Returning to the UK

Latest government advice… hugely welcoming of course, but I guess they really don’t want any of us back unless earning lots of money.

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If you’ve UK nationality they don’t have much of a choice.

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Obviously!

(It was an attempt at cynical irony…)

Really? :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

I think it unlikely that I should fail to satisfy the French residency criteria after a no-deal Brexit, but if circumstances should get so dire that I become persona non grata, I shall refuse to give up tenure of the house my wife and I own, and leave the country.

I know it’s a purely hypothetical question actuellement, but what steps might be taken to enforce my departure in the event, and might I have rights of appeal against such a measure?

“Un homme averti en vaut deux.”

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Straying into faux amis territory Peter?

Comment ça, Paul? :thinking::anguished:

But I do often wander off the straight and narrow, up a blind alley, into deep waters, put my foot in it, come a cropper, and rue the day, of which it’s one of those today actuellement :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I don’t see many Brits being forcibly ejected.
When an application for a cds is denied there are 2 possible outcomes: either you get a refusal and a notice to quit the territory, or you get a simple refusal letter. Unless you are perceived as being some kind of threat or having seriously abused France’s hospitality, you get the latter. As usual it all boils down to droits et devoirs or the social contract. If a person meets certain obligations to the state, the state has certain obligations towards them. If they don’t, the state has no obligations. They become sans papiers, their presence is tolerated but they have no rights. They are not entitled to a cds, access to puma, caf, social security, right to work etc. It’s not a comfortable way of life but it’s possible. There are many people in that situation but not usually from choice.

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Thanks Anna. I’m not seriously worried, but there was a niggle. All part of the mounting uncertainty, that’s about all.

Even with a falling pound and the possibility of having to insure ourselves fully to access basic healthcare, we could probable manage.

The main issue for us is heating. My wife was born to a subtropical climate and can’t tolerate lengthy periods of cold. She gets a kind of Raynaud’s syndrome and her hands go cold as ice and blue, like imminent frostbite.

Heating the house is our major expense and could be prohibitive. Me, I am a cold fish, I can tolerate being cold very well, indeed I only feel cold when feverish​:face_with_thermometer:. I often wear shorts in January. Perish the thought! :scream::flushed:

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More likely the other way about… Brits in Europe being denied full and complete rights if returning to BloJo’s Bully Britain :angry:

I know someone like that and mohair gloves, the sort that are a tube which extends down to the first joint on the finger, with a thumb (open ended) and extend up the arm a bit really help. You can use your hands with them on.

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Great tip, @vero, with winter coming on she will find something like that a real blessing, 'cos she’s glued to her iPad come weather fair or foul! :kissing: bisous

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My daughter knitted me some and they are a great help. (I’ve a gammy hand which seizes-up completely on chilly days) :upside_down_face:

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Are there not significant financial obligations / contributions that UK citizens are required to make if returning to the UK after 10 years absence and residence elsewhere?

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I have reynaud’s too (born in England though)…there are a few of us in the family who have it and it seems to have come from my Scottish gran’s side…

I can vouch for wearing many loose fitting layers with wool closest to the skin and the style of gloves that Vero mentioned…

Feeling cold is absolutely miserable and when the temperature starts to drop I find my heart with the homeless wherever in the world they may be…

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No idea - got a reference to that?

If you have a UK passport surely you have right of abode (ish - ISTR there are some groups, eg Gurkhas, who have or had the right to a passport but not abode) whatever your income.

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The UK has to let you back of course (that’s what I recall the passport says anyway - or used to before it became and EU one) but after my many years residence ‘in the Colonies’ (i.e not the EU) I came across a few UK financial disincentives / 'catchup obligations that changed my mind at the time,

I recall it was something to do with not having paid UK tax for some time I had some serious catching up to do?

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I have some tops with trou de pouce… so sort of tops with gloves. Mine I got in a sports shop as they are for for climbers. I also appreciate damart clothes now I have reached a certain age! Shops in lots of french towns and their super warm socks for lounging around of an evening are toasty.

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Surely some quirk of your personal tax situation ?

Obviously if you had a UK tax liability while overseas which was not being paid HMRC might well be interested in something of a catch-up session on your return.

I’m not aware of a blanket “it will cost you £xxx in tax to return to the UK” though - happy to be corrected if anyone knows differently.

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Never heard of this. Perhaps it’s something to with NI contributions for entitlement to retirement pension and/or other benefits.