BREXIT RESIDENCY
Brexit Deadline for Brits in Europe
Post 30 June, is it too late to register?
Since 31 December 2020, the UK hasn’t been part of the European Union, and therefore UK citizens have been required to apply for work and residence permits in order to go and live and work in EU member states (and vice versa, for EU citizens coming to the UK).
UK nationals who were already resident in EU member states had their rights protected and were not required to apply for work or residence permits. That said, the Withdrawal Agreement does specifically state that Member States are permitted to require UK nationals to apply for residence status.
The Withdrawal Agreement specifies that the deadline for submitting such residence applications
“shall not be less than 6 months from the end of the transition period, for persons residing in the host State before the end of the transition period.”
Six months from the end of the transition period means six months from 31 December 2020, i.e. 30 June 2021. I.e. two weeks ago.
Of the 27 EU Member States, only four (France, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta) had a strict and enforced application deadline of 30 June 2021. Greece also had a deadline of 30 June; however, Maria Kouri, from Corporate Relocations Greece, comments:
“The police have recently confirmed that they will be announcing a new deadline. In practice it has been possible to book residence permit application appointments for after 30 June. However, the extension of the deadline is welcome.”
Other deadlines vary but are typically set towards the end of 2021.
France has received the most attention, probably because of the number of British citizens living there, and the number of those citizens who have not yet applied for residence status. on 15 June 2021, The Guardian reported that:
“according to the British embassy 135,000 Britons have applied for post-Brexit residency out of a population estimated at 148,300, leaving at least 13,300 at risk”
As the deadline first loomed and then passed, panic grew; however, France has now quietly extended the deadline to 30 September 2021. Administrative procedures in France to apply for residency are fairly complex, and the situation is exacerbated by the fact that in France, unlike in most EU Member States, there was previously no obligation to even register one’s address or stay; Brits in France are completely unaccustomed to having to complete any residence formalities.
What If I Don’t Do It?
British nationals living in EU countries must complete post-Brexit formalities as soon as possible.
Failure to do this has a range of ramifications — from the administratively irritating (difficulty hiring a car, or opening a bank account) to the seriously annoying (problems re-entering the country if you leave), to the downright dangerous (being classed as an illegal immigration and subject to resulting penalties, including deportation).
Nobody wants to be incarcerating or deporting UK nationals and the administrative difficulties to be faced with a lack of residence status are irritating on all sides — which is why a number of countries (including France) have extended their deadlines. But there are only so many times a deadline can be extended.
