We’re all making comments without knowing the full story. How many of us are ‘whiter than white’ and abide by all the rules/laws all the time whether by design or not, I know we don’t? Every week there’s some law or regulation that we become aware of and we’ve been here 14 years so a couple fairly recently arrived have got no chance.
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It’s officiel @tim17 
we’re all allowed to make one mistake… 
(and with all the rules and regs…that is just as well) 
No not harsh, realistic. If you read the responses to the original posting you will see many that dismiss this family as disingenuous at best and the others like me saying they would not have had to go through this but for Brexit. I feel sorry for people who have had their dreams dashed however misinformed or green they may be. You Stella have the attitude I admire - one of looking for the best in people, I share that. #Brexit has an awful lot to answer for.
I’d like to think i’ve been whiter than white since i’ve been here. I’ve not knowingly cheated anyone and i’ve paid my taxes and bills when required.
I’ve no idea if the family concerned are responsable for their predicament, frankly I don’t really care. I do know of many (and I mean ‘many’) British families who have cheated the system (French too !) and have paid the price and others who cheat and have cheated and have survived to tell the tale.
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I wasn’t just talking about declaring income etc Peter. How many SFN members still have UK reg’d cars, UK driving licences, have paid trades people in cash, not completed an H1 after a renovation, still use Roundup, have bonfires, use powered equipment on Sunday afternoon or at lunchtimes, the list is endless.
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Well until now British licences have been perfectly acceptable. And my French neighbours do all of the above with the exception of driving on UK plates. So I don’t imagine anyone, anywhere is whiter than white!
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Exactly Cat, which is why this couple shouldn’t be judged too harshly unless they really have abused the system.
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As I have previously mentioned… I suspect the 30 day letter is a standared reply to any dossier which does not “appear” to meet requirements.
I would hope that, by now, the family have got together whatever information was (presumably) missing from their dossier… and set things in motion to have their case reviewed.
Basicallly this sums up my reaction. We all get into a pickle now and again. I sympathise with anyone who hits a problem, takes ownership of it and tries to sort it out. I don’t like seeing dreams shattered. But I find it harder to sympathise when someone hits a problem and instead of taking ownership of it, looks around for someone or something else to blame, and especially when the problem is largely of their own making.
In this case as folks have said we don’t know all the details; what we do know is what this lady decided to go public with, and that was her choice. If she didn’t want people to form opinions she should have kept it private.
More generally, I have a big problem with the attitude that it doesn’t matter whether you do things right or wrong. One thing that has been highlighted time after time in the brexit negotiations is how important it is to get the right balance between rights and privileges, and responsibilities and obligations. I’m sure it was the UK’s failure to appreciate this that led in part to Brexit, and it’s certainly been a big factor in the impossibility of reaching a deal. The UK has a tendency to take the privileges for granted, as an automatic entitlement that requires nothing in return. And when this same attitude comes out at the individual level I see it as a microcosm of that. To me freedom of movement is a great privilege; I truly do appreciate the fact that I’ve been able to move to France, and I’ve said before on the forum that I think the loss of these opportunities for young Brits is the saddest thing about Brexit. But I also think that when people start regarding it as their “right” to move to another country without being mindful of meeting their corresponding obligations and responsibilities, that’s when the balance gets upset, injustices are perceived and bad feeling sets in. It happened in the UK with the perception that EU immigrants were moving to the UK and taking out without putting anything in. If Brits had understood the rules and if the rules had been better enforced by HMG, so that everyone understood that freedom of movement doesn’t allow people to move to another country and live below the radar or claim benefits they’re not entitled to, then who knows, perhaps there wouldn’t have been this perception and perhaps Brexit might not have been voted for.
So yes I potentially have sympathy in individual cases where things have gone a bit wrong, but I absolutely can’t go along with the attitude that as a general thing it’s no big deal if people claim the privileges but don’t meet the obligations, the authorities should turn a blind eye and leave them to get on with it. I happen to think that abusing FoM is quite a big deal. The rules are carefully designed to give everyone the same opportunity and keep things fair. If they’re abused the system is no longer fair. The more the system is abused the more the foundations are undermined, because if you say the rules don’t apply to one person then how can you say should they apply to another person, but without rules for anyone the system will break down and ultimately it’s spoilt for everybody.
Rant over…
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I still have enormous sympathy for her and her family and like some feel that there for the sake of the great goddess go I…I’ve been here a year longer than her…though “inactif”…supported financially by my partner and mom in uk…My jittters for real started in December when the threat of no deal became a possibility…I’ve sat on the fence since then…reluctant to apply for any sort of resident’s permit nor to exchange any of my uk documents…
I’ve recently actively been looking at property in Ireland and more recently property in Scotland and following closely the SNP because if Scotland either finds a way to remain in the EU or subsequently rejoined the EU then that’s where I’ll possibly be headed…
I love where I am…it’s perfect in my eyes …I love my home in Brittany…I’d be reluctant to sell…but I’m not so committed that I can’t change my plans…As it stands at the minute although I know that my partner currently still in uk and I…along with our two Border Collies could quite happily live here together …I do have concerns that the income requirements for a couple are getting quite tight…
As it stands at the minute or as I understand it at the minute… he would only be able to be here 6 months out of a year…two periods of 3 months…???
As for my kids…then one of my daughters and my son have gone from actively looking for a holiday home to buy between them when they came over last year… to shelving all their plans…my son who is the youngest has even shelved his plans to also buy in uk…a predicted 30 per cent drop in uk house prices has him biding his time…
I bought my home here and then arrived here exactly at the same time the uk voted leave…Since then I’ve attempted to comply but can see I still have several loose ends…
I have every sympathy with all those feeling the same…
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Gosh I did not realise 
I enjoyed reading his comments and Babbets’ (?) photos, beautiful.
Thank you Peter.
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Ah the good old Aufenthaltsgenehmigung und Arbeitserlaubnis. SAdly gone. I still have both for sentiments sake along with my “Grauelappe”. The “Kripo” dont chase after people who overstayed their permits anymore. I didnt find anything “Kafkaesque” about it when i was grilled about my application they were just following procedures I can imagine the thoughts that went through your head at the time. Maybe it should be reintroduced but then that would casuse divides amongst the folks. I have lived in many European countries as an “Immigrant” and if the law and the system is followed, things like this lady is going through dont happen.
Unless I’ve missed some important facts here we are all avoidimg the obvious - this family is not stateless.
They have not been “bombed into homelessness” by Assad or Daesh.
They have a home to go to, it just isn’t here in France.
If they are indeed British they have the absolute right to live and work in the UK and that is precisely the right thing to do if they are refused leave to remain in France. No iffs no butts no discussion no acrimomny no approbation. And Brexit does not change this fact.
The right thing for them to do if they cannot support themselves in France is to go home and start again.
I bought my property here in France in 2013. Having bought it I worked out what it would cost me a start a small business in France and to live as I wanted to live - irrespective of the minimums set by Gov.
When the numbers didn’t add up I went straight back to a rented house in the UK.
It took almost a year to get to the position where I could live in my own house in France.
This wasn’t the French Gov telling me what to do - I did what was right even though it was very hard.
Whether I feel compassion or sympathy for these people is irrelevant, I pay my taxes and I have solidarity with my neighbours. I would not stay here if I my income did not cover my lifestyle in a sustainable way - I would go back to the UK and so should they.
I simply could not face my neighbours every day.
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I think some people have a romantic notion of living a simple rural life. Unfortunately this is not a realistic prospect. Even with enough money life in France is just as complicated as anywhere else
I feel for them though, it’s no coincidence that present generations suffer from stress. The combination of terrorism on our doorstep and superb technology means that our every movement is monitored whether for good or bad. It really is impossible to just live without spending a ridiculous chunk of our lives justifying our existence by filling in forms for energy, insurance, bank details, medical care, car details, mortgage or rent even store cards.
It was Kafkaesque because I was being interrogated about a ‘possible slight infringement’ which I hadn’t yet committed!!
I had to have a permis de sejour in Belgium too, no problems with that either.
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Ha did you commit the slight infringement afterwards.
Nope!
Babeth, I think. They were a very loving and unusual couple, he adored her by all accounts, and she him. There was quite a significant difference in their ages. I genuinely miss them both, and the Gone Goose! Babeth’s photo-conundrums were a regular and novel treat!
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Helen, we left Ireland for several reasons, believe me rural Ireland is not as easy as some would make you believe. The house prices are ridiculous as is the rest of the cost of living. Worst of all the system there is diabolical, if you think the NHS is in a mess then the Irish one is non existant. If you dont have private mendical insurance you are lost. The road tax for our 2 cars came to just short of 3000 € per year and the insurance was almost the same and it goes on. All those who are disgusted with the UK govt. would be terrified with the irsh one. Nah forget Ireland, only as a holiday destination in a B & B.
Yes, they are a lovely couple - they live not far from our place in France & I met up with them the last time that I was over - very much looking forward to inviting them to us but failure of our induction hob means it will have to wait until a later visit.
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