Wife’s struggle to join brexit-card husband in france

SHE HAS ONLY JUST RECEIVED AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT SLIP FOR HER APPLICATION DESPITE APPLYING TOWARDS THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR  A British retiree who has struggled to obtain a Brexit With­drawal

Agreement (WA) card as her husband’s 'close relative' hopes for a positive outcome after we highlighted the problem to her prefecture. Lou Corner, 76, remained a UK resident for

several years after her husband moved to France in 2020. This was due to the pandemic, family res­ponsi­bili­ties, and her work as a psychoanalyst. Her husband Peter, 73, obtained a card on

the basis of residency before 2021, and close family, including spouses, have a right to join WA Britons if the relationship existed before 2021. Ms Corner began her application early this

year. The prefecture said she could apply online or via email or post. NO ACKNOWLEDGEMENT SLIP How­ever, there is no specific online process. A list of supporting documents is at

service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F35032 and people are invited to apply to prefectures. Having done so with free admin assistance from France Services via email and in person, Ms

Corner was concerned not to receive a récépissé official acknowledgement slip for the submission of the dossier. This had led to questions at the border about overstaying during a trip to

the UK by ferry. She is worried about problems returning to the UK to see her mother, aged 99. The prefecture also asked about her reasons for staying in the UK after 2020. "I got the

impression they thought 'why didn't I come at the same time as my husband?'," she said. Tarn prefecture has now confirmed to The Connexion that it will invite her to

receive a récépissé, saying her dossier appears to be in order. An official said applications can take some time due to the volume of residency requests. “We’re very grateful,” Ms Corner

said. “I will have what I need to travel, which is a relief.” The rights of close family members are stated in the WA and in Article 3 of a French decree. In this case, there is no need to

justify applying 'late'. 'SPOUSES WAIT MANY MONTHS' Justine Wallington, co-founder of the Rift group helping Britons in France, said the récépissé should specify the

nature of the card asked for. Check for Article 50 TUE or Accord de retrait. “The prefecture should issue a récé­pissé immediately on receiving the paperwork, but they often don’t. But

getting an appointment for dropping off by hand is challenging, and dropping in does not always work." She said the correct récépissé is being accepted at the border, and seems to be

treated as equivalent to the 'certificate of application' which Article 18 (1) b of the WA says WA applicants should immediately be given and which the EU states can be shown at

Schengen borders (tinyurl.com/eu-com-bor).  "I've had spouses waiting many months to have their dossier dealt with," she said. WA queries can be sent to

[email protected].