What rights does the Carte de Séjour give you in the rest of EU?

Yes, as Jane says below, I drive to Lux (20 mins from home and 10 from work) and fly back to Lux.
But I’ve never been through passport control for flights in the Schengen zone and I’m hoping it stays that way

May well be no changes until 2022 when ETIAS comes in… .when’s your next trip?

It will be easy enough surely to prove you are not overstaying in another EU country. But a pain if you have to!

I’m not sure the ETIAS will make that much difference, but I would have to read more about it to be sure.
I am trying to plan my next trip for mid-May till mid-June. Normally I would have gone in March for my granddaughters birthday but this year I didn’t go because they are still confined in Portugal and it was too much hassle with the covid tests for just 1 weeks travel.
My problem is not the legality of my situation. I have been here for over 30 years and I work full-time. My dilemma is how many hoops I will need to jump through to live my life as before. My younger daughter has acquired dual Lux/UK nationality and the elder one will apply for PT/UK nationality later this year as soon as she is eligible (she could also have the Lux/UK if she wanted). My kids are real Euro kids, born in one country, educated in another and living in another, the same as most of their friends except that their friends have not had their rights ripped away from them through no fault of their own.
I still need to work out how I am going to take my granddaughter from Portugal to the UK without having any problems. I had the idea (before Covid) that I would fly from Faro to either Manchester or Liverpool with her and take her to visit my parents. She is 3 now and my parents have never seen her and they are at the age where you could be here today and gone tomorrow…
She has a UK passport so I need to see how I can travel with her without her passport being stamped.

I think in the short term there will be passports stamped when they shouldn’t be which may or may not pose problems further down the line. France doesn’t always follow Schengen anyway and checks passports when you fly into the country regardless of where you’ve come from.

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The advice from the Embassy is to be proactive. Don’t wait for border official to reach for the stamp, but tell them upfront that you are european residents and hand them your card. Granddaughter maybe should have copy of parent’s resident cards along with her authorisation from them for her to travel with you.

It could be a hassle if you are stamped, but I can’t see there would be any serious consequences for you as you are within the rules. Just keep you travel tickers!

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What would happen if you flew out and drove back for example ?
This exact situation happened to me a few years ago, when my vehicle broke down in Spain, and the insurance flew me back to Spain to pick it up and drive home with it once it had been repaired.

:roll_eyes: Usually goes with a sigh, this one.

The way it worked for Brits who had overstayed the 90 day rule in Spain, prior to Brexit - the rule Spain had that come 91 days one was obliged to register as resident - the onus was entirely on the traveller to prove where one was and for how long. In other words, in this instance, guilty until one could prove oneself innocent.

It was largely ignored - all those snowbirds on the costas spending their money - but my guess is that this m.o. is likely to be the case generally, post Brexit.

God knows!
If you’re not controlled at the airport then you would stay under the radar. But if you were controlled then you could potentially have a problem if you were to fly there again after a few months.

Unfortunately for you the majority of voters in Middlesbro’ Stoke, Grimsby, Ashfield, Warrington Sunderland , Boston et al etc wouldn’t have any empathy with born in one country, educated in another and settled in a third…what do they want that for, Brexit rules
Sad narrow minded but a truism

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Yup, over 60s don’t need to provide academic proof of competancy in French.

The interview is alledgedly fairly straightforward but the rest of it is a bit of a marathon.

No longer the case, grahame, if you’re talking about naturalisation. Everyone has to provide proof of their language level regardless of age, and for info the 1,5 hour interview can turn into an inquisition if you’re not prepared ( the case of the woman in the booth next to me)

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The advice given to US travelers, might actually now be of some help. Here’s an interesting read:

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gone. you have to do it now regardless of age but apparently the standard is very low. other exemptions but not age

I know that “people” say the standard is very low but it doesn’t look that way to me with the various examples available to try :worried:

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Personally I think it was a bit mean to remove the exemption if someone has a certain age and resident for a long period. My other half would be excluded immediately due to being a genius in some things but a zero in languages.

I would agree with increasing the age limit for an exemption say to 80. But at 60 most people should be able to get to B1? And I do feel it is so important to speak the language.

You’ll get there Angela…you’ll feel you are getting nowhere for ages, and then things will suddenly fall into place.

Sorry, but I don’t think it was mean at all, just creating a level playing field and it was daft having no language level requirement for over 60s. It’s not a carte de séjour, it’s far, far more than that. I think it’s easier to understand the profound nature of naturalisation in countries where you have to renounce your birth nationality (Spain, for example) you’re asking for far more than just a piece of paper. I can’t see how people expect France to grant them nationality if they can’t comunicate in French and B1 isn’t asking the earth, It’s the level you need to get through the 90 minute interview anyway!

PS When reading this please bear in mind that I’m not having a go, just pointing out what seems logical to me, although I now some here won’t agree with me!

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You’l get there, Angela, as Jane says, and don’t forget that as people need 5 years residency before they can even apply then that gives them 5 years to learn to B1 :wink:

Exactly you need to get 301 points out of a possible 699 to qualify for B1 level. I looked it up last week, as I’m in the middle of applying for French nationality.

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