tax on the same income in both countries.

  Read the guidance about:

  • tax if you leave the UK to live abroad
  • tax on your UK income if you live abroad
  • paying income tax in France by the European Union

  You should get professional advice on paying tax in France. Find an English-speaking lawyer in France.

  Declaration of assets

  All residents must declare any assets held outside France, including bank accounts, securities, rights, insurance, annuities and property. This declaration is separate to the annual tax return.

  National Insurance

  Find out if you can pay National Insurance while abroad in order to protect your State Pension and entitlement to other benefits and allowances.

  If you are employed or self-employed in the EU and you have a UK-issued A1/E101 form, you will remain subject to UK legislation until the end date on the form.

  If the end date on your form is after 31 October 2019, you should contact the relevant EU, EEA or Swiss authority to confirm whether you need to start paying social security contributions in that country after 31 October, as well as UK National Insurance contributions.

  Find out more about social security contributions after a no-deal Brexit.

  Money and tax after Brexit

  Brexit will not change existing double taxation arrangements for UK nationals living in France. You should direct individual taxpayer questions about double taxation to the relevant tax authority.

  If there’s no deal, it may become more expensive to use your UK bank card in France. Read more about using a bank card, insurance or other financial service in the EU.

  Pensions

  You will need to tell the UK government offices that deal with your benefits, pension and tax if you are moving or retiring abroad.

  If you retire in France, you can claim:

  • your UK State Pension or new UK State Pension. Please contact the International Pension Centre to claim
  • your French pension if you worked in France, by contacting your local pensions office (Caisse d’Assurance Retraite et Santé au Travail or CARSAT) – see CLEISS and Sécurité Sociale
  • pensions from abroad, if you’ve worked in other EU countries

  You can read the French government’s guidance on French social security including pensions.

  Life certificates for UK State Pensions

  If you get a ‘life certificate’ from the UK Pension Service, you need to respond as soon as possible - your payments may be suspended if you don’t. Or you can ask your local town hall (mairie) to fill in a French life certificate (certificat de vie) (in French) instead.

  Pensions after Brexit

  The UK government will continue to pay a State Pension to those eligible in the EU after Brexit. Your UK State Pension will be uprated in April 2020, 2021 and 2022 if you live in the EU, EEA or Switzerland.

  Read our guidance on pensions if there’s no deal.

  If there is a deal and you work and pay social security contributions in France, you will still be able to add your UK social security contributions towards your French pension. This will happen even if you claim your pension after the end of the implementation period.

  Benefits

  You may still be able to claim some UK benefits like child and disability benefits if you live in France. You can:

  • read our guidance on which benefits you can claim if you live, move or travel abroad
  • use our tool to check which benefits you can claim while abroad and how to claim them

  Many income-related benefits such as Pension Credit and Housing Benefit cannot be paid if you’re abroad for more than 4 weeks.

  You can request proof of the time you’ve worked in the UK from HMRC, if you are asked for this.

  French unemployment benefit

  For French unemployment benefits, you should:

  • check if you’re eligible on the French government’s website
  • contact Pôle Emploi (in French) to claim

  French disability benefit

  Contact the Maison Départementale des Personnes Handicapées (MDPH) (in French) about disability allowance – there are several disability allowances so it’s best to seek advice from them before applying.

  French family allowance

  To apply for child allowance, family income support, single-parent allowance or housing allowance, contact the CAF (Caisse d’Allocations Familiales) if you need help applying, request an appointment with the social worker at your local town hall (mairie).

  Benefits after Brexit

  The UK government will continue to pay the UK State Pension, child benefits, and disability benefits to those eligible in the EU after Brexit.

  If there is a deal and you work and pay social security contributions in France, your UK social security contributions will be taken into account when applying for French contributions-based benefits. This will happen even if you claim contributions-based benefits after the end of the implementation period.

  If there’s not a deal, the French government has proposed that they will continue to take periods of work in the UK before Brexit into account when claiming certain French contributions-based benefits. We will update this guidance when an agreement is reached.

  If there’s no deal, the French government has also said that UK nationals with less than five years residence who receive the Revenu de Solidarite Active (RSA) prior to the UK’s exit from the EU will be able to continue receiving the RSA benefit for a period of a year. Eligible UK nationals with more than five years’ residence will also be able to continue receiving the benefit during the grace period and beyond.

  Read our guidance on benefits and pensions in a no deal scenario.

  Driving in France

  If you are a resident in France, you should exchange your UK licence for a French one. You can still use your French licence in the UK for short visits or exchange it for a UK licence without taking a test if you return to live in the UK.

  For information on driving in France, read the guidance on:

  • driving licence exchanges and renewals (in French)
  • what you need to drive abroad
  • driving rules in France

  However, there are currently considerable delays in processing requests to exchange overseas driving licences for French ones. The Centre d’Expertise et de Ressources des Titres (CERT) in Nantes is responsible in most cases for exchanging driving licences. It has returned licences to some UK nationals residing in France. We are in discussion with French authorities to understand the latest position. If your driving license is lost, stolen or close to expiration, CERT should fast track your application. However if your situation is not urgent you should consider waiting to apply to CERT to apply for a French driving licence in view of the backlog.

  Bringing a UK-registered vehicle to France

  Read our guidance on taking a vehicle out of the UK.

  Read the European Union’s guidance on car registration and taxes in France. You may be exempt from some of these taxes. If so, you will need certificates of exemption.

  Please contact your local prefecture or read the French government’s guidance on driving in France with a foreign licence (in French).

  Driving after Brexit

  If there is a deal, driving licence rules will stay the same during the implementation period (until 31 December 2020).

  Read our guidance on driving in the EU after Brexit.

  If there’s no deal, and you are already residing normally in France on the day the UK leaves the EU, you will continue to be able to drive in France with your UK driving licence under the same conditions as any resident.

  UK nationals moving to France to live there after a no-deal Brexit will have a one year period to exchange their UK driving licence for a French one (read instructions above on exchanging your driving licence).

  If you wish to visit France as a tourist following any no-deal Brexit, under current French proposals you will need to carry a translation of your driving licence. You may wish to consider purchasing an international driving permit, which the French authorities accept as a translation of your UK driving licence.

  Voting

  You may be able to vote in some UK elections. You can:

  • check if you are able to vote
  • register as an overseas voter to vote

  If you’re resident in France, you can vote in local municipal and European parliamentary elections.

  Voting after Brexit

  Once the UK leaves the EU, UK nationals will no longer be eligible to vote in local and European elections.

  The French Ministry of the Interior have a website to help UK nationals living and working in France (in French) which covers voting.

  Births, deaths and getting married

  If your child is born in France, you will need to register the birth abroad.

  If someone dies in France you can:

  • read our guidance on what to do after someone dies abroad
  • read our guidance on deaths in France

  Find out how you can get married abroad.

  Find out about notarial and documentary services in France

  You may also need:

  • an English-speaking lawyer in France
  • an English-speaking translator in France

  Accommodation and buying property

  Read our guidance on:

  • what to consider when buying a property abroad
  • legal requirements and advice on buying a property in France

  Pets

  You will still be able to travel to and from the UK with a cat, dog or ferret after Brexit, but the rules will change. You can read guidance on pet travel to Europe after the UK leaves the EU.

  While the UK is still an EU Member State you’ll be able to travel with your pet to the EU under the current pet travel rules using your current EU pet passport. If you’re travelling with your pet for the first time you must visit your vet to get a pet passport.

  Read guidance on returning your cat, dog or ferret to the UK. For moving pet horses and other equines read guidance on exporting horses and ponies: special rules.

  Emergencies

  You can dial the European emergency number 112 in France, or dial:

  • 17 for police
  • 18 for fire brigade
  • 15 for medical

  Find the full list of emergency number in France.

  If you have been the victim of a rape or sexual assault, you can find guidance on rape and sexual assault in France.

  If you’re the victim of a crime, have been arrested, or are affected by a crisis abroad, contact the British embassy in Paris.

  Returning to the UK

  You should tell the French and UK authorities if you are returning to the UK permanently.

  You should read our guidance on:

  • access to benefits and services in the UK if there is a no deal

  • bringing your family to the UK

  • access to higher education, 19+ further education and apprenticeship funding

  • importing vehicles back to the UK

  • bringing your pet back to the UK

  • checking your tax status after returning to the UK

  You should tell your local French tax office (in French) that you are changing address and the date you will leave.

  If you get a UK State Pension, you must tell the International Pension Centre. If you get a French pension, contact your pension provider.

  You’ll need to tell your local social security office and benefit office you’re leaving if you’ve been getting unemployment benefit or child and housing benefit.

  Disclaimer

  This information is provided as a guide only. Definitive information should be obtained from the French authorities. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is not liable for any inaccuracies in this information.