Withdrawal Agreement Residence Rights in France for British Citizens (2026)

If you are British and you settled in France before Brexit took full effect, your right to live here comes from the Withdrawal Agreement, not from the ordinary French immigration rules. This guide explains who is covered, what the residence card is, what happens if you never applied for it, and who is left outside the scheme.

The rules below come from service-public.gouv.fr (page last verified on 30 October 2025, an automatic English translation, so the French version is the reference), the UK government’s “Living in France” guidance and a French Interior Ministry FAQ. That FAQ dates from January 2021, so its deadlines are historical and we use it only for points that do not depend on a date.

Who is covered

According to gov.uk, the residency rights apply if you moved to France before 1 January 2021 and have lived there legally since then. Your family members are covered too.

Service-public.gouv.fr describes the same group: British nationals who settled in France before the end of 2020 keep the rights they acquired as European citizens, and this extends to their family members. The Withdrawal Agreement entered into force on 1 February 2020.

If you also hold the nationality of another EU member state, the Interior Ministry FAQ says you keep your status as an EU citizen and are not required to hold a residence permit. You may still choose to apply for the “accord de retrait” permit, and the FAQ says that choice can be reversed.

The card: “accord de retrait”

The document is the Withdrawal Agreement residence permit. In French it is the “carte de séjour” or “titre de séjour” marked “accord de retrait du Royaume-Uni de l’Union européenne” (gov.uk). Service-public.gouv.fr refers to the five-year card as marked “Article 50 TEU / Article 18(1) Withdrawal Agreement”.

What the official pages say about it:

• Cost: it is free (service-public.gouv.fr; the Interior Ministry FAQ says no tax is payable).
• Duration: service-public.gouv.fr says the card is valid for 5 years, and for 10 years in case of a stay in France of more than 5 years (the Interior Ministry FAQ says the date of your first settlement in France is what counts). Gov.uk says the initial card is valid for five years and the renewed card for ten if you meet the conditions for permanent residence.
• Special permits: gov.uk says that if you hold a special residence permit issued by 31 December 2020, you can apply for the Withdrawal Agreement card but must give up the special permit. You cannot hold both.

Proving when you arrived

The Interior Ministry FAQ explains what mattered for the length of the card: the date of your first settlement in France, not proof of residence for every year. It lists a previous residence permit, a tax certificate, an employment contract, or a lease or title deed as examples of documents that can show it.

The same FAQ says that if your stay was interrupted one or more times, this does not affect the calculation of your time in France unless an interruption lasted more than five consecutive years. Its example is someone who went back to the UK for a year. Treat this as the ministry’s January 2021 reading, and ask your prefecture how it applies to your own dates.

The deadline and what if you missed it

Service-public.gouv.fr says you had to apply for the permit before 4 October 2021. Gov.uk says you can no longer request the permit online.

The official pages we read do not set out a penalty for someone who never applied. What they do say is this:

• Service-public.gouv.fr says a late application is still possible if you have a legitimate reason, and gives examples: health problems, force majeure, travel difficulties linked to the pandemic, or professional reasons.
• Gov.uk says that if you have no card, you should apply to your local prefecture with evidence that you met the residency criteria.

Whether a reason is accepted is for the prefecture to decide, not for us or for any adviser. If this is your situation, gather what shows you were living in France before 1 January 2021 (the FAQ lists the kinds of documents above) and contact your prefecture.

Gov.uk also gives a practical reason not to wait: carry your passport and your residence document when you enter, leave or travel within the Schengen area. Without a valid card or other residence permit, you may be wrongly recorded as overstaying under the Entry/Exit System and refused entry.

How to apply today

Gov.uk says the online application route is closed, so a first application goes to your local prefecture. Service-public.gouv.fr says family members applying under the scheme apply to their home prefecture or sub-prefecture.

For a family member the documents listed on service-public.gouv.fr are:

• a valid passport
• any existing residence permit, even if it has expired
• three photos (or an e-photo code for an online application)
• proof of the family relationship, registered partnership or cohabitation
• proof of current residence in France
• the covered person’s residence permit
• proof of dependence, only for a child over 21 or a parent of the covered person (or of their spouse)
• proof of the date you settled in France, if you arrived as a minor

Prefectures run their own procedures, so check your prefecture’s website before travelling to an appointment.

Family members

Service-public.gouv.fr lists these relationships as eligible, provided the family link existed before 1 January 2021:

• a direct descendant under 21, or a dependent descendant
• a direct dependent ascendant (parent or grandparent)
• a spouse, or a partner in a long-term, duly documented relationship
• a direct dependent ascendant or descendant of the spouse

It also covers a child born after 1 January 2021 to a covered person, and a child lawfully adopted by a covered person after that date. The family relationship must still exist when you apply.

A family member who joins from abroad must apply within three months of entering France, and a young person who has just reached adulthood within the year after their 18th birthday. For family members from outside the UK, the Interior Ministry FAQ adds that third-country nationals can obtain a card because of their family link to a British national settled in France before the end of 2020. The visa route described below applies to people who join a relative who settled in France since 1 January 2021, or who settle with no family here.

Children

Gov.uk says children do not need a permit but must apply at 18 (or from 16 if they need one for work). The Interior Ministry FAQ, written in 2021, said a passport is enough for a minor. The FAQ also says that studying abroad does not stop a child of a covered person getting a card, provided their habitual residence stays in France.

Work and healthcare

On work, gov.uk says you do not need a work permit or visa if you have lived in France legally since before 1 January 2021. It adds that you may need to have foreign qualifications recognised, and may need a UK police certificate for some jobs.

On healthcare, the gov.uk “Living in France” page links to separate guidance rather than setting out your entitlements. That separate gov.uk page says you can apply for PUMa, the French state healthcare, after being resident in France for at least three months, and then have access to state healthcare on the same basis as a French citizen. If you receive a UK State Pension or an exportable benefit, you may qualify for UK-funded healthcare through an S1 form. For that route see our guide to the S1 form for UK pensioners in France.

Renewing your card

Service-public.gouv.fr says that after at least five years in France, a holder of the five-year card marked “Article 50 TEU / Article 18(1) Withdrawal Agreement” can apply for a “permanent stay” card valid for 10 years. You apply in the two months before the five-year card expires. Depending on your prefecture, that can be online, by post, or at the counter by appointment. Gov.uk (updated 2 October 2026) says not to use the general ANEF residence permit renewal service, only the route your prefecture specifies.

The documents listed are a valid passport, proof of address, three identity photos, the expiring permit, and proof of any change in situation such as divorce, marriage or widowhood. The new card is free. Gov.uk adds that your prefecture should issue a “récépissé” as evidence of your continuing residence rights while the renewal is processed, that you may be asked to attend an appointment to check original documents or record biometric information, and that if you travel in the meantime you should follow your prefecture’s advice and carry your valid passport, the récépissé and your previous permit.

If you are not covered

If you settled in France after 1 January 2021, with no family link that predates that date, you are not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement (service-public.gouv.fr). You must hold a residence permit under the ordinary rules, and you apply for a long-stay visa at the French consular services in the UK first. That visa then lets you apply for a residence permit at the prefecture. Our guide to the visa options for British citizens after Brexit covers that route, and the guide to moving to France from the UK covers the practical side of the move.

Related guides for British readers

• Our guide to exchanging a UK driving licence for a French one covers the rules for licences issued before and after 1 January 2021, the 12-month exchange and how to apply.

FAQ

Do I need the card if I am already living in France?

The official pages describe the card as the proof of your Withdrawal Agreement rights. Gov.uk says that if you have no card, you should apply to your prefecture with evidence of your residence. The Interior Ministry FAQ says a dual national with another EU nationality is not required to hold one.

Is the card really free?

Yes. Service-public.gouv.fr says the card is free, and the Interior Ministry FAQ says no tax is payable.

Can I still apply after 4 October 2021?

Service-public.gouv.fr says a late application is still possible if you have a legitimate reason. The prefecture decides whether your reason is accepted.

Does time spent back in the UK cost me my rights?

The text of the Withdrawal Agreement itself (published on EUR-Lex, read on 17 and 21 October 2026) says in Article 15(3) that, once acquired, the right of permanent residence is lost only through absence from the host State for a period exceeding 5 consecutive years. For someone who has not yet acquired permanent residence, Article 15(2) says that continuity of residence is determined under Article 16(3) and Article 21 of Directive 2004/38/EC (also on EUR-Lex, read on 17 and 21 October 2026). Article 16(3) says that continuity of residence is not affected by temporary absences not exceeding a total of six months a year, by longer absences for compulsory military service, or by one absence of a maximum of twelve consecutive months for important reasons such as pregnancy and childbirth, serious illness, study or vocational training, or a posting in another Member State or a third country. Article 21 says that continuity may be attested by any means of proof in use in the host State, and that it is broken by an expulsion decision duly enforced. The Directive’s own Article 16(4) sets two consecutive years for losing permanent residence, but the Agreement’s Article 15(3) sets 5, and this guide follows the Agreement. The Interior Ministry FAQ of January 2021 gives the same five-year point for the 10-year card. Ask your prefecture about your own dates.

Can my adult child or my parent join me?

If the family link existed before 1 January 2021 and still exists, and they meet the conditions on the service-public.gouv.fr list above (including dependence for a child over 21 or a parent), they can apply within three months of entering France.