Brexit and Britons in France - 02/2019 updates

Register to vote

In view of the possibility of a second Brexit referendum, it is important that Britons in France make sure they are registered to vote if they have been living here for less than 15 years and want to take part.

See gov.uk/register-to-vote.

British Embassy meeting

There will be a British Embassy outreach meeting at Annemasse, Haute-Savoie, on February 11.

See bit.ly/2SPjNCI.

Agreement with Switzerland

The UK has signed an agreement with Switzerland duplicating expatriate rights aspects of the rejected Brexit deal. It guarantees the rights of British people there, whether or not there is a Brexit deal.

It has also agreed a similar deal with the EEA/Efta countries, ie. Iceland, Liechten­stein and Norway.

A DExEU Brexit Ministry spokesman said the guarantee for Britons in Switzerland was possible because the deal is much simpler than the main withdrawal deal (no ‘divorce payment’, no questions over the Northern Ireland border etc).

The UK has made a “verbal agreement” to maintain citizens’ rights aspects with EEA/Efta, but it is more complex because that deal contains extra items linked to the main Brexit deal, such as on judicial cooperation.

As for Britons in the EU, DExEU says it is encouraged by French promises to protect Britons’ rights if there is reciprocity, as it says it intends to “guarantee protection of EU citizens in the UK, ensuring residency and several other rights”.