# Moving to France post-Brexit



## ammonite123

What are the options for moving to France post-Brexit?

I've read about applying for a year-long tourist visa (VLT-TS) which states at the end of that year of supporting yourself without work you must apply for a residency permit. But I can't find information about what the requirements for the residency permit are or what kind of residency this is. Would it be residency that would allow you to find work?


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## Bevdeforges

OK, since Brexit, UK nationals are subject to the same rules as other non-EU nationals. First thing to understand is that a visa is a document that allows you to enter the country (and must be obtained while outside France). Once you enter France legally, you need a titre de séjour (which is a residence permit) to remain there for anything over 90 days.

On an initial one-year visitor visa (not really a "tourist" visa, but rather a visa which does not permit you to work) the visa in your passport serves as a "temporary" residence permit for the first year. At the end of that first year, you either renew the residence permit (and get an actual card - the "carte de séjour" everyone talks about here) or you have to return back home to apply for a new "visitor" visa that will allow you to renew your residence permit. (It depends on what you stated as your "reason" for the initial visitor visa and whether you indicated your intention to stay in France past the end of that first year on your original visa application.)

You most likely won't be able to find work if you are on a visitor visa - whether or not it is renewable. The government comes down pretty hard on employers who hire foreigners without the proper type of residence permit - and part of the process of getting the visitor visa is your promise NOT to work while living in France. The "normal route" to what you seem to want is to find a job in France with an employer who is willing and able to get a work authorization for you in that position (the so-called "work permit"). Once you have the work authorization then you can apply for a "work visa" (which has a couple of variations.

The alternative is to do something like the Passeport Talent - which requires either specialized training and expertise or some sort of innovative business plan so that you can set up a business in France. (There are a few other options, like being a well known artist or performer and a few other categories.) See here for more information: International talents | France-Visas.gouv.fr


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## Crabtree

Basically to be able to work in France you have to have a job lined up and your employer deals with getting the work visa and must show why they are employing a non EU national or you must have skills that are important to France otherwise you need to show an income of about €1600 per month pre tax to be granted a Visa


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## ammonite123

Bevdeforges said:


> On an initial one-year visitor visa (not really a "tourist" visa, but rather a visa which does not permit you to work) the visa in your passport serves as a "temporary" residence permit for the first year. At the end of that first year, you either renew the residence permit (and get an actual card - the "carte de séjour" everyone talks about here)


Thanks Bev, this is the information I'm looking to know more about. After the year-long visitor visa runs out, you mention I must get an actual card - the "carte de sejour." This is the process I want to understand - what criteria do I need to fulil? Does staying in the country as a visitor for a year then allow me to apply for a one-year residency that would allow me to work?


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## Bevdeforges

ammonite123 said:


> Does staying in the country as a visitor for a year then allow me to apply for a one-year residency that would allow me to work?


Quick answer: No

There are two kinds of "visitor" visa: - The renewable one (where you indicate that you want to come to France for something over 90 days, up to 1 year, but not beyond that. For that type of visa, you indicate on your application the "purpose" of your stay in France for the designated period of time and there is the assumed agreement that you will pack up and go back home when the term of your visa is done.

The other visitor visa is where you indicate on your application that you wish to stay in France for "1 year +" which should result in your being issued a renewable titre de séjour. But both types of visitor visas serve as your residence permit during your initial stay.

With the renewable version, about 2 months before your visa/residence permit is due to expire, you apply to the prefecture to renew your residence permit - and if successful, this is when you will receive a separate card for your residence permit. The renewal process consists of demonstrating that all the same conditions that got you your initial visa are still valid - that you still have enough income from whatever source (not employment) to remain and that you have properly integrated yourself into the French environment (according to the latest standards).

Normally it isn't possible to change your "statut" (i.e. the category of your carte de séjour) at renewal time. The main exceptions are those for people who have married or PACS'd with a French national while in France. If you need or want to change to other "statut" you most likely will have to return back "home" and from there apply for the correct type of visa/resident permit. Just be aware that French employers can only hire (non-EU) foreigners already in France if they have a carte de séjour with working privileges.


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## ammonite123

Bevdeforges said:


> Quick answer: No
> 
> There are two kinds of "visitor" visa: - The renewable one (where you indicate that you want to come to France for something over 90 days, up to 1 year, but not beyond that. For that type of visa, you indicate on your application the "purpose" of your stay in France for the designated period of time and there is the assumed agreement that you will pack up and go back home when the term of your visa is done.
> 
> The other visitor visa is where you indicate on your application that you wish to stay in France for "1 year +" which should result in your being issued a renewable titre de séjour. But both types of visitor visas serve as your residence permit during your initial stay.
> 
> With the renewable version, about 2 months before your visa/residence permit is due to expire, you apply to the prefecture to renew your residence permit - and if successful, this is when you will receive a separate card for your residence permit. The renewal process consists of demonstrating that all the same conditions that got you your initial visa are still valid - that you still have enough income from whatever source (not employment) to remain and that you have properly integrated yourself into the French environment (according to the latest standards).
> 
> Normally it isn't possible to change your "statut" (i.e. the category of your carte de séjour) at renewal time. The main exceptions are those for people who have married or PACS'd with a French national while in France. If you need or want to change to other "statut" you most likely will have to return back "home" and from there apply for the correct type of visa/resident permit. Just be aware that French employers can only hire (non-EU) foreigners already in France if they have a carte de séjour with working privileges.


Thanks Bev. Very informative, as you always seem to be. So I may have to look into applying from the start for a self-employed visa. The issue with that is that even as a remote worker (from home, as I am at the moment) willing to pay French taxes and social security etc., I have a feeling the self-employed visa expects you to have a French client base rather than a UK one (at least partly, or even predominantly), even, as I say, if I declare my income and pay taxes in France.


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## Bevdeforges

Depending on the nature of your business, you could look into the Passeport Talent visa. (Seems to be a whole lot of interest in this lately here on the forum - check around on the other threads.) This would require you to have a fairly specific business plan, where you could start out with UK clients with the intention (evidenced by plans) to expand the business to clients in France or to bring some new and innovative type of business, product or service to France. It would definitely help the application if you had at least made a start on researching the market for your business here in France. 

You could take a look at the CCI sites in France (one per departement normally) to check out their information and assistance for entrepreneurs looking to set up a business in France (or more likely, in a specific departement). It always pays to be able to assure the visa folks that you have at least a basic understanding of how business works here in France and have done a bit of background research.


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