British teen refused French benefits for having 'wrong type of card'
Delay in receiving her post-Brexit residency card has left teenager unable to access housing and transport benefits during her internship
Sarra Clark (inset) says her daughter is struggling to access benefits her peers can easily obtain
Media_Photos/Shutterstock / Sarra Clark
A music teacher has told of her 18-year-old daughter’s struggle to obtain the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement (WA) residency card she is entitled to – and consequently being shut out from housing benefits.
Young people in WA families cannot usually have a residency card before age 18, though requests can be made from 16 if it is essential for work or study.
Mother Sarra Clark said they started asking the Isère prefecture six months before her daughter turned 18.
However, they did not obtain a meeting to submit the application until two weeks before.
Her daughter was issued a récépissé (receipt), valid for six months, confirming she had applied for a permanent WA card.
She has lived in France since age three and her brother and parents all have these cards.
Months-long wait for card
However, the receipt expired while she was still waiting for her card.
Mrs Watson said: “To have it renewed, we had to try to get one of the few rendez-vous put online each Tuesday at 9:00. It took eight weeks of trying, in which time her récépissé expired.
“She almost lost the baking apprenticeship she had been accepted on as a result. Fortunately, the rendez-vous we got saved this disaster. Her récépissé was renewed for three months.”
Read more: How long does it take to renew a carte de séjour in France?
In the meantime, she said, her daughter is being refused money from the Caf benefits office because she has made a ‘first request for a residency card’, whereas they only help those who have applied for renewals.
We have reported this to the Caf national body and are awaiting a reply.
As Mrs Clark states, “under the WA, she should have the same rights as us”.
“My daughter has a €759 salary. Her rent and electricity in Grenoble are €580, which leaves €179 to live on and for trains.
“Her classmates in the same situation receive €291 housing benefit and €100/month Mobili-Jeune [for apprentices who move to be close to work] as she is not living close to our home in the mountains.”
The family has sought help via the Interior Ministry’s Brexit support email address (demandeenligne-brexit-dgef@ interieur.gouv.fr).
Another source of help is the Défenseur des droits, which you can read about below.
Read more: Did you know? France has a team ready to defend foreigners' rights
