Brexit and Britons in France - 04/2019 updates

Europe Minister Nathalie Loiseau said in a Facebook Q&A (tinyurl.com/yxvmsv2v) that, with Brexit close and without clarity as to whether there will be a deal or not, “it would now be tempting to wait” rather than apply for a carte de séjour or to swap a UK driving licence.

The British embassy said it is a personal choice as to whether to apply for a carte or wait, but it recommends preparing the documents you will need for one.

It has had reports of some prefectures no longer offering appointments and has raised it with the Interior Ministry (see here for a contact form and other information for Britons in France: gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-paris).

Mrs Loiseau said there would be a grace period in a no-deal, so Britons could continue for a limited time to drive on UK licences. The CERT in Nantes said it is no longer processing non-obligatory licence exchange requests received after last Decem­ber 15, and is returning them (see Brexit section of our website).

This is despite UK government advice to seek to exchange licences before Brexit.

A petition (petition.parliament.uk/petitions/241584) to revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU has reached more than 5.4million, including 40,000 signatures from Britons in France, the largest number outside the UK. A million people marched in London for a “People’s Vote”.

La Poste warns there may be customs formalities for sending parcels to the UK after Brexit and longer postage times.

The UK government says there is no need to worry about flight cancellations in a no-deal as emergency plans are almost in place.

There are questions over continued rights of UK-based or owned firms to operate internal EU flights but companies affected have been seeking solutions. EU firms will be allowed to fly internally in the UK for the 2019 summer season, the UK says.