French nationality, income levels

Hello, can anyone tell me what is the minimum income one is required to have annually ?
I have seen somewhere that it is 1.4 of SMIC but have no idea how one calculates this…
All these variables are stressing me out! Any information or link to french explanations most welcome.

There is a minimum income level for inactifs to be considered legally resident in France, is that what you’re thinking about? If so there is no great mystery about it, the details can be found on the govt website - depends on your age / household composition.
https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F12017 (click on ressorces suffisantes, then whichever age group you are in).

There is no mimimum income level box to tick to apply for nationality, although obviously this might be part of proving your 5 years legal residence.

Thank you Anna. This gives us some more hope!
We just need Theresa May to tell us that the UK will continue to pay our health care and not stop any future increases in our pensions to enable us to be sure that we can continue to live in France.

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Thank you very much, Anna. That clears up quite a few queries I had, just
didn’t know where to look.
And as Jane says we just need Mrs May to play fair and not cut our
pensions. I don’t want to have to go back!

Glad it helped but bear in mind you do need to be a bit wary about building any post Brexit plans on the figures on that link since they apply specifically to EU inactifs, and at the moment I don’t think we can assume that we will continue to be treated as EU citizens after Brexit (unless one has another EU nationality of course).

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Oh, I agree, we have only two years more as EU members, which is why I am
trying to get my application for nationality in within the next three
months. Fortunately I have lived here permanently for 7 1/2 years and trust
that will be a plus factor in my application.
As I said, there are so many variables which worry me…
It’s great to be able to share these concerns, thank you.

Your first 5 years here are subject to income conditions, then once you have met the criteria continously for a five year period you qualify for permanent residence with no further conditions attached. A bit like a probationary period at a new job - while you’re on probation you are being watched to see if you measure up, and once you’ve passed probation you can relax and your position is pretty much secure for as long as you want it (unless you break one of the set in stone rules eg spending more than two years out of France or committing a civil order offence etc). The bit you quote relates to the carte de séjour you could get for the first 5 years, while you’re still “on probation”. If you click on Séjour permanent après 5 ans it says “À l’issue de cette période, vous n’avez plus besoin de prouver les conditions de votre séjour (ressources par exemple). Vous pouvez demeurer définitivement en France, sauf si vous représentez une menace grave pour l’ordre public.”

so that’s what the Maire was saying about me…“menace grave”… I’ll have to set him straight on Sunday…:wink: bribe him with my home-made chocolates :slightly_smiling_face:

Unless he’s on a diet, in which case your home-made choccies would definitely be a menance grave :grinning:

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I don’t know where this “sustainable” is coming from, which French wording are you picking up on here? I can’t find it.
But as long as you can produce 5 consecutive avis d’imposition showing an RFR above the threshold, you have ticked the box and I don’t see why any official would want to quibble. If France had wanted your income to be sustainable indefinitely until you start pushing up daisies, then the rules would have said that and they wouldn’t say 5 years. EU policy is quite clear that after five years’ legal residence you have the same rights as every other permanent resident of that country.
My experience of France is that it’s strict but scrupulously fair when it comes to social obligations, in fact respecting its social obligations is high on its agenda. I don’t think they look for loopholes to cheat you out of your rights, I think it’s more that they are very keen to prevent abuse so sometimes it may seem that way. Droits et devoirs and all that - if you meet your specific obligations to the state then it will meet its obligations to you and grant you specific rights, if you don’t, then as far as France is concerned you have no rights. Your choice, and France will respond in kind. Once you get through the hoops and they are satisfield that you have met your side of the bargain, they look after you. I think you’re worrying unnecessarily.

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In context I intepret “pérennité” as meaning, your right to reside during those 5 years is conditional upon the perennity of your resources (for those 5 years).

I know what you’re saying about the Riviera. Although of course there is also the question of, whether all the EU foreigners there, particularly the young ones, fully understand their own obligations and respect them scrupulously. Would it be fair to say that a proportion do come over with no work lined up and no real plan for survival, and expect the state to bail them out when they run out of money?

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Could anyone advise me whether the minimum income requirements detailed in https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F12017 164 are absolutes that are set in stone?

Are any allowances made for owning a property in France without a mortgage and / or having capital reserves / savings?

thanks,

Nigel

There is a calculation about what level of capital would be accepted as deemed to produce adequate support. But I can’t find a link to it right now, maybe someone else will have it to hand. I think the house that you live in doesn’t count, but really can’t remember.