Well, best of luck. Keep us posted.
Am trying to think which other countries send large numbers of retirees to France. There seem to be a growing number of Americans.
Dutch maybe? Irish? Although EU nationals are probably less likely to want citizenship as they don’t have cartes de séjour that need renewing.
I was asked at great length about my income - and this is way back when. The Agent spent ages determining if I was financially sound and I felt a slight discrimination as I was applying but not my husband. In reality I have more money than he does! I presume your wife wasn’t asked as she is the ‘wife’.
I really feel this will turn out to be a non-event having followed the ups and down of nationality processes for many years. If one meets all the other criteria and shows some financial planning in France like an AV or Livret then hard to see this will be enforced strongly.
Personally I would’t have highlighted the issue by following it up. And if it does come to a rejection then whether the pension is paid into an account here or there is irrelevant as still is in the foreign sourced category on a tax return.
Instead I would focus on all the other criteria and make sure they are rock solid. If necessary that’s what I would base my recours letter on as the decision is supposed ro be taken in the round.
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It does seem odd - for one thing most UK retirees, will be arriving with an “inactif” visa which does not allow work and just about guarantees peoples’ source of revenue will be originating outside of France.
So it’s “you can come to France, spend your income here, integrate into the community but because you have the bad luck to have a UK pension you can’t be a citizen”.
Hmmm 
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Thanks again for your comments.
I will keep you posted.
British Embassy don’t deal with immigration issues , so pursuing the issue will entail going to appeal , firstly at the Prefecture and then trying to get this issue discussed at national government level. Campaigns, letters, petitions, news items in the press , which might bring it to the public domain and create a little pressure, to then create an exception to the directive from M.Retailleau.
I believe there’s usually a two month interval between interview and rejection,
I hope you’re right.
As mentioned , I felt the ref biro addendum on the question of source of income needed challenging . I think in hindsight , your advice to not respond ,but rather to focus on the strengths of my application is sound.
I’ll just have to count the days down now and see what happens.9 gone , 51 to go…
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That is what is stated, but like many other aspects it is not fixed in stone, so could be longer. Especially as you are catastrophizing about a decision that is most likely at the SDANF level not the préfecture.
The first step in an appeal is a recours hiérarchique- which is just a letter. And you have 2 months for that.
But please look at Retailleau’s wider agenda. I doubt he has thought for a second about retired Brits! What he dislikes more likely is north africans.
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That’s very helpful,Jane . Thanks.
I agree with your observations about M. Retailleau’s position on immigration.
I agree.
I just looked at the article, silly me. The Connexion appears to be after a sensational report; the full facts are not evident and may be if they were it would not serve the paper ‘s agenda?
To become French a person needs to be vested in France with their centre of financial interest in France. Do they have a house in the UK to go running to if things go wrong, are they really integrated or are they just going for French nationality because it just makes life easier.
The facts are not clear so the article is just creating trouble.
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That’s par for the course.
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Hi Helen
Update: I have a siren number / status as an entrepreneur individual. Whilst it doesn’t garner much in income , certainly not according to Retailleau’s May directive, it does suggest that I have an interest financially in France and therefore in the communauté nationale,
Well I’ve forward this certificate of my status to the Prefecture and to sdnaf.On verra.
I think you’ll be fine Len. I can feel it in my waters.
As Jane says, the decision is made “in the round”.
It will nevertheless be interesting to see if more stories emerge in future about people being refused citizenship on this specific ground.
Thanks for your positivity,Helen.
The interview mostly went well , but because I was nervous to start and put a lot of passion and energy into ´Why France? in the early part ,my mind became dozy by the end , which is when I was asked about ´Les droits,´and even though I knew them, I messed up my reply.I came out of the interview kicking myself as a result, thinking ´Oh well,if my dossier isn’t strong enough ,I shall just re- apply, knowing that I won’t make the same mistake.
What might be a concern is if these same criteria are to be applied to extended stay visas. I decided this year I just could not face dealing with the surly bunch at the visa office in London and am only staying a bit less than 90 days but next year I will be applying for a 6 month non-working tourist visa. My pension income comes from the UK and Switzerland and I am certainly not moving any of that to France.
I’m more worried about the ignorance about fairly common financial matters this would indicate in anyone with the power to implement such an unthought-through rule.
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So all these measures are totally irrelevant to you as you will be a visitor. France likes visitors as a major element of the economy.
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I hope you are correct but reason rarely enters French bureaucratic thinking. The law that was passed by the French parliament on 6 month visas on entry for non-EU owners of houses in France, was over-ruled in a bureaucratic manner by the French Council and Macron, who is still in a snit about Brexit.
Sorry, but that’s not how the democratic process works. The law was not “passed by the French parliament” but just included in proposals at the National Assembly. Which were I recall kicked out by the Sénat and then deemed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Council. All in accordance with laid down procedures for law making in France.
So it never really existed in fact.
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Mmmmmmm… @anon40858366 @andygiddings
I suspect you’re correct. The term I’m familiar with is “centre of economic interest”. Which like the “domiciled” and “ordinarily domiciled” quagmire has tax implications. It does not preclude one from having income, property, investments or cash abroad, but it is an indicator of one’s commitment to France.
I’m sure as Jane says things are looked at in the round. If one is paying tax in the UK because that’s what the DTA says it can hardly be seen as a negative.
Good luck with the application @Len 
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We were quite happy to pay for visas etc before I discovered the Irish/EU link, only a few weeks ago.
So money doesn’t come into it. Good try though, but must try harder if you want to besmirch me 
