# Moving to france with a young Family.



## Cristina C

We are planning to move to the Alps for 6 months next year and I was wondering if anybody can help me with some info regarding schools:
1. Are there any english speaking schools or bilingual speaking school in French ski resorts?
2. Is there any paperwork or legal stuff we need to do ?
3. Any good websites for finding accomodation?

I'm an NHS doctor but I dont speak french. Would i be able to get any jobs?

Thank you so much for answering any of the questions !


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## Bevdeforges

To move anywhere in France for 6 months, you'll need to qualify for an appropriate visa (thanks to Brexit for that change). Start here: Do you need a visa ? | France-Visas.gouv.fr

To work while you're in France, you usually need to have the job arranged ahead of time - namely ahead of your visa application so that your employer-to-be can get the work authorization needed to apply for a work visa. This can take some time. But working as a doctor - or in any medical related profession - is difficult to impossible for someone who is from outside the EU and who doesn't have French. Most health professions require at least a nominal level of re-training (in French) to have their qualifications recognized.

If you aren't planning on working while in France, you may still find it tricky to qualify for a visa unless you have some "purpose" in coming to France for longer than 90 days.


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## Crabtree

As Bev says you are going to need a Visa and show how you are going to support yourself in that period unless of course you or your partner (and in French law that means a marriage or civil union for visa purposes ) hold an EU passport.
You will not be able to work on such a Visa and if you do not have a job lined up you will not get a work visa anyway
What are your reasons for moving as if you tell us a bit about the motivation/circs we can probably point you in the right direction
Otherwise it is a max of 90 days in 180


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## ARPC

You might find a private English speaking tutor for your kids in Chamonix (because it is effectively a county of England), but otherwise the ski stations and resorts that I know (mirabelle, Val torrens areas) don’t have anything like that. Maybe in Switzerland that exists? It would be rather odd to enroll kids in a new national school system for only six months anyway, no? I have seen friends have their kids do online school based in their home country for medium or short term international stays (1-2 yrs or less). (Canada public schools have an option for this, idk about the UK). One resource for ideas might be New Zealanders, as they have been known to interrupt the school calendar to visit European family during the northern summer and have to find work arounds for school.
I’ve never heard of a doctor from one country coming to another and working (as a doctor) for a short period like that, except when joining an international aid organization and going to Africa with Doctors Without Borders, for example. Although the application and certification process is almost a year long. I’ve only known Canadian, American, and kiwi families do such short (but long) trips as you describe, and I don’t think anyone was attempting to work, as the trip was focused on another purpose and funded in advance as a sort of adventure time. I do know a family of 2 nurses who live in France and take turns returning to the US to work short contracts.


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## ccm47

Try Morzine in 74.. I know 3 little globe trotters who went to the primary school there from September '20 till April 21. They were all raised to understand French as their father is a linguist but did not regularly speak it. When the family moved to England in Spring 21 there were a lot of tears shed by all and they have since travelled back to the house in Morzine specifically to allow the children to catch up with their school friends. They benefitted from the time there as they learned about French culture, were taught new skills and can do all the things a French child of their ages can do. Clearly the school gets something right.
The resort uses English as its second language and is popular with expat workers in the middle East who buy property there as a European base. Geneva airport is easily accessible. This therefore means that it is busy in winter and in summer when people need to escape the heat.
Sorry I know nothing about medical opportunities.


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## Cristina C

I am a Romanian national so I do hold an EU passport. My husband is English. 

I dont technically need to work during our time there but I thought its a good way to get to make friends and keep busy. 

The reason we want to move to France for a few months is skiing - we both love skiing and the timing is ideal.

I have finished my training and I'm planning one year out of my NHS job, I have been working very hard for the last 11 years and I need a break  . 

My husband works from home so he will be able to continue his job from anywhere around the globe.





Crabtree said:


> As Bev says you are going to need a Visa and show how you are going to support yourself in that period unless of course you or your partner (and in French law that means a marriage or civil union for visa purposes ) hold an EU passport.
> You will not be able to work on such a Visa and if you do not have a job lined up you will not get a work visa anyway
> What are your reasons for moving as if you tell us a bit about the motivation/circs we can probably point you in the right direction
> Otherwise it is a max of 90 days in 180


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## EuroTrash

Cristina C said:


> My husband works from home so he will be able to continue his job from anywhere around the globe.


... subject of course to the employment laws of the country he lives and works in


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## Bevdeforges

As an EU national, you can exercise your "Freedom of Movement" to move to France for 6 months, but for your husband to be eligible to live and work there for that period of time he will need to apply for a carte de séjour within the first 90 days he is there. For that, you will need to have a "statut" in France - which means you will have to have a place to live, health care cover for the family and financial resources to cover the non-EU national family members. If you are taking a break from your studies, you'll most likely be considered an "inactif" which may mean that you'll have to produce some proof that you have a source of income (in order to "sponsor" your husband's residence request as the close family member of an EU national). 

Your husband will be considered as working in France for any and all work he does while physically present in France, no matter where his employer or business is located - and for that work he will need to be registered with the tax and social insurance agencies in France. To enroll your kids in school you may well be asked for proof that you are legally resident in the town where you are living, though I don't know how private schools handle this.


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## 255

@Cristina C -- In answer to your questions:
"1. Are there any English speaking schools or bilingual speaking school in French ski resorts?" You do not say the ages of your children. There have been quite a few bilingual/English speaking schools close in the last few years -- however the following website might get you started: Schools & International Schooling - French Alps Business Directory - Angloinfo . You might consider a French immersion program, in lieu of regular school (perhaps augmented with a home schooling program, to keep them on par with contemporaries back home.) You may want to talk to your kids UK schools to ensure whatever you do will keep them on track. My own children were in public school, private school, religious school and were home schooled in various countries. It may be worth checking to assuage the school bureaucrats.
"2. Is there any paperwork or legal stuff we need to do ?" I take it you and your children are EU citizens, so nothing for you all. As stated before, your husband will have to register within 90 days for a resident permit as the spouse of an EU citizen exercising treaty rights.
"3. Any good websites for finding accommodation?" Sorry, I don't have a recommendation for this one, other than a Google search. Best practices are to find a French website, vice an "offshore" site" with a markup. My daughter routinely searches sites and negotiates directly with owners to get a better prices for long term stays. You might also consider the home exchange sites, if you're willing to let your place in the UK be occupied to off set your expenses.
"I'm an NHS doctor but I don't speak French. Would i be able to get any jobs?" Not straight away, as a physician. You'll need to speak French at a minimum of the B2 level and register with the French National Council of the College of Physicians: International Relations . As per moving to any country, you'd need your credentials, academic, working, and testing certified in the "new" country. In this case everything will need translated to French and your dossier will need to be submitted for review. You might review this site: Euromotion Medical : Conseils pour s'installer en France . My daughter-in-law is a board certified ER Doc, and has citizenship in three countries (and working on a forth.) She has done this multiple times (not France) and has found some countries found her credentials were more than adequate, while others have required additional schooling/residency, even through she has worked in the field multiple years. (I had similar experiences working as an Engineer, in multiple countries.)

You might consider joining your kids in a French immersion program for both you and your husband. There are a couple of programs, that combine French study and skiing. This would give you a much needed break, after literally years of non-stop work with COVID-19, in your life! Thanks for your sacrifices and enjoy your family during your time in France. Cheers, 255


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