Thread by @jamesmb

RULES APPLYING TO BRITS VISITING FRANCE

There are rules for third-country nationals visiting France. These are not new rules. They are standard rules. You will need to comply with them if you are planning to come on holiday to France. I set them out here to help.

1/n

At the border, you may be asked for three pieces of information:

1. Motive for your stay in France
This can be satisfied by:
- for tourism: a hotel or other accommodation reservation

2/n

- in the absence of a hotel reservation, the traveller has to prove that he possesses means of living of at least 120€ per day – see point 2, documents from a travel agency;
- for a professional visit: letter from the employer, invitation from a French firm or org;

3/n

- for a private visit for example to visit and stay with a friend: “attestation d'accueil” delivered by the “mairie” (more on this below)

4/n

2. Means of living (cash, traveller's cheques, valid international credit card) along with an insurance certificate covering all medical, hospital and funeral expenses, which may be incurred during the entire period of your stay in France, inc medical repatriation costs;

5/n

3. Guarantees of return: return ticket.

Just to remind you, these are standard rules for third-country nationals and nothing particularly to do with Brits.

6/n

So, about the “attestation d'accueil”. Here are the rules: service-public.fr/particuliers/v…

Basically, if you are staying with friends, you need to be registered with the town hall of the commune that you will be staying at PRIOR TO ENTERING THE COUNTRY.

7/n

The person housing you will need to provide a chunk of information (including proof of ownership of the property, proof of residence at the address, ID documents, proof of revenue, commit to supporting you financially if required and so on).

There is a 30€ fee.

8/n

The relevant town hall can take up to one month to respond.

The applicant will be issued with a certificate which they will then need to send to you for you to be able to enter the country.

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Now, I'm sure somebody's forehead vein will be twitching as they type to respond to this but, here's the deal >> you voted for this. France is a sovereign country and it protects its borders. These are literally the sorts of rules your government loves.

10/n

Bottom line - You were European but you decided to go it alone. You're just another one of the other non-European countries now &, as such, you have to submit to the rules.

Do not think for a moment that this is unique to France. This is your new normal.

Own your Brexit.

11/11

ADDENDUM - This link shows the exemptions (which include visa holders) demarches.interieur.gouv.fr/particuliers/a…

ADDENDUM 2 - Thanks to @NachoQuesado for confirming that the same applies in Spain (although more expensive). Logically, it will be the same across Schengen.

WHILE YOU'RE HERE...

If you're one of those gammons who caused this shitwittery, you should help me pay for all the docs I've had to have translated to stay living in the EU. Buy me a coffee to say sorry > buymeacoffee.com/jamesmb

And if you didn't, buy me one to commiserate! 😁

ADDENDUM 3

This.

amp.theguardian.com/politics/2021/…

ADDENDUM 4

This has so far been confirmed as applying to British citizens (and other third party nationals) by:

The French Government
The French Embassy in London
The British Embassy in Paris

People who say it doesn't apply:

@ConnexionFrance
Various gammons

You choose.

ADDENDUM 5

It seems that there are options for people who arrive without pre-booked accommodation. You would have to show proof of funds of 120€ per person per night. For a family of 4 for a week, that is 3,360€. With accommodation, it's 65€ a night or 1820€/family/week.

ADDENDUM 6

This.

ADDENDUM 7

I write an occasional free email newsletter about stuff including France, Europe, Croatia, EVs, tech, anything else that I fancy rambling about.

It's like here but more interesting!

jamesmb.substack.com

ADDENDUM 8

We're almost at more addenda than original tweets!

Here is the link to the relevant bit of the British Embassy in Paris guidance. Not that it's their decision but it seems some people prefer to see what the UK government thinks...
gov.uk/foreign-travel…

ADDENDUM 9

A further update on the Spanish equivalent of these rules from @NachoQuesado - who is now the official Spanish Correspondent on this thread!