British Embassy in Paris held Q&A for Brits in France , on Friday they confirmed that we will need to complete this for UK friends and family as we would for similar visitors from other 3rd countries. My Spanish daughter-in-law doesn’t need to be listed on the form, but my son and grandkids do. The form is fairly simple but we will need to provide proof of ownership of the house and of capacity for visitors (presumably the Taxe d’habitation form which I had to complete after installing a lift), and the visitors will need proof of 30,000€ health insurance and have enough spending money or credit card availability which we have to guarantee if they default. Feel free to read the Q&A (latest and one before in which Embassy buck-passed and got very unpopular) on Facebook, British Embassy in Paris page. If Remain had provided information about importing cars, exchanging driving licences and proving you are fit for family visits, not to mention that the dog would face problems too, and that we can’t bring bacon home with us or joints of beef from Sainsburys, maybe Brexit wouldn’t have happened? I wonder what next week’s bombshell will be?
Its been an official requirement for some time I believe - but obviously not applicable to Brits prior to Brexit.
Does anyone know if it was previously enforced much - especially as if one just wishes to travel around all one needs to show at the border is access to sufficient funds, insurance and a return ticket.
I suspect Covid might make the French decide to stick closer to the letter of their border controls as things open up.
Covid might have changed things as haven’t been out of the country for over a year, but before then I would rub shoulders with all sorts of nationalities at Eurostar border control. People who didn’t have european passports (I am very curious so always guess the nationality and try to see if I am right) were obviously asked a few extra questions, but no further bits of paper ever seemed to be demanded.
From what I can tell Brits visiting France will need to justify where they are staying for the length of their stay, so travelling around without having pre-booked is probably not allowed.
Having said that it seems people coming from countries subject to the Schengen 90/180 rule are rarely checked: Brexit France: Do Britons need attestation d’accueil to visit family?
See:
https://france-visas.gouv.fr/web/france-visas/votre-arrivee-en-france
Admittedly the first section on documents suggests that you need a hotel reservation or attestation d’accueil covering your whole stay whereas the section on resources suggests that if you do not have a hotel reservation you have to demonstrate funds at a higher level. So that’s as clear as mud then 
I’d be interested to know whether this is something gite owners have to provide. It’s not needed for hotels.
I had to provide one a few years back when a friend and her daughter with South African passports were planning to stay. Had to go to the mairie and get the paperwork, paid I seem to remember 34 €. Had to provide id card or passport, property deed or rental agreement, recent utility bill, evidence property appropriate for lodging guest (size in m2m, number of rooms) medical insurance cover, who staying and for how long, counter-signed by the maire. This was back in 2012, so may have got simpler. In the end they didn’t come, so no idea about being asked for it or not.
It did take time to sort out, so just coming the France from the UK on a whim to stay with granny/auntie/mummy / whoever not necessarily a good idea these days. Not least, our mairie is not open every day, so trying to get something like this sorted at a moment’s notice wouldn’t work for us.
OH was amused as it was all about whether WE were suitable / bona fide hosts. Nothing much about whether they were SA terrorists!
That is pretty flou. So perhaps you can just rock up, providing you can prove resources. But how does one do that these days? I can understand in the past you could present cash and travellers cheques but now many people use cards. I guess you’d have to provide a credit card statement with the limit on it or a very recent bank statement showing a shed load of cash?
In any case I can see this just one more of the many benefits of Brexit 
My instinct would be that if they’re staying as paying guests in your gite you would have provided them with some sort of written confirmation of booking, even if that is just an email, and they could use this as their attestation. On the other hand if you were having friends or family over to stay in the gite without them paying then you would need to do this
Good point Tom. We have a booking form they complete. Mmm, just had a thought. We get them to sign our form, but I don’t sign it when I email it to them. I think I now need to. Also, maybe need to let my UK guests know (if ever I have any again) that they should bring a copy with them.
As you say, tricky - in practice I suspect a return ticket and travel insurance are going to be the most important things.
If I lived in France and was inviting friends over to be honest I’d just get the attestation (assuming no resistance from the mairie) it might never be requested by the border guards but it’s one of those “have document which is not requested” = “no problem” but “don’t have document which IS requested” = “BIG problem” situations.
We have had New Zealanders in our gîte, and they just flew in and no mention of needing anything from us…
But don’ see why it should be any different from any other type of commercial hébergement? So the signed contract should do it one hopes? (We sign ours before sending it, and they sign and send it back)
Thanks Jane. Good to know.
The important thing for the visitors is that they can prove where they will be staying for the duration of their stay. So if they’re staying in a gite or any other form of commercial holiday accommodation than any booking reservation documents should suffice. If they are staying in someone’s home this needs to have been officially approved with this attestation which as far as I understand, came into force on May 1st.
But, as Paul pointed out earlier, it’s not totally clear as those who haven’ t booked or planned accommodation are able to show that they have 120 euros per day resources.
Although chances are it probably won’t be checked that much, I still wouldn’t want to be without it as if asked and you don’t have it, border officials can just send you back. Living in the north this puts paid to Kent relatives ‘popping over’ on a whim at the last minute, unless they’re willing to pay for accommodation.
Sadly another thing that just highlights exactly what the loss of ‘freedom of movement’ means in practice.
I don’t think it has just come into existence - I remember reading about it for non-EU visitors years ago.
How in heaven’s name will a border guard be able to tell between a mocked up reservation form from a hotel/gîte and the real thing? Are they really going to phone the hotel to check reservation is real?
I remember going to Algeria we had to jump through many hoops with accommodation papers, and they were checked line by line. But I can’t see that happening at the eurostar or ferry terminal.
Absolutely. As I said above. My friends with S.African passports were planning to visit in 2012 and the form had already been around for quite a while.
Yes - I mentioned it a few days ago in one of the brexit threads - it’s simply another unfortunate automatic consequence of brexit.
Along with many - more bleating in the Torygraph today about the fact that it’s now much harder for Britons to move & retire to the EU.
For those of us that understood what the loss of FoM meant this is genuinely sad - at least France does not have unachievable minimum income requirements.
For the rest, those that voted Leave and now either cannot have their retirement dream or are having to repatriate to the UK - tough. They knew as we are told ad nauseam that they knew what they were voting for. Maybe, but it seems they are only now finding out what it *meant*.
Apologies for having raised a similar thread this morning…now justifiably closed…I did search, honest!
Seems that the implications of the requirement to get a visitor attestation is only becoming widely understood as travel restrictions are relaxed.
Whether it becomes a significant issue politically remains to be seen with pressure for a change, and if it does no guarantee it will happen quickly if at all.
Many Brits, and I suspect many leavers, have become use to being able to travel for visits to friends without restriction, there is a big difference logistically in turning up at Dover or St Pancras for a short visit compared to travelling from America or say South Africa.
Interestingly a Marie has a month to respond to a request, so it will depend on how helpful or friendly they are. From the frostyness we experienced, it won’t be turn up and will you please sign this, a rdv will have to be made, the papers handed over, and a reply in a due course.
You can travel berween all European counties both inside and outside Schengen area without restriction… UK excepted.
Leavers voted to stop FOM…ie Polish plumbers and Romanian fruit pickers staying in UK, I don’t think they realised they were also voting for removing easy travel!
The big unknown is how aggressively the French will enforce the requirement for Attestation d’accueil?
Perhaps get to know a local friendly gîte owner? And “book” any visitors in there?