Friends & Family visiting France

Attestation d'accueil

The RIFT admin team have spent time reviewing the relevant government information websites regarding the need for an attestation d'accueil for UK passport holders staying in the private home of family or friends in France.

As previously stated, this is not a new requirement; it is now applicable to UK passport holders as they became Third-Country Nationals (TCN) at the end of the transition period - 31 December 2020 - as a consequence of the UK leaving the EU.

We do not believe we have sufficient information, or evidence of the requirements in action, to draft a Bite Size guide covering all eventualities.

However, we have summarised the requirements of the two main types of visitors to France below.

UK passport holders visiting France as tourists or private visitors (staying with family or friends) for a period of less than 90 days do not at present require a visa.

However, they are required to have the following documentation and they may be required to show all or some of it on entry into France.

1. A valid passport issued less than 10 years before and valid for at least 3 months after the envisaged departure date;

2. Proof of accommodation covering the whole duration of the stay (hotel reservation and/or certificate of staying with a relative validated in the town hall (Attestation d'accueil));

3. Sufficient financial means. The means of subsistence shall be assessed according to the duration and purpose of the stay and by reference to the average prices for accommodation and food in the Member States;

4. Their return ticket or the financial means to acquire one at the envisaged return date;

5. They must have an insurance certificate covering all medical and hospital expenses for which they may be liable for the duration of their stay in France, as well as medical repatriation costs and expenses in the event of death.

With regard to 'sufficient funds' the following levels apply in France

• If they are staying in a hotel, you will need to provide a hotel booking as well as a minimum amount per day of stay

• 65 euros per day of stay in the case of presentation of a hotel booking;

• 120 euros per day in the case of non-presentation of a hotel booking;

• In the case of a partial hotel booking: 65 euros per day for the period covered by the booking and 120 euros per day for the remainder of the stay.

• If they are hosted by an individual, they must provide a certificate (Attestation d'accueil) of staying with a relative validated in the town hall at the request of the person who invited them (note: at the border crossing they must also prove that they have, in addition to this certificate, a minimum amount per day of stay - this minimum amount is €32.50 per day).

There are a few exemptions

• They hold a valid French residence permit or a movement document for foreign minors (DCEM) or a French identity certificate (TIR);

• They are spouse of a French citizen;

• They hold a long-stay visa marked with “residence permit must be applied for upon arrival in France”;

• They are the holder of a document attesting to one of the following functions:

- Member of diplomatic missions and consular posts taking office in France;

- Member of parliament;

- Official, officer or agent of foreign public services, carrying an assignment brief from your government;

- An official of an intergovernmental organisation of which France is a member, carrying an assignment brief from that organisation;

- Ships and aircraft crew members engaged in service travel.

This information was taken from the French Government Visa Wizard - https://france-visas.gouv.fr/.../ai-je-besoin-d-un-visa

If, after considering the information above, you determine your family or friends will require an Attestation d'accueil (AdA), you need to apply for it and, once it has been approved and a certificate issued, provide the certificate to the traveller before they come to France.

The AdA covers the traveller, their spouse and any children.

Where a group of friends are travelling and are not related to one another, an application must be made for each traveller.

Application are made via the mairie local to the address of the accommodation.

There is no indication of how long the application will take and so we suggest contacting the mairie to check in good time for any planned visit.

Once the mairie has reviewed the application, they will either approve or decline it.

The government website says that the absence of a reply within 1 month of the application being submitted should be considered an implicit refusal to issue the certificate.

There is an appeals process in place for refusals.

There are a few situations in which there is an exemption from requiring the AdA.

• People coming to France for urgent medical reasons(under certain conditions).

• People coming to France because of the serious illness of a loved one (under certain conditions).

• The person coming to France for the funeral of a relative (under certain conditions).

This information is from the French public services website. The following link is in French but can be switched into English using the relevant drop down selector. https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2191

Second Home Owners

There is no mention of second home owners, so we are unable to comment. We suggest anyone in this situation checks with the French consulate in the UK.

As you know, our group focuses on the rights of UK passport holders resident in France and so we can't provide any further information for second home owners.

IMPORTANT

Those who host paying guests in their registered accommodation - campsite, hotel, hostel, gîte, Bed & Breakfast, Airbnb etc - will not need to apply for an AdA for paying guests as those travellers will be able to produce a confirmation of accommodation.