Overview

UK citizens living in France are now third country nationals and must hold a residence permit in order to be allowed to stay. If you were already living in France at the end of the transition period, 31 December 2020, you should be covered by the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) and your residence permit will be issued under that agreement. Residence cards issued to you as an EU citizen are no longer valid.

If, however, you arrived in France after 31 December 2025 or you don't meet the conditions to apply for a WA permit, your residence here is subject to French national immigration law and (unless you are joining a family member and you are both covered by the WA - see below) you will not be covered under the WA. See this page for more about your situation.
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The very short version

• Every British citizen who was living legally in France on 31 December 2020 (the end of the transition period) has to hold a residence permit issued under the Withdrawal Agreement (WA). If you have adult family members they also have to hold a permit. Children under 18 do not have to hold a permit, although they may apply at the age of 16 or 17 if they need to hold a permit for work or training purposes.
  
  
• The original deadline for applications was set at 30 June 2021, but this was extended to 30 September 2021. It's expected that all UK citizens resident on or before 31 December 2020 will now have applied for their permit. 
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• If you have not yet applied for your permit, late applications may be made (see this page) but you will have to show reasonable grounds for not having made your application in time. Applications must now be made directly to your local préfecture as the online portal is now closed.
  
  
• If you are joining a family member already living in France and covered by the WA, and you are also covered by the WA (because you are under 21 and are joining your parents, or you are over 21 and are joining a relative in the direct ascending or descending line who is covered by the WA and you are dependent on the person) you must also apply to your local préfecture for a residence permit. You'll find more information here. 
  
  
• The permits include the wording 'Article 50 TUE' and provide you with evidence that you're covered by the WA.
  
  
• All permits are free of charge, both your first card and future renewals.
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• The French government has specified that everyone must hold a WA permit by 1 January 2022. If you have applied and have not yet received your permit please see this page.
  
  
• The French government published a decree that sets out in detail the conditions for being granted a new residence status. You can find the decree here: www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000042538704
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​In the next section we start by giving you some basic context - this is important information so do read it before you move on to the rest.

We then take a quick look at the conditions required to meet (or not) to obtain a residence permit under the WA. 

CONTEXT

• As former EU citizens and during the transition period, our residence rights in France came under what's called a declaratory system. This means that if you satisfied the conditions for legal residence, you had a right to reside here whether or not you've made an application for or hold a residence card. Your residence status derived directly from EU law and you don't need to go through any administrative procedures to obtain it. Your carte de séjour, if you had one, simply attested to (ie ‘declared’) the residence status that you already hold. Those days have now passed and cartes de séjour issued under this system are now invalid.
  
  
• Under the WA, each member state could choose either to continue a declaratory system or to implement a new constitutive system. Under a constitutive system you have no right of residence until (a) you have applied for it and (b) it has been granted. Several EU countries have opted for a constitutive scheme, including France.


• France adopted a constitutive system for certifying our rights under the WA after the end of the transition period.
  
  
• Under this system everyone must apply for a new status. This is because in a constitutive scheme you acquire residence status only if (a) you make an application for it and (b) that application is granted. In other words, the ‘source’ of your residence status and the rights that stem from it is the decision on your application made by the registration authority in your host country. It’s that decision, and the residence document that is issued as a result, which confers your residence status.
  
  
• This is how ‘settled status’ works in the UK, and it also corresponds to the type of system used to deal with residence applications in France from other third country nationals.
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•  The deadline for applications closed on 30 September 2021. This was an extended date - the original deadline was 30 June 2021. If you missed this deadline to apply for a new status under the WA, you may end up unable to acquire the new WA residence status even if otherwise you meet all the conditions. This could have serious consequences and could mean that you would have no rights to residence under the WA.
  
  
• Once you've made your application, you are issued with an attestation, which will includes your unique application number. This will act as proof of your right to reside until your application is processed and you receive your permit; you'll need to keep it safe.
  
  
• You are deemed to enjoy residence rights under the WA until your préfecture has made a final decision on your application - this safeguards you against any administrative delays. 
  
  
• You are required to hold a WA residence permit by 1 January 2022. 
  
  
• If, in spite of everything, you have missed the deadline, your late application can't be automatically rejected. Your préfecture must decide whether you had ‘reasonable grounds’ for not respecting the deadline. There is no precision in the WA on what might constitute ‘reasonable grounds’, but that decision should take into account ‘all the circumstances and reasons’ and out-of-time applications should be treated ‘in a proportionate manner’. 
  
  
• If you apply for your new residence status and your application is refused after the end of the transition period, you can no longer reapply as in the previous bullet point, but you have the right to appeal either administratively to the Préfet, or legally to the judicial court.
  
  
• If you appeal, you are also deemed to enjoy the right of residence under the WA while you go through the appeal process, and a decision has been made on your appeal. This safeguards you against wrong decisions and judicial delays.
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A QUICK ROMP THROUGH THE CONDITIONS TO BE MET

You have been in France for over 5 years and have a current or expired 10 year CdS permanent

• Although you must still apply for a new status and permit, this is a simple exchange process. You'll need to provide minimal information to prove your entitlement: a copy of your current CdS and your passport details. You receive a new card which will be valid for 10 years. You'll find full detail about this route on this (now archived) page.

​You have been in France for over 5 years but you don't have a current or expired 10 year CdS permanent

• To obtain your CdS permanent you have to simply prove that you have been resident for 5 years.
  
  
• You have to provide a copy of your (valid) passport; a copy of your existing CdS if you have one; if you've never held a CdS, proof of when you settled in France, or of any date that shows you have been here for more than 5 years (for example, a rental contract from 6 years ago, insurance contract, job contract, avis d'imposition, social security or health document, or any other document that shows that you were resident here at least 5 years ago); and proof that you are living here now (utility bill or attestation, rent receipt, taxe d'habitation bill or similar). 
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• You receive a new card which will be valid for 10 years.
  
  
• You'll find full detail about this route on this (now archived) page.

You have been in France for less than 5 years (whether or not you have a current CdS)

• You have to demonstrate your personal situation and show that you meet certain conditions. 
  
  
• Everyone has to show that they were resident in France in 2020; utility bill, taxe d'habitation bill, rental contract etc).
  
  
• You have to show that you fit into one of the following categories: worker/self-employed; student; economically inactive/retired; or a family member of someone who does fall into one of these categories.
  
  
• If you are employed, you are asked for your last payslip or an employment certificate. You'll find full detail about this route on this (now archived) page.
  
  
• If you are self employed, you are asked to show that you're registered with the RCS or Chambre de Métiers, or for an attestation to show that you're in a relevant social security system as a self-employed person; you'll also be asked for proof that your work is 'genuine and effective' - declaration of your turnover, or takings book, or a professional lease etc, but you don't have to show a minimum income. You'll find full detail about this route on this (now archived) page.
  
  
• If you're a student who is studying in France, you'll need proof of enrollment in an educational institution plus a certificate of regular attendance. You'll find full detail about this route on this (now archived) page.
  
  
• Unless you have recently stopped working (see below), if you are economically inactive in France, you will have to show two things. Firstly, you have to show that you have comprehensive health cover. This condition is met by joining the French health system or by taking out equivalent full private health insurance. You will also have to show that you have sufficient resources not to become a burden on the French social security system. The current guideline figure for this is the level of RSA for a single person. This applies whatever your household composition. It is your current income which will be assessed, not your anticipated income for the duration of your stay in France or the duration of your CdS. If there are further changes to the guideline figures we will update this page.
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• If you have lived in France for at least 3 years, are now economically inactive, but have just retired after working in France, the UK or anywhere in the EEA for the last 12 months, you don't have to prove sufficient resources or show comprehensive health cover.  The same applies if you have been declared unfit for work (on either a temporary or a permanent basis).
  
  
• If you meet the conditions you receive a card with a validity of 5 years.

You are a UK-French dual national

• If you have dual UK-French nationality you don't need to rely on the WA for your residence rights in France, but you may need to rely on it for other aspects, for example recognition of professional qualifications, family reunification rights and/or social security/health cover. You can read more about this in our explainer. 
  
  
• You will benefit from rights under the UK if before the end of the transition period (31 December 2025) you exercised your free movement rights in France - in other words, if you originally moved here as a UK citizen under EU free movement rules and later acquired French nationality either by declaration or by decree. This applies even if you acquire French nationality after the end of the transition period.
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• The Ministry of the Interior has told us that as a French national you will be unable to apply for a CdS under the WA. However, very recent advice that we've received from the European Commission says that countries operating a constitutive scheme (such as France) should allow people to apply for a residence document under the WA. However, recent advice given by the Ministry of the Interior states that French-UK dual nationals still cannot apply for a residence card but that they may invoke their WA rights if they choose to at any time in the future; applications to do this will be caseworked on an individual basis. No further details have been given about how this will work.

You are a dual national with UK plus another EU nationality

• You don't have to rely on the WA for your residence rights as you'll continue to have the right to live here as an EU citizen, but you may need to rely on it for other aspects - for example recognition of professional qualifications, family reunification rights and/or social security/health cover - and therefore to secure your rights as a right holder under the WA. You can read more about this in our explainer. 
  
  
• You benefit from rights under the WA if, before the end of the transition period, you moved here as a UK citizen under EU free movement rules.
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• The Ministry of the Interior has indicated that you are able, if you wish, to apply for a residence card under the WA following the general rules in these paragraphs. If you do this you will of course still retain your rights as an EU citizen.

You are married to or in a registered or durable relationship with a French national and have less than 5 years residence

• If you are married to a French citizen, you will receive a 10 year CdS which will give you automatic permanent residence status, even if you've been resident in France for less than 5 years.
  
  
• If you are in a registered or durable relationship with a French citizen, you can apply under this route and you will receive a 5 year CdS. You will be able to acquire permanent residence status after 5 years in France.
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• If you have already lived in France for over 5 years at the time of your application, ​ you should apply for permanent residence status and not for this special status.

You are a student studying elsewhere in France

The Ministry has confirmed that students studying away from their home department should apply using their home address, and that préfectures should be flexible with appointments so that they can attend.

You are a student who is now studying abroad 

You can apply for a carte de séjour under the WA even if you are studying abroad, as long as your usual residence is maintained in France - for example, your family still lives in France and you return during holiday periods.

If when you apply you can justify a period of over 5 years in France (for example, via a certificat de scolarité) then you will be eligible for permanent residence status and should complete that part of the application form.

Otherwise, you should apply as a family member, not as a student (to apply as a student you have to be studying in France) and you will receive a 5 year card as a family member of a British national.