How to live in France for six months a year – despite the 90 day Brexit rule

Peter and Lucy Barker moved to the Vendee in western France last year, from Ivinghoe in Buckinghamshire, after the pandemic fast-forwarded their dream for a new life.

It was the sense of space, the gentler pace of life and food-centric culture that drew them, along with the dream of setting up a gite business.  

“We knew that moving to France after Brexit would be complicated. We expected a lot of bureaucracy,” says Lucy, 52, who realised she could run her HR consultancy business remotely. “Despite a lot of research it took longer than we thought it would.” 

France’s accessibility, climate and charming yet affordable rural properties continue to draw the British from across the Channel. According to the latest data from INSEE, the French statistics office, in 2020 there were 86,000 British-owned holiday homes and 148,300 British nationals living in France. 

In its last study on British immigration to France (in January 2021) the institute found “the Brexit vote had little effect”. Although 30pc of British arrivals are retired – especially in sparsely populated areas of western France such as the Charente, Dordogne and Haute-Vienne – an increasing number are arriving while still working, albeit they are usually at the end of their careers.

Since January 2021 British nationals wanting to stay more than 90 days in 180 have required a visa (unless they have an EU passport). It is also easier to do so if your spouse has one.

Yet still not everyone knows the rules, says Tim Swannie of Marseille estate agent Home Hunts. “It is something we have to explain early on. For working couples or young families who are buying a holiday home, it is quite rare for them to use the property for more than a few weeks a year.”

Buyers have to be more pragmatic now, says Mark Harvey, head of international at Knight Frank. “We are seeing more people keen to rent out their holiday home when they are not using it now that their usage is limited, and to help cover running costs.” 

There are also many expats still keen to tap into the tourism market of the world’s most visited country, by running gites or a B&B. There are plenty of charming properties with gites and land for well under €500,000 (£434,200) in the rural southwest – with modest purchase costs (6-8pc for resales).

Alongside Lucy’s business, the Barkers are about to start taking guests at their three-bedroom gite they’ve renovated at their home in Fontenay-le-Comte, an hour from La Rochelle. Peter, a keen triathlete and coach, will guide like-minded guests up and down the hills and across the lakes of the Bocage – to help attract visitors all year round.  

Peter, 48, a former chief technology officer, says: “We would advise anyone to buy a ready-to-go gite – rather than a renovation job – it’s easier to prove income in your business plan for a visa as you have to project three years of income.” 

The couple first thought they would apply for the “entrepreneur/independent professional” visa – based on income from the gite – but then realised it would be better trying for the “talent creation” or Passeport Talent Entrepreneur visa, using Lucy’s business (which required at least €30,000 in a French bank account). “The visa process took 9 to 10 months – we had thought it might take three,” he adds. “Yet we think our new life is wonderful and more than worth all the effort.”  

Nick Smith and Scott Bayley who swapped running a B&B in Llandudno, Wales for the Dordogne in southwest France, would agree. The couple are renovating the barns and cowshed at their property in the village of Badefols-d’Ans to offer glamping. 

Smith, 58, says: “The French embassy website (see box, below) was easy to use, we worked out we needed to apply for the entrepreneur visa and pulled together a business plan, helped by our previous experience of running a B&B. It took three weeks to get an appointment at the visa centre, then three weeks to get a ‘yes’. The process cost us €250 each.” 

The couple had to show proof that they had the funds to sustain themselves – around €18,000 (£15,500) a year. After 12 months they extended their visa at the Dordorgne’s prefecture (administrative office) in Périgueux. Smith adds: “The hardest part was the 100 hours of (free) French lessons we’ve had to do for our residency. But life here is even better here than we thought it would be.”

Graham Downie, of estate agent Leggett Immobilier, reports that most British buyers in France are looking for a country property, with land and fast broadband, especially in Brittany, Loire and Poitou-Charentes: “Working from a holiday home is a definite ‘thing’ now,” he says. 

Holiday home owners can work remotely in their French bolt hole for up to 90 days in 180, says Allison Grant Lounes, co-author of Foolproof French Visas, a 462-page guide, along with Kim Mousseron. “Living in France and working for a non-French company is where it gets tricky, because there can be implications for the employer,” she warns.

Employees of British companies working in France have to have the correct type of work contract, and the employer would pay social charges, and respect French labour law, she says. “Alternatively, we often have clients who register as self-employed in France (often using the entrepreneur visa mentioned above) who maintain the non-French company as one of their clients.” 

There are many other types of working visa but the authors, who also run a visa consultancy service, Franceformation, say that the most popular visa by far is the “long stay visitor” visa, designed for non-working people, especially retirees. 

“You can gain access to the healthcare system. It can be renewed every year as long as you can continue to support yourself [with savings or pension income],” says Grant Lounes. “But beware that it is difficult to switch from this visa to any visa type allowing work or self-employment.” 

Jenny and Malcolm Wright have no intention of resuming work after moving from Feering in Essex to Bonnes in the Charente in March for a retirement of “eating, drinking and gardening”.

“We wanted an adventure but waited until our grandchildren were old enough to visit us independently, plus Covid delayed our plan by two years,” says Jenny, 73, from their four-bedroom home with a swimming pool and over an acre of land. 

Getting their long stay visitor visa took less than five weeks, she says. “It wasn’t difficult, though all the photocopying of paperwork was annoying.” The couple had to prove a joint income of €2,000 a month. If you are in receipt of the state pension, you can apply via the NHS to get your S1 document for healthcare access.

With this type of visa the Wrights have become French residents, but with another type – the long stay temporary visa – you keep your residency in the UK and are not entitled to register in the French health system.

It’s crucial to choose the right visa from the start, says Tracy Leonetti of LBS, a relocation company: “This visa is really for those people who know they only want to spend a year in France.  If you decide to stay on, you will need to go back to the UK and re-apply.”

For six-month stays, there is also the “short stay visitor” visa, which is ideal for those testing out a project in France, or for those second-home owners who want to stay for six months without becoming French resident (one six-month visitor visa is allowed every 12 months). 

Senator Corinne Imbert, a French departmental councillor, has proposed a second-home owners’ five-year visa allowing multiple stays of six months as part of a new Immigration Bill. But for now it’s stick to 90 days – or take expert advice on getting a visa.

This article is kept updated with the latest information.