UPDATE: Should Brits living in France have passports stamped at borders?
Brexit has ushered in a host of changes to travel rules but confusion still surrounds the issue of passport stamping - we asked the French government what the rules are.
As Brits are no longer EU citizens, crossing the border between France and the UK has become more complicated and for most people now involves having their passports stamped.
Travel to France: What has changed since Brexit?
But what about Brits who are resident in France?
Who
British tourists or people on short visits to France will usually have their passports stamped on entry and exit, in order to help border police keep track of the length of their stay.
Brits who do not have residency status or a visa are now limited to 90 days in every 180 within the Schengen zone and the passport stamp helps to keep track of this (although if your documents are not stamped it doesn't mean you can stay longer, stays can also be tracked electronically).
Residents
Brits who are resident in France need to be able to prove their residency status at the border, so when asked for a passport on entry or exit from France, you should always hand over both the passport and the carte de séjour residency card.
If you do not yet have the card, you can use the acknowledgement of your application as proof if you moved here before December 31st 2020. Those who moved here after that date will need a visa.
We asked the French Interior Ministry what the rules are on passport stamping, and their answer was very clear.
"Since the effective exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union on January 1st, 2021, only British nationals who are residents of France are exempt from having their travel documents stamped when entering or leaving the Schengen area.
"Residency status is attested by the presentation of a titre de séjour or an attestation that an application for a titre de séjour has been filed with the préfecture for beneficiaries of Article 50 [the Withdrawal Agreement, which covers Brits resident in France before December 31st 2020].
"In the absence of such documents, the passport of British nationals will be systematically stamped to verify the authorised length of stay in the Schengen area for non-resident persons.
"British nationals married to a French or European national are not an exception to this rule unless they have a residence permit or an equivalent movement document."
So is that what happens at the border?
Not always. It seems that some French border guards are also pretty confused on this issue and The Local has received numerous reports of UK nationals who had their passports stamped despite presenting their cartes de séjour and explaining that they were residents in France.
Many people have simply been told that the rule is that all British passports get stamped, while one border guard said that only UK nationals married to a French citizen were exempt.
Is this a problem?
Other than cluttering up the pages of your passport, is this actually a problem?
British Embassies around Europe say no. Ultimately, your right to residency in France is proved by your carte de séjour and that will always trump a passport stamp. But many people have raised concerns about being detained or questioned at a border in the future because of an incorrectly applied passport stamp.
The British Embassy in Germany told our sister site The Local Germany: "Stamping a passport at the border does not mean that a decision on residence status has been taken. The stamp merely documents that the passport holder was checked in the place stated on the stamp, whether this check had been performed in the course of an entry or exit, and which means of transport was used.
"The stamp entails neither the loss of rights under the Withdrawal Agreement nor in any other way a change of legal status. Consequently, a stamp on entry does not need to be annulled and may be retained unaltered in the passport as a souvenir.
"If however someone exits the Schengen area more than 90 days after their passport was stamped, then they should also carry with them a document demonstrating their current residence status, for example as a beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement."
A spokesman for the British Embassy in Paris said: "We have made the Ministry of the Interior aware of this issue and will continue to raise it with them."
Has this happened to you? If so, please tell us about it by completing the brief questionnaire below.
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See Also
As Brits are no longer EU citizens, crossing the border between France and the UK has become more complicated and for most people now involves having their passports stamped.
Travel to France: What has changed since Brexit?
But what about Brits who are resident in France?
Who
British tourists or people on short visits to France will usually have their passports stamped on entry and exit, in order to help border police keep track of the length of their stay.
Brits who do not have residency status or a visa are now limited to 90 days in every 180 within the Schengen zone and the passport stamp helps to keep track of this (although if your documents are not stamped it doesn't mean you can stay longer, stays can also be tracked electronically).
Residents
Brits who are resident in France need to be able to prove their residency status at the border, so when asked for a passport on entry or exit from France, you should always hand over both the passport and the carte de séjour residency card.
If you do not yet have the card, you can use the acknowledgement of your application as proof if you moved here before December 31st 2020. Those who moved here after that date will need a visa.
We asked the French Interior Ministry what the rules are on passport stamping, and their answer was very clear.
"Since the effective exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union on January 1st, 2021, only British nationals who are residents of France are exempt from having their travel documents stamped when entering or leaving the Schengen area.
"Residency status is attested by the presentation of a titre de séjour or an attestation that an application for a titre de séjour has been filed with the préfecture for beneficiaries of Article 50 [the Withdrawal Agreement, which covers Brits resident in France before December 31st 2020].
"In the absence of such documents, the passport of British nationals will be systematically stamped to verify the authorised length of stay in the Schengen area for non-resident persons.
"British nationals married to a French or European national are not an exception to this rule unless they have a residence permit or an equivalent movement document."
So is that what happens at the border?
Not always. It seems that some French border guards are also pretty confused on this issue and The Local has received numerous reports of UK nationals who had their passports stamped despite presenting their cartes de séjour and explaining that they were residents in France.
Many people have simply been told that the rule is that all British passports get stamped, while one border guard said that only UK nationals married to a French citizen were exempt.
Is this a problem?
Other than cluttering up the pages of your passport, is this actually a problem?
British Embassies around Europe say no. Ultimately, your right to residency in France is proved by your carte de séjour and that will always trump a passport stamp. But many people have raised concerns about being detained or questioned at a border in the future because of an incorrectly applied passport stamp.
The British Embassy in Germany told our sister site The Local Germany: "Stamping a passport at the border does not mean that a decision on residence status has been taken. The stamp merely documents that the passport holder was checked in the place stated on the stamp, whether this check had been performed in the course of an entry or exit, and which means of transport was used.
"The stamp entails neither the loss of rights under the Withdrawal Agreement nor in any other way a change of legal status. Consequently, a stamp on entry does not need to be annulled and may be retained unaltered in the passport as a souvenir.
"If however someone exits the Schengen area more than 90 days after their passport was stamped, then they should also carry with them a document demonstrating their current residence status, for example as a beneficiary of the Withdrawal Agreement."
A spokesman for the British Embassy in Paris said: "We have made the Ministry of the Interior aware of this issue and will continue to raise it with them."
Has this happened to you? If so, please tell us about it by completing the brief questionnaire below.
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