Helen… I wonder if you appreciate just how expensive a stay in hospital etc can be.
There is a particular case I am thinking of… a gentleman on another forum, asking plaintively if someone could explain how he was supposed to pay a huge bill he had received as his part of the healthcare bill after an incident/illness. I forget the sum but it was something like 20,000 euro…
He explained that he had not bothered to take out Top-up/mutuelle as he had neve been/was never ill…
If you really have such sums at your disposal… fair enough… but, if not… mmmm
No government means anarchy.
As we have just seen in the past few weeks not everyone has the same intentions towards their fellow man as yourself.
Democracy is not an ideal form of government, a benign dictatorship is supposed to be the most effective form of government and I promise I will do a good job as soon as I get the chance.
To be honest I have no idea. However there are estimated to be as many as 250,000 British nationals living in France so even if 90% of them are perfectly OK that would still leave 25,000 who might have problems.
I have no idea how many of the 250k have applied for a CdS but given that it hasn’t thus far been necessary the number of applications could easily be above 100,000 so it is probably in the interests of France to allow quite a bit of time before any sort of clamp down and to get people through where possible.
As to the fate of UK nationals being dependent on how French nationals are treated in the UK - agree; I think that the French government have been quite clear that they expect reciprocity so if we get over bureaucratic and kick out a whole load of French (I hope & trust that we won’t) expect life to be a bit rough as a Brit in France.
It’s anyone’s guess of course, but I find it very hard to imagine that 1 in 10 Brits living here is in an irregular situation. A lot are married to French people so they’re OK, a high proportion are workers so they’re OK, many are UK state pensioners and they will pretty much all have their S1s so they’re OK, so it’s really only inactifs who would potentially be irregular and they’re a small proportion. If out of that group you discount the foot in both camps brigade, which I think you can because they still have rights in the UK so it simply means they’ll spend less time in France in future, and from what you read on other forums a lot are already working out their plan B’s, I would be surprised if as many of 1% of total UK immigrants in France have cut all ties with the UK but not regularised themselves in France. I may be wildly wrong of course.
To me, France puts so much emphasis on droits et devoirs in all of its dealing between state and citizens that I find it a bit hard to see it setting a precedent and dishing out rights to folk who haven’t met their obligations. I’m sure it will allow a generous window for obtaining whatever residence document is required, but I think it will be pretty strict in applying the cut off date, be it next March or 2020 or whenever. And I don’t see it kicking people out - when a cds application is rejected there are two possible outcomes, either you get a simple refusal letter or you get a refusal and an instruction to leave. What I feel is most likely to happen is that if the conditions aren’t met it won’t issue a cds but it won’t issue the instruction to leave. So in effect they will become a sub-category of "sans papiers" which is already a kind of official unofficial status where people who are here irregularly are tolerated but have minimal rights.
But for purely selfish reasons I’m still hoping for no Brexit, and it’s looking more of a possibility by the day.
Dunno, of the 4 sets of Brits that I am aware of close to our house one is a 2nd home owner like us, two are probably OK and the final one still has UK plates (but clearly made in France) on his vehicle - you think he has just neglected that one thing?
Otherwise I agree with your points - and if France has a history of tacitly accepting a “sans papiers” status then eventually people will hit the 20 year watershed after which they can apply for a CdS whether or not they have been in France régulièrement.
I think you can just about exist on that sum, but I would not call it living!! Have you considered renting a modest house, and then having some cash to enjoy life?
I really think you must listen to Anna-you are delusional if you really believe you don’t have to follow the rules here. Wait until you are seriously ill and see what happens.
No but he does sound like a foot-in-both-camper, ie he has probably kept an address in the UK and still claiming his rights there, so having no rights in France won’t bother him.
I also think that the Brits in this situation will be very much focused in certain areas of France, ie the Brit enclaves with a high proportion of inactifs, and in those little pockets I agree there will probably far more than 1 in 10 who believe in having as little as possible to do with French rules and regulations, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was 50% even. But those are just little pockets, and across France it will be evened out by the majority of incomers who have kept away from the Brit enclaves and who work here, have a family here and have “gone native”. Again I have no statistics, it’s just my impression. And those, the ones who have exercised freedom of movement correctly, are the citizens that the EU will do its utmost to protect
As you say the French authorities might not issue a CdS, issue a warning to sort things out and re-apply and then turn a blind eye as long as people stay under the radar - but, of course, with no access to the social safety-net if they can’t support themselves or become ill.
I have no idea what was said at my marriage ceremony as it was here in France and I didn’t understand a word the Maire said with his thick Tarnaise accent.
Hubby just nudged me when I had to say “oui”. I could have agreed to absolutely anything!!
I don’t know how much it costs to live in France. I live in the UK. However, we are selling our holiday home in France which broadly meets your spec. It has 2 bedrooms, a front and rear garden, drive/parking area, in a thriving local village location, and is 69m2 in total. Ironically, it is in district 79, full details 79340. It is on the market for E69K. If this is of interest, let me know. My email address is: ashley_clarke68@yahoo.co.uk
Oh My… Mandy… I do the translation at all the marriages at our Mairie where a non-French speaker/understander is involved. Over the years, each Maire has insisted that both parties must understand every single word he is saying…
None of them wanted to allow anyone to come back later on, saying… ooops, I made a mistake…
I am French. I was in the UK during 10 years. I live in Rochefort closed to La Rochelle. I would suggest that trying to live in France with less than 1100 euros could be risky : taxes, possible problems with your car, your house. Doing shopping is cheaper in the UK, I bet you might want to cultivate your garden, but honestly you need at leat 1000 1100 to live and not just survive (if you own your house) If you rent, you need a minimun of 1200 - 1300 euros. Good luck and believe in your dream !
