Do thousands of Britons risk being ‘uprooted’ from France due to visa chaos?

Recent UK media reports have warned of "thousands" of Britons facing losing jobs and residency rights because of “chaos in the visa system”.

They are under threat of being “uprooted”, reports said, as well as facing problems at the border with travel, and difficulties with employers and banks.

The reports are in the context of the fact that from late 2025 to the start of 2027 some 42,000 ‘temporary’ five-year Withdrawal Agreement (WA) residency cards issued to Britons living in France have come up for renewal or will shortly do so. 

This is also in a wider context of criticisms levelled against French prefectures for delays in processing residency card renewals.

The reports said Britons could lose their rights three months after their cards expire.

Firstly, it is important to clarify that these broader criticisms are not specific to WA Britons but more commonly concern foreign people living in France on ordinary French residency cards such as those issued to employed or self-employed workers, retirees who can live off their pensions and investments, or family members of residents in France.

Also, it is worth distinguishing between residency cards and visas. 

Residency cards are the responsibility of the interior ministry and are for people settled long term in France, as opposed to visas which are issued by French consular services to people looking to move to France or visit for a temporary stay. 

What has been happening with residency cards?

All adult non-EU/non-EEA/non-Swiss citizens who live on a settled basis in France will eventually need a residency card, commonly referred to as a titre de séjour or carte de séjour.

Last year 377,000 first residency cards were issued to foreign people, including 8,250 British citizens. Some 944,000 were renewed, including for 7,610 Britons.

For several years, criticisms have been aimed at prefectures (under the responsibility of the interior ministry) for taking too long to renew cards, which can in some cases cause difficulties in everyday life, especially with jobs, as employers do not want to risk employing an immigrant whose legal status in the country is suspect.

The Défenseur des droits has produced several critical reports and France’s top administrative court the Conseil d’Etat earlier this year accepted evidence from groups for migrants and ordered the ministry to make improvements. Lawyers for migrants also took a case against the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture alleging systemic failures. 

The ministry drew up an action plan and reports it has sped up processing times partly by recruiting 500 extra temporary staff. It says the measure may be repeated next year.

What is the impact on Britons?

Britons who have come post-Brexit on ordinary residency cards can be caught up in the problems described above and The Connexion has heard from some readers worried about delays and impact on daily life.

Excessive delays cause stress, especially as legally speaking, if no news is received three months after a ‘complete’ file of paperwork is received by the prefecture, this can be deemed a tacit refusal (recently reduced from four) according to the immigration code. New wording in article R432-2 also provides for an additional 30 days in complex cases.

This is particularly problematic if prefectures fail to provide documentation confirming a person’s continuing residency rights while the file is processed, as sometimes happens.

The ministry’s action plan included automating the issue of attestations de prolongation d’instruction for a period of 12 months. These are issued to people who apply for cards via online procedures, extending their rights for named periods, for example three months at a time. Where a file is submitted in person an equivalent called a récépissé is given.

The ministry also said it would update and simplify the lists of supporting documents needed for each card.

Having said this, we have not heard reports of Britons who were expelled from France purely as a result of administrative delays.

Importantly, however, the residency and work rights of Britons in France under the WA do not rely on cardholders successfully renewing their card before the expiry date on the card, or within a set period of months.

Three months after the expiry period, if they have no récépissé or attestation, it is true that legally, the card itself may no longer be sufficient on its own to demonstrate their legal status, and this can cause practical difficulties. This is referred to in article L433-3 of the immigration code. 

However, this does not extinguish their underlying residency rights.

As the European Commission states in a guidance note on permanent residency the source of the person’s rights is the WA itself, not the residency document.

People who were living in France before Brexit and who have now lived for at least five years in France, have gained permanent residency rights under the WA and “do not lose the right to reside in the host state if their residence document expires or gets lost”. The same applies to the right to work.

The commission adds: “They acquire the right of permanent residence with effect from the moment when the WA confers it, not at the moment they are issued with a residence document evidencing their right of permanent residence, which may be later.”

The commission says, however, without a valid residency document, people may have to provide alternative evidence of their rights.

Generally speaking, France’s processing of residency cards for WA Britons was considered to have been efficient and helpful post-Brexit. 

With regard to renewals, the interior ministry encouraged all prefectures to follow the same standardised online procedure, though not all did so.

We have heard limited reports from readers who have been concerned about longer-than-expected WA renewal processing times; however, we have no evidence of widespread problems and no reports of Britons who have faced job losses or other serious problems as a result.

Furthermore, supporting documents required by France for these renewals are minimal.

It is important, however, that if you have a five-year card that has not yet been renewed, you check its expiry date and apply for renewal around two months before this.

You should not need to hand over your old card until the end of the process, and récépissés and attestations can be shown at the border as proof of rights, along with a valid passport and the previous card, even if expired (a photocopy could be useful if you have handed it in).