Good day and thank you for admitting me. For 15 years we considered our home to be our property in France to which we returned every Leave as seaman while we worked on board a British flagged yacht based in Spain. As such it was impossible post Brexit to remain in France long enough to go through the residency application process while pre Brexit we had, of course, no need to apply. My question now as a married retiree is what is/are the requirements, if they are different from the public domain published requirements, for a couple in our unfortunate position, unable to apply at the time because we were working out of State but with our home for 15 years in France? Your input including recommendations of specialist - inexpensive - lawyers who can answer and or deal with our case or advise would be gratefully received.
Hello Jovis, and welcome to our merry little band.
As you have been ādomiciledā in France for 15 years, and no doubt have the tax returns to prove it, I would say that the best place to obtain advice about how to proceed is the Bureau dāEtrangers at your departemental Prefecture.
Your local Mairie will also be able to provide help and advice with the form filling, which in most cases is all done online these days.
In all probability, and with the help and advice from the Mairie, you wonāt need to pay for a lawyer at all.
Where did you pay your taxes? (Not french property taxes but your income tax?)
If that was in France then you might have been eligible for a WARP (withdrawal agreement residence permit) card as a sort of marine frontalier. And if so you can ask the prƩfecture if you can make a late application.
If not then i donāt think you have any special status in terms of getting a carte de sĆ©jour and would have to apply like other retired second home owners.
It is a shame you did not apply when the window was open. There was no need to be in France to apply as the process was 100% online and very few questions were asked. You would have needed to go to the prefecture to collect your card but this might have been doable when you were here on leave. I think it might have been easier then because if you pop up out of the woodwork now you will have to explain why you were unable to apply previously, which will involve explaining that you spent very little time in France, which in itself risks disqualifing you.
It might be simpler to just apply for a visa in the normal way, and if you have been paying taxes all this time then the fact you have a home in France and have been fiscally resident if not actually resident, would be an advantage rather than a disadvantage?
Hello @Jovis and welcome to the forum.
Iām trying to figure a way for you, through the mire ā¦
What nationality do you and your marriage-partner have and where are you living at the moment?
EDIT
in which French department is your property ?
Sandcastle - and my thanks to other contributors - , if that I had known that we could have applied at distance. Iām furious that we missed this as it is clear from the replies that the only route is the normal foreigner one. What I am keen to know having read the printed requirements is are these adhered to to the letter or is there flexibility according ti where you are in France and are other things taken in to consideration, i.e. ownership and associated ownership taxes excluding income tax paid for 15 years?
I fear that you are correct in that we remain āactualā British residents paying tax as the documented seaman we were before retirement.
Stella, Good day. British and British residents. Currently in the UK having exhausted our last 90 days in Europe quota. The property is is Charente Maritime.
@Jovis
OKā¦ thatās not āmyā department, thus my useful contacts probably couldnāt get involved.
but Iāll brood on it a little, although I suspect others have hit the nail on the headā¦ advising a longterm Visa with a view to Residency Application if you can meet the criteria.
Is there any area of the criteria which worries you ??
Stella, as it stands, if there is no flexibility, the yearly income requirement. I am now a pensioner with a limited income.
I wonder if being a seaman is a special category because of enforced nomadism, why not have a chat with the consulat de France in London. The worst that can happen is youāll be like everyone else, but you never know until you ask the people who actually do the admin.
I believe it is, and the OPs could have āmovedā to France and become frontaliers. However that would have required paying their income tax in France not the UK. And now they are no longer working not sure it would e considered.
However, as you say, no harm in asking!
The individual visa officers do have flexibility. Especially for retired couples it seems that many have been accepted with much less than twice the requirement for one person. If you own your own home mortgage free that helps too.
The amount has gone up a tiny bit, but is in the region of ā¬1300 a month for a single person.
Vero, Thank you. Yes, thatās as good an idea as any and as we have all the documentation to show it over all these years it could be a goer. I was once turned back from entering the UK with my first wife (American) and 9 week old baby so saw a buddy in NY having returned and one of his partners was dating a British officials daughter. One telephone call and we could return without having jump through hoops. Just goes to show doesnāt it.
Thank you. Iāll try anything. Rather be in a tent in France for the rest of my days than live (die) in the UK.
There are a few āwhat could I have doneā queries coming up now.
First tax and residence are separate.
Second thereās stuff on RIFT when you don;t have a āestablishedā home for WA purposes
Third - though out of time, there is an exemption / allowance right for good reasons - who knows, you might make it?
Bon chance!
Thank you. We have a week or two to ride out in the UK before we return to France to decorate the apartment with a view to selling but we will start to make enquiries while here to pave the way for when we arrive. It would be a huge load off our minds if we could obtain residency particularly as we always found ourselves comfortable and part of the place whereas the country I was born in has always felt alien to me.
You will! If you have pensions and own your house, and can show you live within your means (ie no debts), then thereās every chance.
If you are getting a UK state pension then apply for S1s, which will tick off the health insurance requirement. So another positive.
If you are selling property in UK ā¦ you should end up with a pot of money (guard it well) which would help in the calculations re Residency in Franceā¦ 
You do seem very keen and I wish you bon chance! Another couple of thoughts, As Jane says you can simply get a yearly visa (retirement?) so youāre OK on the residency. An S1 certificate would cover the health insurance part I think.
You could ask the consulate in London (donāt know how you might get through) - but theyāll probably say go to the prefecture.
Iād look for voluntary organisations which help immigrants - some might help you or give an opinion, or point you to an immigration lawyer? Essentially Iād have thought you need to formulate a ācompellingā reason why you can apply for WA after the deadline. Maybe āno internet at seaā or Covid?
Iād imagine your case would be considered in terms of āthe facts on the groundā - you are / were doing all the frontalier things except you didnāt get around to enrolling in the french healthcare system - the tax thing maybe argued as not so relevant as no French tax to pay?
Sorry, not the way to address it, me thinks.