# Questions for Spending Year in France for USA citizens w/ dual EU citizenship & passport



## Gamalost

Hi - So glad to have found this forum. Apologies if this has been asked before, but have some specific oddities that I'm hoping y'all can help figure out -- or point me in the right direction on...

We are a family of 4 planning to spend a year in France, from July 2023 through July 2024 -- with a bit of other travel during the 2 months prior (likely Latvia, Norway and Ireland).

We are all US citizens with permanent residence in Memphis, TN -- but the kids and I have dual EU citizenship with Latvia (though we've never used our Latvian passports). My wife just has a US passport...

What steps do we need to take with France in order to be able to stay for a year? Or do the EU passports mean we just magically show up and stay? 

We plan to just be doing work for existing US clients remotely, but what if we want to take on work in France? Do we need to do anything special for that with my EU passport and my wife's lack of one? 

Finally, with the dual-passport situation, a Bulgarian friend suggested that we depart the US/arrive in Europe on our US passport -- but then use the Latvian passports once there... Is that correct?

Thanks so much for any assistance!

Best,
erik


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## Peasant

Gamalost said:


> What steps do we need to take with France in order to be able to stay for a year? Or do the EU passports mean we just magically show up and stay?
> 
> We plan to just be doing work for existing US clients remotely, but what if we want to take on work in France? Do we need to do anything special for that with my EU passport and my wife's lack of one?
> 
> Finally, with the dual-passport situation, a Bulgarian friend suggested that we depart the US/arrive in Europe on our US passport -- but then use the Latvian passports once there... Is that correct?


1) Show up at CDG with your EU passport and breeze on in. Your wife comes in as a tourist on her US passport and the she applies for a CDS as the spouse of an EU citizen. It took about three months for my wife's CDS to come through (me with EU passport, her with US passport) once we were here. You kids shouldn't have a problem.

2) Working in France for existing US clients is illegal by most reports. FRance doesn't do the whole "digital nomad" thing. You might have to set-up some legal entity that can pay your French taxes and social charges into the French system. Other will know more.

3) Leave the US on your US passport, enter France on your EU passport. Going the other way you check-in at CDG with your US passport, go through French immigration with your EU passport, then re-enter the US on your US passport. That's what I was told to do by a French immigration official and it's worked fine for years.


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## Poloss

I confirm that.
My nephew and neices have dual UK/AUS citizenship.
After brexit they applied and obtained Latvian citizenship and are now free to travel, live and work in the EU
Enjoy Latvia


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## dpdapper

Peasant said:


> Working in France for existing US clients is illegal by most reports.


This is not correct if you are a citizen of the EU, or if hold a residency permit as the spouse of a EU citizen. As to the latter, see: Accompanying family : members EU, EEA or Swiss Nationals - Welcome to France:

"Once in France, the application for a residence permit 'Member of the family of a citizen of the Union / EEA / Switzerland' is compulsory and must be made to the Prefecture of the place of residence, within 3 months of entry into France.

"*This residence permit allows the exercise of any paid or self-employed professional activity, without any particular procedure.*"

That said, as a resident in France you would still need to declare and pay taxes on income from US-based clients.


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## Bevdeforges

The one small potential glitch I see in your plans is that, when you apply for the CDS for your wife, you need to provide proof of your "statut" - i.e. what you're doing in France. The available categories are: working, student or "inactif" which usually refers to retired folks. If you don't have a retirement pension, you may have difficult claiming that "inactif" statut. (You also will need to show that you have appropriate health coverage, a place of residence in France and possibly to prove your "financial resources" for your stay.) Without a pension or some reliable source of funds, you could be in for a hard time - though experiences vary from one prefecture to the next.


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## Peasant

dpdapper said:


> This is not correct if you are a citizen of the EU, or if hold a residency permit as the spouse of a EU citizen.


Check on the requirements in terms of "doing work for existing US clients remotely..."
As said previously, you might have to set-up some legal entity that can pay your French taxes and social charges into the French system.


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## dpdapper

Peasant said:


> Check on the requirements in terms of "doing work for existing US clients remotely..."
> As said previously, you might have to set-up some legal entity that can pay your French taxes and social charges into the French system.


I assumed the non-EU spouse would be working as a consultant or independent contractor and not as an employee, in which case they’d simply set up as an auto-entrepreneur (or other entity of their choice). But yes, if all you are saying is they need to register some form of entity to work under you are correct.

But it is not “illegal” to do work for US clients in France as suggested in your earlier post.


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## Bevdeforges

dpdapper said:


> But it is not “illegal” to do work for US clients in France as suggested in your earlier post.


The Brits and the Americans tend throw around the term "illegal" in a fairly specific manner that may or may not apply here in France. (Don't ask me to explain - I'm not yet recovered enough to be able to explain it all.<g>)

Working for US clients from France is a knotty issue - and depends quite a bit on your precise status in France. Ultimately, it may come down to the length of your stay, your intentions and a few other factors. First thing to resolve is the "statut" of the EU national family member and the various requirements for obtaining the CDS for the non-EU member of household.


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## Gamalost

Thanks all! More questions coming soon, I'm sure... Are there any agencies that can be hired to help a family navigate all this? Thank you!


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## Bevdeforges

As far as setting up a business entity in France is concerned, the CCI (Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie) is your best source of information and assistance. They offer lots of free information online (by departement) and have classes and consultation available for a much more reasonable cost than most private concerns.

As far as the immigration side of your issues, I can only kind of warn you that immigration is considered a pretty simple matter here and "lawyering up" can actually cause more problems than it resolves (depending on the particular prefecture you are working with).


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## Peasant

dpdapper said:


> I assumed the non-EU spouse would be working as a consultant or independent contractor and not as an employee, in which case they’d simply set up as an auto-entrepreneur (or other entity of their choice).


AE would work, depending on what you gross income will be (there's a maximum), and AE status doesn't let you deduct the cost of doing business, as does the US Schedule C.


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