French government warns UK citizens will need visas after no-deal Brexit without emergency action

Elysee seeking powers of emergency decree to solve issues

The French government has confirmed that British citizens would need visas to visit the country under a no-deal Brexit without emergency legislation or special agreements.

A draft law put before the country’s senate seeks to give the country’s government sweeping powers of decree to address problems that would be caused by a no-deal Brexit.

It states that if no further action is taken “British nationals who enjoy the right of free movement and free establishment throughout the European Union” would face a “requirement to present a visa to enter the French territory and to justify a residence permit to stay there”.

It also says French law would mean British nationals “may be required to obtain a permit equivalent to a work permit in France”, could not have their professional qualifications recognised, and might lose access to social benefits.

There would also be controls on goods and people, while licences for truckers would not automatically be valid.

The new law, currently being considered by the country’s upper house, would give the French Government sweeping powers of decree for 12 months in order to address the problems caused by a no-deal.

Many of the issues that need to be resolved are however not decided at a national level within the competence of the French government, and are instead EU-wide policies.

The issuing of visas is one of these areas; Britain would have to negotiate an emergency visa exemption with the EU Schengen countries were a no-deal to occur.

The EU is generally generous with visa exemptions: granting them to countries ranging from Venezuela, through the United Arab Emirates, to Ukraine. It is however not clear whether there would be scope or political will to grant one to the UK in the limited time before the no-deal situation leading up to March 2019.

Even if the UK did obtain a visa exemption travellers would ultimately have to apply through the forthcoming ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) system – where they would have to apply in advance and pay a fee to have their journey authorised.

The ETIAS system would likely ultimately apply to the UK even in the case of a no-deal, if free movement were ended, as the Government intends it to be.

France has taken one of the hardest lines in Brexit talks of all the EU member states, with its Europe minister warning earlier this month that a no-deal would be better than Theresa May's Chequers planned, which it has rejected.