Am in what I suspect is not unique position and wondered if anyone else has experience they can share. We moved to Bouches du Rhône (13) in December. My wife has Irish eu passport and I have USA and uk. I entered in USA and the application was sent off online same day. I received a “CONFIRMATION DU DÉPÔT D’UNE PRÉ-DEMANDE” immediately which clearly says cannot travel. That was December 16 2025. Now May and file hasn’t been opened yet according to 13.
Got a family wedding in uk may 29. I was meant to go with my wife and dog but with no documentation And a USA passport past the 90 days I don’t want to risk our retirement future.
Of course I could go in and out on British. I could Use USA and bring docs and explain to people that am a spouse and it’s in the system. Or I could just stay in France and have my wife fly to it on her own.
No could for this, it is what you legally have to do to enter Britain.
As for the rest I’m not sure, would seem draconian to not allow you to go to a wedding and for unspecified amount of time!! Can you go into your prefecture and explain the situation?
If you travel with your EU spouse, in theory re-entering France shouldn’t be a problem. I’d bring a copy of your marriage certificate, and maybe proof of your spouse’s permanent address in France (if you have such proof) and be prepared to do EES. But even if the French stamp your passport, and they probably will, would it actually matter?
As you say, given the current waiting times at Prefectures, there must be lots of people in this situation so hopefully someone with recent firsthand experience will be along soon.
I had the same on my récépissé and I think it’s just generic. As a UK passport holder you have 90 days without a visa but, more importantly as the spouse of an EU citizen, you don’t have the same constraint. As @toryroo said, you must travel on your UK passport and, if my experience of many crossings with a récépissé, you won’t have any problems.
I completely agree with the well-informed advice given above. It does seem somewhat OTT to have to bring along your marriage certificate + proof of your wife’s French address+ récépissé + copy of your wife’s passport/her physical passport, but that package really should suffice both legally, and in practice..I was advised by immigration in France that the no travel warning on the récépissé is aimed at those considering treating it as a valid travel document, who specifically require a visa. You don’t, as a Brit, so the warning is a technicality you can in practice ignore.
Thanks everyone. It all makes sense and that was the plan. My lawyer even said they would write a letter to bring along with it. Just being at the behest of an immigration officer and risking not being able to come back for a while is bit of a toss up. Who knows. Bouches du Rhône may suddenly do something in next two weeks
Thanks. Don’t think it’s an official recipisse yet. It’s just the automatic deposit doc that you get as soon as you upload the application. I think if someone had opened the packet and basically approved and generated Recipisse I may be slightly more comfortable. Thanks again everyone