Automatic Visa for second home owners - 20 December 2023 news

Visa Requirements
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The Senate and National Assembly in Paris have voted to ease the impact of Brexit on British second-home owners after pressure from French politicians who have large numbers of UK-owned properties in their constituencies. The plan is automatically to grant long-stay visas to British property owners .

The plan is automatically to grant long-stay visas to British property owners. This would allow them to spend as much of the year as they wish in France – and not count towards the 90-day limit in the rest of the Schengen Area.

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This is a very large and complex bill. Many, if not all, of the changes will require various décrets, arrêtés, and procedures to be put into place in order to be applied, so it is entirely possible that the full effects of the bill will not be known for quite some time.

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I am sure you are right. But the important point, as I read it, is that no other votes are required it is now an admin issue.

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Hence why I said “the changes will require various décrets, arrêtés, and procedures to be put into place in order to be applied”.

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OK, wow if true.

No doubt the process of applying for same will be complex, arcane, and need a lot of supporting paperwork - this is  France, after all :slight_smile:

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If so, maybe to protect our fiscal system from the fraudulent Brit white van man jobbing builder on a hobble and playing the system on the UK side too.

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Though until EES/ETIAS is implemented perhaps dodgy WVM is already in France working on the black.

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Cant we just enjoy this positive development albeit for a few days without our parade being pissed on from a great height.?

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My bureaucracy comment was tongue in cheek - if this is real it’s great news.

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Errm where did you read this? My understanding that this is dead in the water!!

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Yes, just read the stuff about it. But since the Gov’t are adamantly opposed to this it will no doubt be sacrificed at some point in the process.

I do hope so myself, as the principles of the French republic are égalité, and this is not that!

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It looks like there remain hurdles on the way to implementation, and that these may prevent its coming into effect.

Shame, because for many people it would have been great.

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There is a Facebook group called France Visa Free that has been lobbying very hard. Those who can use facebook might like to join and support. Sorry I dont really know how to use facebook so cant tell you anything other than to search for the group.

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Brit second home owners were EU citizens who through no fault of their own lost their rights; there aren’t any other people in this situation so I don’t see your inégalité - there’s nothing to compare it to.

I don’t personally know any people who may benefit from this ruling, but surely, as no other nationalities are unfairly disadvantaged, surely it’s good for the individual second home owners and presumably good for the French economy

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Clear cut - a law has been passed.

oh - maybe not a law after all - do senators vote for plans as well as laws?

" Brexit pain could be eased " - could??
exclusive - so not repeated by other maybe more ‘factual’ papers.

and on ‘maybe’…

UK citizens with residences in France may be granted an automatic long-stay visa - ‘may’

Though there is a stated fact in the article though -

“Visas for longer stays in France have proved slow, difficult and expensive to obtain.”

Is that stated fact true? Does the paper have the ‘proof’?

Or is it all independent puff?

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Brexit has been and gone 7 years ago, it is old history. And there are other nationalities who own property here like Americans, and who might like a similar arrangement. It’s a small issue since vast majority of second homes are owned by French people, but in some specific areas the concentration of foreign owned second homes is damaging to the local population so I see no reason why it should be made easier.

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According to The Connexion there are no more votes just the details/small print which could take a long time.

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No more votes, but a lot of negotiation. I I personally woukd not be putting money on this one.

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So glad I am a glass half full guy then.

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