Decree number 2019-26, published on 2 April, covers “various measures relating to the admission, residency, social rights and professional activity, applicable in the absence of an agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union”.

The document laid out the terms for UK citizens and their families to apply for a residence permit (carte de séjour), including the application fee: €100.

Luxembourg’s government has said that British cross-border commuters living in France will be able to request a document to certify their status “at a later date”.

It is not immediately clear how many people the ordinance will aid. British nationals represent less than 2% of the 462,000 foreigners living in the French region of Grand Est, which borders Luxembourg), according to Insee. (The French statistics agency said there were a total of 3.7m British nationals living across the country in 2017.)

Roughly 10% of all commuters from France were not French in 2017, and the figures were 17% for Belgium and 16% for Germany, according to Social Security Inspectorate data published by Statec.

The decree took effect on 4 April.