Which also reminds me of a Brit guy who was spouting off at a recent 'do' I went to....
He's French resident and has been for quite some time - although very much part of the 'panama hat, chinos and blazer gang'. How proud he was about the fact that he didn't declare or pay tax on his gite / art school income - his clients are exclusively Brits, pay him in sterling which he pays into a UK account - job done. How clever is he? I guess he won't have declared his UK accounts either.......why should he? he's 'special' and rules simply don't apply to him......
Yep - pretty easy to establish a main centre of commercial interest / activity - bank account and card transactions, phone calls and internet IP address usage, utility consumption and bills, port and airport cameras, toll road usage, passport arrival / departure scans - the list is pretty much endless....
What's laughable and possibly dangerous, is the fact that many insurance policies taken out as UK Resident - would, when it came to claim time, be invalid.....
We have all met them. The type of Brit who thinks he is smarter than Johnny Foreigner.
But they are the foreigners here and at least some of them are due for a rude awakening.
No doubt they will then moan about the injustice of it all.
Actually, the one thing I was told by a UK local when I arrived here was never be in a position of having to look over your shoulder all the time. If the locals get wind of it they WILL report it and they can officially go back at least three years and there are significant fines on top of that and interest. That frightened me but, I have seen the other side where they have thrown the book at them. They raided the house took the computer, checked all bank transactions to prove the time spent in France and the consequences are massive. It was like a drugs raid.
I couldn't agree more Clare - I'm surrounded by 'dodgers' but you know what..... I prefer to sleep at night. Ignorance, as far as I'm aware, is never a defence. What makes me spit, apart from the fact I'm paying inflated taxes because of them, is the fact that many of the 'dodgers' are those that moan about illegal immigrants in the UK! What a joke! I know the net is closing in due to loads of new legislation this year as well as enhanced cross-border cooperation but, to be honest, it just makes me mad!
I think the fact this discussion went completely cold speaks volumes........
Problem is there are those who through ignorance who genuinely don' t realise and those who turn a blind eye. I look at so many people around me not legit and I sometime wonder why I bust a gut to be legit as there are so many people getting away with being under the radar. I despair. I get hit with lots of taxes and they get of scot free!! I totally get where you are coming from but, with all the changes coming they WILL catch up with those dodgers sooner or later. Watch this space I say and I hope they throw the book at them!!!
So...was I right? Lots of Brits spending more time in France than the UK but not declaring French residency. Does that happen a lot then?
Gone quiet....was it something I said?.....:-)
Sarah - whether or not you think you 'officially live in the UK' - if you're spending, on average, more than 183 days per year (6 months) at your French home then it is not a 'Holiday Home' - it's your principal residence and you are in fact French residents - for tax and all other purposes.....
Huh Colin ? ' We have been in France for 10 years....' maybe I've missed something but....when you say you've been in the Tarn & Garonne for 10 years, is that more than 183 days in each of those years (more or less) ? If so - you're French resident!
If you stay / live in France for more than 3 months (not working) you are required to fulfil some basic French administration requirements - not least of which is to have health insurance for you and your family. As a French resident this would normally mean your registration with your local CPAM - unless there is some reason you're not eligible to.
http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F12017.xhtml
Essentially you either are or you're not French resident - it's pretty easy to define. Or are you just living under the radar like so many other immigrants......?
Sounds like they think it is too much work. Have you tried telling them you have no other way to pay?
We are in a similar position to you re periods in France. we are with the Nationwide and their Travel Insurance covers up to 180 days. Costs £300 pa.
I use www.pjhayman.com for my travel insurance with pre-existing medical conditions and hazardous pursuits (skiing, sailing, motorcycling). They offer several variations according to your needs and I think they do 90 day trips.
How's this? http://www.pjhayman.com/travel-insurance/travel-plus/
Thanks everyone, yes we have EHIC, but often we are here for 3/ 6 months at a time so travel insurance is often time limited. Currently we just pay at the doctors if necessary, which luckily it hasn’t been. I have spotted that some health/ travel do do longer deals eg Bupa and was wondering if anyone had recommendations. We pay tax and officially live in the UK. We also travel a lot from our French base, so again I suppose Travel insurance makes sense.
That sounds like hard work, Colin. Can't you get a carte vitale?
Your NHS issues Européanisé Health Card (EHIC) will be sufficient.
We have been in France (tarn et garonne) for 10 years and despite many visits to medical centres and doctors, no one would accept a EHIC card. We always had to pay and reclaim from Newcastle. Last year this all changed when Newcastle DOP started to cut the repayment because they say the French will not repay to UK any more. We now have to return to UK every 60 days for travel insurance
If you are UK residents, the EHIC card will entitle you to the same treatment as any French National, but will be paid for by the NHS.
See - www.nhs.uk/ehic
In France, you will have to pay a proportion of the cost, depending on what treatment is being received. Anything life-threatening is normally free. In the case of dental prosthesis and glasses you will pay most of it.
So you might want to take insurance for the difference, or for repatriation if you would prefer to be treated in the UK, but from personal experience, I would always choose the French health service.