Brexit: France's new Carte de Séjour website on track for October launch
Tens of thousands of Britons in France are waiting patiently for the launch of the new web portal so they can apply for their residency permits and secure their futures in France.
The portal was initially meant to go live in July but France's interior ministry delayed the launch due to complications caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
When announcing the delay the French government said authorities were still dealing with a backlog of residency permit applications from people of other nationalities which built up during the lockdown.
They said delaying the opening of the site until October will give them time to clear this backlog and ensure that British applicants don't wait too long.
With the pandemic gaining strength again and the British government embroiled in a war of words with the EU there are understandable concerns that the website may be delayed once again by The Local understands everything is on track for the October launch.
A source at the British embassy said: "We’re still expecting the residency permit website to go live in October, and we understand from the Ministry of Interior that the decree setting out the exact guidance for how to apply should be coming out in the second half of September.
"We’re in regular contact with the Ministry of Interior and this does form part of our discussions."
Kalba Meadows from France Rights also says the new decree to be published before the end of September "will cover the process, and the conditions for those resident less than 5 years. A bit like the no deal decree did but of course that's now null and void."
OPINION: 'All certainty is lost' for British citizens in Europe
Britons in France who don't currently have a carte de séjour residency permit or those who haven't applied will have until June 30th 2021 to make their application.
Crucially this deadline is for Brits to have made their application and not to have actually received the card in their hands.
So if you do get stuck in an administrative backlog (and we all know that French bureaucracy is not always the fastest) there is no need to panic if your card does not arrive before July 2021, as long as you have got your application in then you are covered.
It is not clear how long applicants will have to wait until they receive the card.
Citizens rights campaigners also say email confirmation of applications will be very important to keep and print especially when travelling outside France.
But more details will likely be made clear once the decree is published and the website goes live.
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The portal was initially meant to go live in July but France's interior ministry delayed the launch due to complications caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
When announcing the delay the French government said authorities were still dealing with a backlog of residency permit applications from people of other nationalities which built up during the lockdown.
They said delaying the opening of the site until October will give them time to clear this backlog and ensure that British applicants don't wait too long.
With the pandemic gaining strength again and the British government embroiled in a war of words with the EU there are understandable concerns that the website may be delayed once again by The Local understands everything is on track for the October launch.
A source at the British embassy said: "We’re still expecting the residency permit website to go live in October, and we understand from the Ministry of Interior that the decree setting out the exact guidance for how to apply should be coming out in the second half of September.
"We’re in regular contact with the Ministry of Interior and this does form part of our discussions."
Kalba Meadows from France Rights also says the new decree to be published before the end of September "will cover the process, and the conditions for those resident less than 5 years. A bit like the no deal decree did but of course that's now null and void."
OPINION: 'All certainty is lost' for British citizens in Europe
Britons in France who don't currently have a carte de séjour residency permit or those who haven't applied will have until June 30th 2021 to make their application.
Crucially this deadline is for Brits to have made their application and not to have actually received the card in their hands.
So if you do get stuck in an administrative backlog (and we all know that French bureaucracy is not always the fastest) there is no need to panic if your card does not arrive before July 2021, as long as you have got your application in then you are covered.
It is not clear how long applicants will have to wait until they receive the card.
Citizens rights campaigners also say email confirmation of applications will be very important to keep and print especially when travelling outside France.
But more details will likely be made clear once the decree is published and the website goes live.
READ ALSO:
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