We are thinking of moving to France half the time. Keeping our main home in U.K. to avoid difficulties
We work online
I assume we’ll need two lots of insurance. Two cars. Can you see any other complications
Just a few. 
I’ll leave the experts on here to enlighten you.
1 Like
Limit of stay since Brexit is something you need to consider, no longer possible to stay more than 90 days without returning to UK
Tax, social security, health cover to name a few.
Whilst France is tolerant of people sending a few emails while sat by the pool they are less tolerant of people working in France (ie when they are physically in France) without contributing to social security. Huge debates on this one as the immigration service and tax service are not totally joined up. Immigration says ok as long as not working for French company or tax resident, tax service are silent so one takes one’s chance. And if you are running a UK business from France you can be hit hard.
Fiscal residence is also potentially thorny as UK and French definitions are very different. So in UK terms you may not think you are fiscally resident in France as you spend less than 183 days here. French authorities may think otherwise.
I could go on!
We did it for quite a while, but were very happy to shift to single country living after a few years! So much simpler and cheaper.
5 Likes
Is 88 days in France and then another 88 days 3 moths later feasible
The (very) thorny issue of online work aside, you might want consider the VLS T visa (Visa de Long Séjour Temporaire),which would enable you to spend up to 6 months continuously in France a year. Brit friends of ours (who are retired and definitely don’t work) use it (they have to renew the application every year afresh) to spend substantial amounts of time in their second home.
2 Likes
I think you have to wait a time before returning. Not sure as it does not affect me but I thought you could stay 90 days then return for six months before coming again. Best check with the government guidelines for the truth
Check whether you are eligible for Irish passport ..all.probkems sorted in one fell swoop.
3 Likes
I think it is 90 days out of 180, on a rolling basis.
+±+±+±
For those with a French Carte de Sejour etc, then strictly we cannot stay in Spain or any other country, for more than 90 days at a time? Open to correction on that. Although with Schengen and open borders with France, how that could be seen is beyond me.
1 Like
Schengen? - yes.
Simplistically if you start out with a clean sheet you can stay a max of 90 days and would then have to leave the Schengen zone for 90 days before you could return.
After that it can get a bit complex though I think a simple heuristic would be to always stay out of Schengen a little longer than you were in, say stay 6 weeks, leave and stay in the UK for seven, then you will always be under the 90 in 180 rule.
There are several on-line calculators available to help determine compliance with the 90/180 day rule.
Just google “Schengen stay on-line calculators”
1 Like
Or go to the EU checker European Union - EES / ETIAS
Which uses your actual data to check how long you can stay.
1 Like
If you are going to be remote working, please take plenty of advice from experts.
Minefield!
2 Likes
Does anyone know what qualifies me for Irish passport
Irish ancestry. I’m sure it’s on the Internet but I don’t have time to look right now.
Took half a second to find.
https://www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/citizenship/born-abroad/
Irritatingly I have precisely zero Irish heritage or I’d be filling in the forms so fast that the paper would smoke.
4 Likes
Irish parents or Irish grand parents by birth.
The current wait time is 9-12 months to obtain citizenship, after all the relevant paperwork has been submitted and accepted.
Then it’s a further 6 weeks for a passport.
My wife submitted hers in February.
1 Like
I think a lot of people would like to try. OH thought having an Irish gg-grandparent might qualify him, but I’ve never found the birth certificate.
Great grandparents doesn’t qualify. That would probably open it up to every Irish descendent in the USA and probably half of the people in Boston, if it did.
More irritatingly, I’m a single generation too late