Campaigners have warned that tens of thousands of British nationals living in France risk losing local healthcare, employment and other rights if they do not apply to remain resident in the next 14 days.
British in Europe, a group set up to protect the post-Brexit rights of about 1.2 million UK nationals living on the continent, have called on France to extend their June 30 deadline to October 30.
The group’s co-founder Jane Golding, a lawyer living in Germany, told the Guardian: “We think the deadline should be extended even at this latest stage, because you are removing people’s rights, which is very serious.”
“There is a special duty of care and no one should fall between the cracks. This will impact access to healthcare, pensions, rental of properties, ability to get mortgages, employments, all the same sorts of issues impacting EU citizens living in the UK.”
The highest number of British nationals vulnerable to loss of rights is in France, where according to the British Embassy 135,000 Britons have applied for post-Brexit residency out of a population estimated at 148,300, leaving at least 13,300 at risk. The new permit will become compulsory from 1 October.
The British government has held outreach events through embassies and residents’ groups and adverts on social media, in newspapers, on radio and on billboards.
Campaigners say neither the French nor the British government – which has run information campaigns, including outreach events through embassies and residents’ groups and adverts on social media, in newspapers, on radio and on billboards – has so far done enough to raise awareness.
