Why Lord Lawson wants a residency card
It is interesting to see the way other newspapers, broadcasters and social media accounts have picked up and commented on our story from June's edition of The Connexion newspaper about Lord Lawson and his permanent residency card ( carte de séjour ).
So far we have spotted the story in The Guardian, Washington Post, BBC, New York Times, Mirror Online and i News amongst others.
However we would like to clarify a point: Lord Lawson has not just moved to France due to Brexit, he has been a resident of France for a number of years and has spoken of his love for his home in the rural south-west and his peaceful lifestyle there which he combines with jetting across to sit in House of Lords debates.
Under EU rules he is already a legal permanent resident of France, thanks to the fact he is an EU citizen (for now, as the UK is still in the EU) who, we presume, has lived stably and legally in another EU state for more than five years. The carte de séjour - séjour permanent card proves and confirms this right.
The reason Lord Lawson is applying for a permanent residency card now, is highly likely to be the fact that, as we have reported previously, the French Interior Ministry has recently said they will prioritise respecting the rights of Britons in France after Brexit who have such cards (see here and here).
As legal experts told Connexion in March 2016, while EU citizens are not obliged to have any residence document to live in France, these optional cards are the only way of proving to French authorities that one has been a long-term legal resident of France under EU rules and we have therefore recommended it as a safeguard since the Brexit vote.
A card should help make sure Lord Lawson can continue his enjoyable life in France for years to come.
It is important to note also that according to the draft EU exit treaty that has been negotiated, Britons will have to meet the same criteria as for these cards in order to be able to stay long-term in another EU state after Brexit (or a transitional period). However it is expected that those resident for less than five years will be allowed to stay to accrue that period.
It has furthermore been proposed that those who already have permanent residency cards proving they meet the criteria as EU citizens will be able to exchange them with a simple process if Britons in France are obliged to have a different kind of residence card as ‘third country’ residents later on.
Obtaining one involves providing things like five years of electricity bills, evidence of regular income and healthcare cover etc, and may involve hours of queueing at prefecture offices.
We will be following our story up further in our July issue, published at the end of June. We will also publish a helpguide to Brexit and Britons in France, around June 21, which will include information on applying for a carte de séjour.
Many of our readers and one of our own staff have found the process to be difficult, however the picture has been varied around France and we hope that now the national French government is encouraging Britons to apply for them, local prefectures will aim to streamline the processes as much as possible.
