Legal residence in another EU country

Brexit has forced us all to think about - sometimes for the first time - things that British people living in France have taken for granted …
like what it means to be living here legally.
On this page we talk about what legal residence means at different stages in your life in France.

Why do I need to know about this?

To have protected rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, you must be legally resident in France under EU rules before the end of the transition period - currently set for 31 December 2020.

Legal residence is more than just having a foot on French soil so in order to make sure that you're covered, it's time to understand what's what and get your house in order!

What does it mean to be 'legally resident' in another EU country?

To live legally under EU rules in another EU country, you must be exercising your 'treaty rights of free movement' - the treaty being the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The treaty gives you the right to go to another EU country to do one or more of these four things:

to work;
to enter into self employment or self establishment (run a company);
to live self sufficiently (living on your own resources, whether retired or other); and
to study.

For example, as a UK citizen living in France under one of the circumstances above, provided you meet the conditions you are making use of EU law and are legally resident in France. The same applies to a French citizen living in the UK. If you haven't moved to another EU country, though, you will not usually be making use of treaty rights and therefore cannot usually make use of EU law.

IMPORTANT: the crucial phrase here is this one: "provided you meet the conditions".
Although many people think that EU citizens have an automatic right to live in other EU countries, this is not the case.

You will only be covered by the Withdrawal Agreement if you are legally resident under EU rules before the end of the transition period.
Read the rest of this page to find out what this means in practice.

What are the conditions for exercising treaty rights of free movement?

There are three stages in the process of moving to another EU country and the conditions are different in each. Most people will move through the stages, as they depend on how long you've been resident. The next three sections cover the conditions for each stage.

Initial right of residence - up to 3 months

Every EU citizen has the right to reside in another EU country for a period of up to three months, without any conditions or formalities other than the requirement to hold a valid identity card or passport.

Your family may accompany you during this period even if they are third country nationals (ie citizens of a non-EU country).

Residence: 3 months to 5 years

Your right to reside for more than three months is dependent on your falling into one of these groups:

a worker;
a self employed person;
a self sufficient person; or
a student.

It brings with it various other rights in EU law, including the right to be accompanied by family members. You'll need to remain in one of these groups to retain your right of residence.

Residence rights for workers and self-employed people
Workers and self-employed people have the right to reside without any conditions other than being a worker or self-employed person. And you'll keep your status even if

you're unable to work as the result of an illness or accident; or
under certain conditions, if you're in recorded involuntarily unemployment and have registered as a jobseeker with the relevant employment office; or
you've embarked on vocational training.

Residence rights for students
If you're a student, you must:

be enrolled at an establishment for the principal purpose of following a course of study or vocational training;
have comprehensive sickness insurance cover that covers you in your host country; and
assure the relevant national authority that you have sufficient resources for yourselves and your family not to become a burden on the host EU country’s social assistance system during your residence.

Families
Your family members have the right to reside with you providing that you meet the conditions in this section, whatever their nationality. The definition of family members includes your spouse, your registered partner or someone with whom you're in a demonstrable durable relationship, plus any ascendants of either of you (parents, grandparents) who are dependent on you, plus any descendants of either of you who are under 21 or dependent.

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Residence rights for self sufficient people
This refers to anyone who isn't working or self-employed or a student. People who are receiving a pension (private or state) or other benefits, or are living on capital, fall into this category. You'll sometimes hear it referred to as 'inactive' or 'not economically active' - they're all the same thing. You must:

have sufficient resources for yourself and your family members not to become an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system of your host country; and
have comprehensive sickness insurance cover that covers you in your host country. In France this condition is met by joining the French health system or by taking out full private health insurance.

This is a concern for many people as 'not being an unreasonable burden' is a bit of a movable feast. France has until now rarely controlled this - though it does so where a carte de séjour is applied for (see below) - so many people are unsure whether they actually meet this condition or not.

EU law says that member states may not lay down a fixed amount which they regard as 'sufficient resources', but need to take account of the circumstances in each individual case. In any case, the amount deemed to be necessary in order to accept that you're self-sufficient must not exceed the threshold under which nationals become eligible for social assistance. France does publish guideline figures (see more on this page) and the official website says that 'the adequacy of your income will be determined taking into account your personal situation'.

Permanent residence: more than 5 years

You will automatically qualify for permanent residence in your host country if you have lived there legally - in other words you have exercised your treaty rights as described above - and continuously for 5 years. Under EU law you don't have to apply for it, and you don't have to apply for a residence card (although you may, if you choose) - the right of permanent residence is granted to you directly by EU law.

Once you have acquired permanent residence, you are no longer subject to the conditions that govern residence for the first 5 years (outlined above). For non economically active people such as pensioners or the early retired, this matters as it means that you no longer have to be able to meet the self sufficiency condition - so if your income goes down you are able to claim welfare benefits in your host country. You also no longer have to have comprehensive sickness insurance.

BUT - and this is hugely important - if you apply for a permanent residence card in your host country and did not previously hold an initial card (up to 5 years) you will be asked to demonstrate that you did meet the conditions for at least 5 years before your application.

Permanent residence is only lost if you're absent from your host country for over 2 consecutive years (5 years under the Withdrawal Agreement).

Continuous residence
Your 5 year qualifying period is not affected by temporary absences of less than 6 months a year.

Families
The exact same rights to permanent residence apply to your EU family members if they've resided with you legally for 5 years.

Your non-EU family members should apply for a permanent residence card towards the end of the 5 year period of their legal residence with you. It's a simplified procedure but they'll need to present proof that they've been legally resident for 5 years. They'll then receive a card - usually valid for 10 years - which is automatically renewable.

Free movement