I moved to France for work in 2018, and then August 2021, whilst au chômage I received my 5-year Carte de Sejour, following the withdrawal agreement (WARP).
I moved to Finland for a job in April 2022, and have a Finnish residence permit tied to my employment contract. I currently spend 4 months a year in France and 8 months a year in Finland. When I am in France, I work remotely and I am hosted at my old research institute under the justification of ongoing collaborations.
I told Pôle employ that I was taking a job in Finland. But I didn’t declare to any other services that I was leaving France. I still receive an annual Impôt sur les revenus (declaring I earn and owe nothing).
I am wondering what my rights are in France considering I have been employed and residing in Finland for 2.5 years.
My French residence card will expire August 2026.
Do I still have rights to healthcare in France when I currently spend time there, and if I return unemployed in 2025, following the end of a 3 year contract in Finland?
Would I have any right to left over chômage from 2022? I assume not.
If I were to have a baby whilst unemployed in France, would I have any rights to maternity pay (with father of baby French national, employed and residing in France).
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help answer these questions or direct me towards online information sources!
I’m a little confused…
Are you saying that each year you have affirmed on your French Declaration of Worldwide Income… that you have “no income” even though you are receiving a salary from your Finland Employer… ???
or do you Declare your Finland Salary to France… and France still says you owe nothing by way of French Taxes ???
Well I receive a letter in the post and I don’t do anything with it. I guess this counts as ‘affirmation’. As I mentioned, I didn’t declare to any services, other than pôle emploi, that I was leaving France. I can do this retrospectively I guess.
If you are a Fresh resident (which you are if you hold a WARP carte de sejour) you must declare your worldwide income to the French tax authorities each year.
If you fail to do so, then you aren’t fulfilling your requirements and I aspect all rights are terminated and you could have your CdS confiscated…
Which authorities would I need to declare this to?
I visit a French institute as part of my research collaborations. My Finnish employer authorises my visits, and the French institute authorises hosting me. Therefore I am suitably insured whilst being hosted at the French institute.
I also visit other research institutes in other countries, via the same system.
If, by ‘this’, you mean your worldwide income, it should be declared on your annual French tax return in your personal space in the French tax website.
Sorry, new to using a forum… still working out how to reply to quoted comments to make it easier to follow
Which authorities would I need to declare this to?
I visit a French institute as part of my research collaborations. My Finnish employer authorises my visits, and the French institute authorises hosting me. Therefore I am suitably insured whilst being hosted at the French institute.
I also visit other research institutes in other countries, via the same system.
Are you doing part weeks in France and the rest of the week in Finland on some sort of regular pattern commuting to and from a residence in France?
If so then you could research rules governing intra-EU frontalier working or " posted worker’ working in case there is some special provision. We are not experts here on EU-EU frontaliers or posted workers. You could look for a group on Facebook.
I’m also wondering (hoping) your regisrration with CPAM and Carte Vitale would be valid.
You could ask your HR dept but personally I wouldn’t stir this up unless you think they have the power to change the past.
When does your warp expire? You’ve hinted you may be unemployed and back home in France by then. Can you be assigned to France for more days in later part of your contract term if that would turn out to matter?
If above is not showing you the answers then I’d just apply for warp renewal when due, from your French residence which you’ve pretty much said you expect to have returned to by then (don’t forget to sort health cover.)
I expect there’s a reasonable path through all the bureaucracy.
You were here in France from 2018-2021 so will already be “in the system” somewhere or another.
If you are remote working in France, then your employer must be registered in France. It is quite involved.
If you are on Facebook, join this group, they have all the information you will need: https://www.facebook.com/groups/519650538719217/
Unless you previously put in place a cross-border agreement for your work in Finland then you have lost your French residence rights. With the WARP card you have you are allowed to be outside France for a maximum of 6 months a year with one longer stay in exceptional circumstances such as severe illness.
And the other factor is that you have not continued to make a French tax declaration each year, even if no tax to pay. Which had you actually maintained residency would open you up to fines for not doing so. But you are no longer resident then you don’t have to declare.
Whether or not your Finnish employer has done the right things re French social security is really their responsibility. And if they haven’t then it’s the research institute that is employing you while in France that is in the wrong.
So on the face of it you have no rights to stay in France over 90 days in 180. And to to stay longer you now need to get a new visa, showing you have adequate resources and health insurance as you have no rights to the French Health or Social Security system at the moment. And that health i surance should cover pregnancy.
Being able to use the unexpired WARP card to cross borders etc is actually irregular, but systems are not yet in place for border guards to join the dots and tell you what you are doing is wrong.
Once you have had a baby then you can apply for a visa as the mother of a French child. And the baby can be in health system having a French father.
You should certainly have told cpam when you left France because you have an obligation to inform them of a change in circumstances. If you are not on French payroll and have not resided in France continuously fir the last 3 months you are not currently entitled to healthcare. Finland should cover you while you are in France.
Have you checked your espace on améli? If cpam has tried to contact you and had no response they may have terminated your rights.
Re tax, either you should have been declaring worldwide income to France or you should have informed them of the date you left. Do you still have a home in France?
Do you in fact want to maintain your rights in France? If you do, you potentially have some disentangling to do. Although I think that in view of your absences from France and the fact of residing in Finland, technically your rights should lapse on expiry of your 5 year card, but France may be generous.
One’s rights lapse once out of France for 6 months with that card. It is just not policed so generally people can continue crossing borders etc until the card expires. .
I am not sure it is irregular. The WA stipulated that those protected be issued cards giving them rights for either 5 or 10 years and there is no provision for member states to terminate citizens’ rights early, or at least, not simply for having exceeded permitted absences.
I think it is a bit like a course of study with a test at the end of it. Even if a student has not attended lectures and has no hope of passing, officially they remain a student until the end of the year when the results are announced and they are not on the pass list.
The EU gave them 5 years to qualfy for full residence, and the decision will be made at the end of those 5 years for those who apply. If you have exceeded permitted absences you probably won’t qualify but I do not believe there is any mechanism or authority to curtail your rights before your card expires…
I’m not sure if one can hold 2 different Resident cards ie in 2 different countries… as this person seems to be doing… just wondering if the 2nd card cancels the first… ???
Ah well… hopefully it’ll all come out in the wash…
No I do not know either. Obviously a person cannot hold 2 WARP cards but the Finnish one will not be a WARP. But I do not think the WA makes any provision for a 5 year WARP being cancelled before expiry.
I suppose there are questions to ask/answer… how can one fulfil the residence requirements to maintain CdSWA in France, if one is fulfilling the residence requirements of another country… ??
it seems only 4 months spent per year in France and 8 months per year in Finland would make Finland the over-riding Resident permit… as the CdSWA requires 6 months of residency per year in France…(for the 5-year CdSWA)
or have I lost the plot… ??
and, perhaps the Finland Employer has special arrangements with France…
