Possible downgrade of non-EU CdS post Brexit

Useful Info
1

A slightly concerning article has appeared in Connexion

I have a subscription and reprint here because I think it may be of interest to SF residents in France.

By Liv Rowland

A couple from south-west France say their residency cards have been “downgraded” after storm damage to holiday rental properties they own and run as a business caused their income to drop.

Roof repairs made situation worse

Cashflow issues following damage to roofs in 2022 led the prefecture to issue them with one-year temporary cards and not multi-year cards as previously, they say.

The couple, who requested not to be named, have been living in France for more than 10 years. They are not British but of another non-EU nationality.

The situation worsened, they add, when insurance assessors assigned them a worker who failed to repair the roofs correctly – and caused more damage. He “made a mess, and left”, they claim.

Prefecture want to see regular income for non-EU nationals

The couple say they feel entitled to more secure residency status, having paid their taxes and social charges for so many years responsibly.

In many cases, where non-EU foreigners have lived in France more than five years with a stable income, it is possible to obtain a 10-year carte de résident de longue-durée-UE.

For those with salaried or self-employment incomes (usually not newcomer retirees/early-retirees), it is often possible to move on from one-year renewable cards to multi-year cards – often valid four years – in the first few years of residency, if prefectures are satisfied of their regular incomes and intention to stay long-term.

‘Third country’ rules apply to Britons post-Brexit, as they do to other non-EU nationalities, such as Americans.

———————

I am not sure if the WA CdS can be treated similarly. Seems that is a special and separate status, not quite ‘third country’?

I am no expert but just thought there may be members who would like ti be aware. Forewarned is forearmed!

2

I cannot imagine any prefecture having the time and staff to go round checking on brits here to see if they have enough to live on. More to this than meets the eye most likely and from that publication which has been known to get facts incorrect many time previously. They might have also got themselves into debt via litigation against repair people and got the prefecture involved. I think if brits were being persued we would have heard on the grapevine by now.

1 Like
3

The clue is always in the words Mr/Mrs X say or claim. It’s code for we have bugger all to confirm the story. Which usually means it ain’t true.

Statement from the prefecture - nope - copies of the letter obviously not.

2 Likes
4

Very sensible, @Shiba. I expect you’re right.

Sorry for :scream:

1 Like
5

We have heard of these “horror” type possible expulsion stories before and half the time, the real facts were not revealed behind some of the stories. Not saying where they came from and very little substance apart from heresay. Still you made a valid thread and we should all be aware if not french citizens, of our fragile right to remain here regardless of income and situation.

1 Like
6

CdSWithdrawalAgreement does give Brits the comfort/security of NOT being in the same boat as those who do not have this category.

2 Likes
7

While resting, I thought I’d dig a little regarding this

Même si une carte de séjour est délivrée pour une durée déterminée, il est possible qu’elle soit retirée au regard du comportement de l’étranger, notamment s’il constitue une menace pour l’ordre public.

Translated

The holder of a multi-year residence permit must be able to prove that he continues to fulfill the conditions required for the issue of the permit, with the exception of the case of involuntary loss of employment. To this end, the administration may issue summonses: if the person concerned does not comply with the summons or is unable to demonstrate that the conditions which led to the issue of the permit are still met, a withdrawal of his residence permit or a refusal to renew it may be opposed to it after a contradictory examination.

Possibly, something drew the Connexion subjects to the attention of the authorities, as you suggest.

Bit unfortunate but something else for new residency applicants to bear in mind, being British or ‘third country’ nationals.

8

Those with a 10 year card didn’t have to show proof of income. If it were true for Brits with a ‘WARP’ card, we’d all know at least one person downgraded by now. I’m sure there’s more to the story, and I wouldn’t worry about hearsay and half stories.

1 Like
9

Incidentally… if someone uses a bona fide Worker… that Worker should have the Insurance cover in place for his/her poor workmanship/damage etc etc… let’s hope this couple will get some funds in compensation …

1 Like
10

I understood the Withdrawal Agreement Cds provides the holder with the same European rights to stay in the allotted European country selected. Non-EU arrivals now are obviously in a totally different situation, but saying that, the publication does tend to publish some fantasy articles sometimes, which is what I guess they feel they need to do to entice readers with clickbait :grin:

2 Likes
11

I don’t read it but I have heard that ‘concerning’ seems to be par for the course with that publication. :thinking:

3 Likes
12

What is the shocking news about this?

If they didn’t already have permanent residency status then this is surely totally normal. You need to maintain legal residency for at least 5 years to be considered for permanent status. So the sub-text to me is that they never became stable enough to qualify for more than 1 year cards.

There is no suggestion that they had permanent resident cards that have been removed.

No-one yet knows what the procedure will be for 5 year WARP cards when they become due for renewal, the first one’s won’t be for another two years. Personally I hope that as a bare minimum the authorities will want to see 5 years tax returns, which will bar those who have illegally obtained cards. But I don’t imagine they will be able to apply a higher financial threshold than smic.

4 Likes
13

And the 10 year CdS holders still congratulating themselves on being tax resident in UK while avoiding paying both French annual taxe and taxe d’habitation on their maison secondaire.

14

The fisc have very long arms…

1 Like
15

Mean minded that I am, I so want a high profile case of ones of those being done for 12+years back taxes, fraudulent WARP application, and all the other admin they should have done.

2 Likes
16

I believe that 5 year cards were easy to get but I do not see how you could easilyobtain a 10 year card without being genuinely resident.

17

We got 10 year cards and I don’t remember it being difficult at all. Just acouple of documents.

18

Happened when France kindly fast tracked residency applications from Brits before Brexit finalised at end of 2020.

Some non-resident owners of a maison secondaire or boat with mooring applied. All they had to provide was document copies of the ownership and recent utility bills. If they had French property going back 10 years, and ticked the box for ’régulièrement résident’ - 10 year CdS obtained!

Basically fraud.

My SIL and her husband obtained 10 year CdS cards, adamantly ‘misinterpreting’ the term régulièrement résident to mean “regularly resident”, as in frequent visits, rather than correctly. What the definition in the formal residency application means is ‘In accordance with the rule, the law, the regulations’. My SIL called it a ‘loophole’.

As @JaneJones says.

2 Likes
19

Interesting article, thank you for posting it.

What it could also have mentioned is the torrent of information now routinely shared by fiscs with their international counterparts under the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEoI) protocols. At least 100 countries have signed up to AEoI. Brits claiming to “reside” in France but who aren’t in reality, should of course know that HMRC is an evangelistic, enthusiastic user and communicator of info on Brits to its international fisc colleagues.

I was initially surprised - until I made the link with AEoI, to see the routine way my bank here, CA, would regularly send me details of the tiny, sometimes nil amounts held in my CA accounts, as reported to the UK tax authorities, when I was UK resident.

Brits thinking the Impots will never know the full extent of their ties with the UK - beware…

1 Like
20

That’s because you don’t live in Lot et Garonne! I remember getting out the wallpaper pasting table and piling up the endless pages of financial information - last five years of bank statements anyone? Two banks accounts in France and five in the UK.
Sets for him, sets for me.
People from other departments couldn’t believe the hoops we were going through. I remember walking up the stairs of the Preferture on January 2nd, each of us carrying a thick binder of paperwork, feeling like I was going into an exam. In fact it went like a dream, because we had everything they needed (and some). :grin:

1 Like