Visa questions

[touma]

Hi all,

I'm completely out of my depth with all of this, so I thought I'd ask here and maybe someone will know what I need to do.

I currently live in Germany, and have for the past 3 and a half years. I have residency here, and was issued my card which is valid for 10 years in March.

I am a British citizen.

I will leave Germany soon as I have been offered a job in France.

My employer has told me I can either apply for a visa, or I can use my German residency as a way to stay in France without a visa.

I have no idea if this information is correct, and so thought perhaps someone with more knowledge might be able to help me out a bit.

Thanks in advance!

My employer has told me I can either apply for a visa, or I can use my German residency as a way to stay in France without a visa.
I'm pretty sure this is not true but on the offchance it is, I would like to know!

@Sometimesonly

My employer has told me I can either apply for a visa, or I can use my German residency as a way to stay in France without a visa. I'm pretty sure this is not true but on the offchance it is, I would like to know!

On the French visa website, it says if you're a resident of an EU country and not a citizen, you can enter France without a visa.
But I'm still not convinced, so I've emailed the embassy and I'm waiting to hear back.
Will let you know if I do!

On the French visa website, it says if you're a resident of an EU country and not a citizen, you can enter France without a visa.

That sounds right - as far as it goes - you can enter France...

The bigger issue is whether a Brit national having German residency has the right to work in France..

...thinks back to the days of Brits having FOM for work purposes and goes

If you are a UK national with German residency you can live and work in Germany post Brexit.

You do not have the right to move to another EU country. You can enter for 90 days like any other UK national. You do not have the right to settle or work there.

If you are married to another EU national you can move to any other EU country with them as their spouse. So eg if your spouse is Romanian you can move with them to France as could any other third country national.

You will need a work visa for France otherwise.

@oystercatcher44

If you are a UK national with German residency you can live and work in Germany post Brexit.

You do not have the right to move to another EU country. You can enter for 90 days like any other UK national. You do not have the right to settle or work there.

If you are married to another EU national you can move to any other EU country with them as their spouse. So eg if your spouse is Romanian you can move with them to France as could any other third country national.

You will need a work visa for France otherwise.

This is where there's so much confusion, because the German embassy tells me that British people residing in Germany prior to 31/12/20, retain their rights as EU citizens, and can work in another EU country with their residency card. But I thought what you wrote was true, so basically it feels like no one knows what the actual plan is, and it's so frustrating.
I've ended up making an appointment for a visa and I'm awaiting my Irish passport to arrive within the next... year 😅
Anyway, at least we have our blue passports that are actually black!

If you were resident prior to Brexit, you’ve retained your rights under the withdrawal agreement, as long as you complied with whatever Germany’s requirements were at that point. For Spain, that was proving residency and health insurance, I believe.

If that’s not the case for you, it’s a lot more complicated now - but it sounds like it might be?

Actually I would assume that the Embassy in Berlin is correct. They are not likely to get that wrong, so ignore what I said.

I seem to remember that when the first part of the Withdrawal Agreement was negotiated, the text confirmed that UK nationals already resident in an EU country would have the right to remain in THAT country. But they were trying to add the right of onward movement - so that UK nationals already in the EU pre Brexit could retain ALL of their pre Brexit rights. I assume - given what the Embassy have told you - that this has now been done.

It's a while since I looked at this in detail but I must admit I thought that under the WA your rights in the country you were resident in were protected (as long as you complied with their requirements at that point), but you lost some significant cross EU rights such as FOM for work purposes Visa free (which is a long winded way of saying I agree oystercatcher44's take on this).

It will be interesting to see the official answer..

www.politico.eu/article/brits-resident-in-eu-after-brexit-to-get-extra-free-movement-rights/

I think that what I originally said was wrong. The Embassy must know what they are talking about on this.

The article above from Politico says that the onward movement right was agreed in August 2020 for UK nationals who had been resident in the EU for five years pre Brexit - so the implication is that if you were a newer arrival and did not have the five years you could remain in the country you were in but could not move to another EU country. But I do not know if this was subsequently changed to include everybody, or whether the right applies once you reach the five year mark, or whether it will only ever apply to those with 5 years before withdrawal day.