Consular service gears up to give carte help
Staffing levels have been “significantly” increased at the British consular service to give extra help to Britons living in France during the Brexit process.
It expects to spend more time helping with carte de séjour application issues as these become obligatory.
This means more focus on residents rather than visitors and comes after years of the consular service being slimmed down in Europe, with investment further afield.
Olaf Henricson-Bell, head of politics and communication at the British Embassy Paris, said: “We are expecting an increase in inquiries and requests for assistance and in the complexity of some of our consular cases, due to Brexit, so we are increasing capacity.
“That includes both our core consular capacity and call-handling and people working on policy areas related to British citizens.”
The embassy has also been working to improve the ways it keeps Britons informed, he said, including working with mairies. The ambassador recently spoke at a conference of mayors.
It is also working with the French government to help it communicate clearly to the British community, he said. Outreach meetings will continue next year (see tinyurl.com/yb22ay3u) and it will hold regular discussions with representatives of British in Europe groups.
The UK advises checking for Brexit updates at tinyurl.com/travellingAndLiving , tinyurl.com/LivingFrance and tinyurl.com/FranceTravelAdvice.
