EU referendum: Britons worried about Brexit applying for French passports

Some polls suggest outcome of June 23 vote is too close to call

Many retired Britons currently reside in France (Rex)

For Britons in France, the upper lip is stiff no more.

Louise Garavaglia, who has lived in France for more than two decades, is rushing to apply for a French passport before the June 23 “Brexit” referendum in the U.K. and has no time for "wait and see." For his part, Paris-based financial consultant Paul Johnson-Ferguson is getting birth certificates translated in time to apply for French citizenship.

With just over two months to go before the referendum that will determine whether the U.K. stays in the European Union, some of the estimated 1.2 million Britons like Garavaglia and Johnson-Ferguson living and working in the 27 other EU member states are worried about what a possible exit will mean for their status in the countries of their residence. Some are scrambling to ensure they don’t have to make life-changing moves.

"There are risks you can’t afford to take when your family life and livelihood are at stake," said Garavaglia, 47, in a phone interview. Married to a Frenchman, she has two Franco-British boys and owns a language school in Paris.

"If the U.K. moves out of the EU, I may land up being treated like any other foreigner here, one just doesn’t know," said Johnson-Ferguson, who has lived in Maisons-Laffitte, in the Western suburbs of Paris, since 1998. "I don’t particularly want to be French, but I’m risk averse so I’d rather hedge my bets."

Privileges Revised?

If the vote puts an end to 43 years of U.K.’s EU membership, Britons’ right to stay, work and access to pensions, health care and public services in the countries of the bloc will be among a long list of issues to be negotiated within a two-year delay set out by Article 50 of the EU treaty. If talks fail, those privileges may not be maintained, according to a UK government memo published on Feb. 29.

At a conference in London on Thursday, French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron warned that leaving the EU would have consequences. It would make the U.K. "just like Hong Kong, Jersey or Guernsey, " he said, adding ominously: "Leave the club and you’ll be alone."

Friday was the first day of official campaigning ahead of the June 23 vote, with some polls suggesting the outcome is too close to call.

Individuals, like businesses, are trying to make sense of what such as exit might mean for them. The worry is perceptible among the large British communities in Spain, Ireland, France and Germany, the four EU members that according to the United Nations are home to the largest number of U.K. citizens, totalling about 852,000.

Dual Citizenship

Garavaglia, worried she might not be able to return home to Paris from a holiday abroad, continue to freely travel to-and-fro from the U.K. or legally represent her company, passed the required French language test in February. She’s now busy getting legal documents translated to get French citizenship, usually a formality for long-standing residents, especially for those with a French spouse and children.

"For many people, if you get dual citizenship you have no more difficulties," said Christopher Chantrey, Chairman of the British Community Committee, a body which aims to represent British residents in France. "There is a huge amount of uncertainty."

Letters to the French administration and the British government seeking guidelines have gone unanswered, he said. Recent data on British requests for citizenship or long-term residency in France aren’t available, said a spokeswoman for the French Interior Ministry, who asked not to be named in line with government policy. Processing applications takes at least one year, she said.

Retirees Worried

Spotting that British residents in the rest of the EU have more than a passing interest in the U.K. remaining in the bloc, the government has been urging them to register to vote. On its web home page, the British Community Committee has also posted an appeal to get U.K. citizens to protest against the fact that those who’ve resided outside the country for more than 15 years are barred from the poll.

For many British retirees, who’ve been longtime residents in another EU country, a great deal is at stake.

Take Brian Cave, 83, for example. He and wife moved 18 years ago to Gourdon, in the south of France, to find peace, quiet, natural beauty and cheaper real estate than back home. An activist for the rights of British pensioners living abroad, Cave says Brexit has become the most pressing issue for his group called Pensioners Debout!, or Pensioners on Their Feet.

Retired people living in the EU risk losing health-care coverage as well as pension freezes, he said. U.K. statistics show 470,000 pensions were paid in other EU countries in August 2015, the most recent available data.

The thousands of British pensioners who’ve never worked in the EU country they’ve chosen for retirement and rely on monthly payments from the U.K.’s Department for Work and Pensions may end up crossing the Channel for healthcare if the Brexit happens, Chantrey said.

"Life is likely to fall apart if Brexit occurs," said Cave. "I’ve been contacted by hundreds of people who are considering moving back to the U.K."

Copyright: Bloomberg