I think the reason it’s a lot slower is the actual stamping of passports, and checking the validity. Standing in queues behind people who are being stamped seems very slow….
In theory you should have money or proof of where you are staying, and health insurance. How much either of these are checked I don’t know as just get waved through as have both passports.
Does anyone have any knowledge about what the attestation d’accueil measure was/is intended to target? I looked for an explanation online and this was the nearest thing I could find (from an immigration law firm). Presumably there must have been some ‘history’ to have prompted this requirement.
Like others in this thread, no visitor to us coming from the UK has been asked for any such document/proof of resources etc. We haven’t sent them any email etc prior to their visits, and nor so we intend to start doing so! They obviously have £ resources/credit cards etc that could be produced in the highly unlikely event of anyone actually asking…
As I said above …
If you want to dig further I offer you this charming document which sets everything out so clearly and succinctly.
Essentially this is based on a law from November 1945, when the aim was about ensuring people coming into France had somewhere to stay. In 1945 the French government created a National Immigration Office, to assist employers who were short of workers. Which resulted in many thousands of people coming into France. For example Italians (629,000 in 1962), Spaniards (607,000 in 1968), Portuguese (759,000 in 1975) and Algerians (711,000 in 1975).*
So it has been around for a long time. And every now and then, it seems when there are concerns about itinerants, it gets dusted off and pushed back into public light. My guess is that this time it was the scary thought of hoards of british people escaping brexit
Surely this is saying quite clearly that anyone from the UK does not need an attestation d’accueil.
We may have left the EU but we are still part of Europe.
Européen generally (and in this context specifically) means from the EU.
What you said is geographically correct, but not politically. It isn’t an argument I’d try with eg the police aux frontières as they will take it at best as specious weaselling.
Edited to add yes sorry forgot about the EFTA gang.
Européens can’t be people from UK anyway who are now 3rd country nationals.
Thank you vero. Learn something everyday .
I checked the the Service-Publiv.fr and see that européen refers to the 27 EU countries plus the 4 EFTA (European Free Trade Association) countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
I optimistically looked at the French Embassy and Consulate in London’s website to see if there was any mention of, or guidance on the application of the attestation d’accueil - no mention that I could find…
It would be quite interesting if anyone has a good relationship with their Mairies to raise (obviously only at a convenient moment) the question of whether they ever see the attestation being sought, in what circumstances, frequency etc etc.
As far as I’m concerned, if I go abroad, it’s a cultural exchange.
ahem I’d suggest letting sleeping dogs lie instead.
such persistence for doing things literally may, indeed, mess things up. As I am coming to begin to think, based on day to day observation living here.
I’m coming to think such enthusiasm by the UK on some issues may not have made us easy companions in the EU.
it seems sometimes it’s better to watch and not necessarily read or listen, well not unless there’s another reason that you think might get you extra scrutiny
Our Maire is a friend, as is the secretary (sort of). I could happily ask them but no point as I know exactly what the response would be - a gallic shrug! I would eat my hat (again) if they had ever done one, and in our 15+ years here we’ve never asked for one for any non EU visitors
Well it is a legal requirement, also if you have visitors who are travelling into France and then further on into Europe they have to have one for point of entry into Europe. As or the fact whether it should be an original - the French gouv.fr website PDF says so. I believe that sending by email and keeping the original for yourself would be better stresswise and economically.
I can see why people don’t bother as no-one seems to ask for it at the border. We did it once, as a sort of test just to see how it would work.
We got cerfa_10798 (old fashioned and very detailed) from the mairie. The secretaire was quite au fait with the process, as if it was quite normal. It asked for justificatifs de domicile et revenus, et titre de propriété (For us. Which in fact we didn’t do and it didn’t matter at all) plus 30€ for the timbre fiscal.
It asked for visitors’ name, address, photocopy of passports. Much more about us, the house and our suitability to welcome visitors rather than the visitors themselves.
We made a copy of the completed form. The maire’secretaire OK’d the lot, and the maire signed it, so we were reassured that we are considered suitable! We sent it to our friends in the UK. In practice of course, no-one demanded to see the form.
But also … "Par ailleurs, il est vivement recommandé que l’accueillant ou l’hébergé souscrive une assurance voyage prenant en charge à hauteur de 30 000 € d’éventuels frais médicaux qui interviendraient lors du séjour. " We didn’t like the sound of that and ticked the no thanks box. Perhaps everyone knows about this, but maybe they don’t necessarily all have sufficient cover.
Just listened to a piece in the radio that was talking about controlling illegal (sub standard) housing, particularly for immigrants. So this was mentioned in passing as a measure to stop illegal landlords.
Hello that is marvellous but it is not a legal document - it is a template. I went with the legal document that was stamped by the mairie as he has the knowledge of whether I can accommodate my visitors in my home. Your say so is not enough.
Has anyone actually ever been asked for one in the last 4 years 
Maybe a group of 10+ young male north africans arriving together…?
It is a legal requirement - as is having your driving licence with you at all times when driving. You can be stopped and asked for it by the appropriate person - how often is anyone asked for it? If you do not have the licence it is a 90E fine. If asked by the appropriate person upon entry into France for the document you can be denied entry, it is also a way for the government to check upon your arrival and departure - I am sure it is required by the UK for foreign visitors. The British who are living in Britain and holiday in France are foreigners now.
I biked past the immigration/customs booths in nearby Dieppe port, and popped the critical question du jour to the nearest immigration officer. I explained I was a Brit living here in France who was anxious (!) to know if he and his colleagues ask for attestations d’accueil from people coming to France from the UK. He seemed quite amused by the question and said ‘non’, then added in English ‘no’. Visitors to Dieppe ferry port can only be coming from the UK, given geography & ferry routes, so it’s a fairly clean example of the approach - for Brits - at least at this particular port of entry…
Not if you can show you have sufficient funds to support yourself. The requirement for the attestation applies to the person providing the housing, not the traveller. The traveller merely has to show some for of reservation for lodgings OR enough money,
