A visa gives right of entry and usually has a very short life span. For people planning to stay longer than six months the first step is to go to the prefecture and apply for the relevant Carte de Sejour.
Sound advice but also a word of caution. If a project needs a permis de construire it is NOT your local mayor who can give the go-ahead. It is the sub-prefecture and they will probably be much more likely to be looking at the 10 year urban plans that are being put in place all over France, ie which areas are designated farmland, which can be built upon and to what density etc.
It matters to have the mayor on board - a mayor who is anti can make sure a permis is NOT granted - but donât assume that smoozing him/her will be enough.
Not true. Except for passport talent all âresidency type of visasâ are 1-year so not really âshort livedâ they have a fix duration. If you go at the prefecture after 6-month theyâll turn you down you need to convert your visa when the visa is 4-months from expiry not 6 
But you are right France admin is an art with many subtleties indeed 
You have misunderstood what I wrote. As you have said before, lost in translation.
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Well all been very quiet as I have been busy sorting everything out.
Latest from me is that I purchased my French home and completed on it. Managed to get my son into a good school and we have applied for our Visas so should I hope be in possession of our French visas in the next few weeks.
Hoping to be over in France living at the end of July and I decided to forget working and I am going to take a year off and enjoy some quality time with my son and start work on our new home.
Thank you for all the support and advice from all of you
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Well done Robert. And all the very best for your new life. Sounds like an excellent plan! We arrived on July 4th 2007 
and still love it here. Depending on where you are you may find France is very much alive over the summer months - night markets, free music, exhibitions - we came with 2 Airedales and after working on unpacking etc during the day took them out in the evening to our local villages, a different one each time, and couldnât quite get over how many times we found ourselves surrounded by people sitting at trestle tables eating! This is how rural France at least spends its summer holidays.
Sounds good I eventually settled for a property in 87440 Saint-Mathieu area.
I will be bringing our pet Rottweiler and Bengal Cat.
I intend to get out as much as possible with my son and Dog and the cat when he wants to join us.
I am not bringing much with me most of my stuff has / will be sold or given away and I will start fresh in France with our new home
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Good plan. Thatâs what we did with furniture.
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Iâm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along, but have you checked what paperwork you will need for your Rottweiler?
Very sensible. It is difficult to sell English antique furniture in France because that is not to their taste. Best to sell in UK before emigrating, only keeping some small accessories to personalise your new home.
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Hi yes all checked she has been over to the house and i have registered her with my local vets. They are only Class 2 so she just needs to be muzzled in public which is funny because every place I took her when over lots of French people looked surprised to see the muzzled and said I should take it off
Luckily I have a property with about 9000 square meters of garden so she will have lots of garden to enjoy
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Excellent! Mind you, our locals always looked a bit surprised to see us with our Airedales. Large dogs are for keeping on a chain in the garden as guard dogs (sadly). Itâs âa thing on a stringâ that one takes to the local park, etc.
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Sorry to tell you but it is much more than that. My lovely Rottie was Boss and his gloomy face you can see top left of this post and I must dig out the broad smiley one which first captured me for him.
I had to chose a vet from a list of those authorised to do a âdangerosityâ test. The first one was very thorough, testing his reaction by grabbing his rear end very hard unexpectedly. He passed it with flying colours but she still only gave him level 2. I was furious and went to another vet 50 kms away. He also tested him very hard and even gave the opinion that he would be level 1, however when he sent the paperwork he too put level 2. This was important because Rotties are required by law to have their own 3rd party insurance, they donât come under house insurance as uncategorised dogs do, and my insurer, Aviva, refused to insure him. The only way I got him insured was by going to a company who insisted I take out full cover for him as well, which cost 5 times as much as what I wanted.
Then I had to be tested myself and was recommended to a friend of a friend who was authorised (as a Rottie breeder) to do this work. He quoted âŹ50 which was a discount to the normal fee because of the friendship connection. We walked and talked for an hour and at the end he gave me the certificate saying âno charge, because we have the same heartâ. The lump in my throat must have been visible, I was speechless.
Lastly I needed a certificate from the Maire. He called at the house as arranged and while walking through the door asked casually âis he mechant?â A bit late to ask that I thought but fortunately he was being covered in kisses from Boss at the time. 
Finally, as you know, muzzled and on lead in public. The whole thing is ridiculous and bears no relationship to reality of danger. The only dogs who have ever bitten me are a Collie, a Terrier and a Great Dane. Non of which are on the dangerous dogs list. But I do caution you to make sure you tick all the boxes, she doesnât have to bite someone to make you liable to prosecution.
Ah, I see itâs in between AngoulĂȘme and Limoges - 2 places I know. I have family in Limoges so visit frequently, and I have had some great food when weâve stopped off in AngoulĂȘme.
Congratulations on the move.
Thank you for the concise explanation. My local vet did a test similar to what you have explained and I should have the certificate when I get back to France. I have spoken with the Maire and when I am out living in the house they will be coming to meet with me.
I also have insurance as I found that out when I was sorting my house, personal and sons school insurance so thats covered off.
I will look into the other certificate for me but I would hope I pass that 
I agree with you on this breed as they have been used in Films to portray violent demon like dogs and dogs of hell but the truth is they are so loving and kind they should not be on a dangerous dog list at all.
Saying that I named my girl Mazikeen which is a joke really because Mazikeen was the first born demon child of Lucifer and Lliath and became Lucifers head of torture and my girl is so far away from that so I now call her Maz
Yes I remember you saying to me about your location and your wifeâs family living in Limoges.
I was hoping to be in an area with very few Brits as i wanted to be forced to improve my French, but one of my neighbors and one more family in the village are British.
When I was over recently we went to Limoges and Rochechouart for a meal / night out. We also spent a few days going to Orleans, Le Mans and Blois
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So pleased you have everything covered, I was alarmed when I read your previous post.
I went to a rescue centre to check Boss out after I was smitten by the wide smile I saw in his photo. I was taken to meet him in a spacious grassed area and he arrived on a lead but without muzzle, still smiling at me. I fell to my knees and he came straight into my arms with his large head resting on my shoulder. I looked up at the assistant and said yes, âIâll take himâ and was looked at incredulously. The only thing I wanted them to test for me was another dog with him of a similar size. They brought a female Dobermann who immediately started shouting at him. He just looked at her sadly but just to be sure we released both of them in adjacant enclosures. She went straight to the fence and was very aggressive, possibly just fearful, he shouted a couple of times in reply and then walked away in my direction. âAre we going home now Dad?â he seemed to say, and we were.
You will have guessed by now that I get a bit emotional regarding dogs. 
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They do get into your heart.
I have had mine when she was just an 8 weeks old puppy. She is by my side and if honest on my lap if she can which was easy when she was a puppy but now she is 4 and 39.8kgs its not so easy for me, but I would not be without her.
She is amazing with other dogs in the park and has become the go to dog for other nervous dogs to get them used to other dogs purely because she is so calm and does not respond to dogs barking, The only times she has is when I dog went to attack her she pinned them to the ground and stared at the other dog until it calmed down and then got up and walked away. No dog was harmed in this but it was amazing to see how she calmed the other dog down.
She has only barked at a human when they came into her property with out permission and again she just stood her ground and they backed off again until they got invited in.
I have uploaded a picture of my girl in her usual position on the sofa snoring very loud
This was the big smiley Boss which captured me, newly arrived with his Dobermann friend, Adolph, after they were saved from destruction by new owners of the scrapyard in Spain that they had been guarding. Sadly I only had him for a couple of years, he died at the age of 14, a truly good age for a Rottie.
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