Q If my wife and I and purchase a property in France and are totally financially independent, is there a restriction on the length of time that we can reside in the country?

Joseph Muir

A There are no longer any restrictions on length of stay for EU nationals who wish to enjoy their new home in France, whether to work, holiday or retire. There is no longer any requirement to obtain a visa before going or to apply for a resident’s card once there.

You may import your personal possessions without limit or duty; the same applies to your car, although those who have tried to dispose of a right-hand drive car in France will advise you to sell it before you leave and to buy a new car on arrival.

You may open a bank account but are not obliged to transfer all your assets across the Channel, and may continue to manage and dispose of them freely from France. You may marry, divorce and be buried in France, and your children will have the same options whether they accompany you as dependents or come to work. You are entitled to health care and may even be entitled to income support.

The length of your stay in any one year and over a period of years will, however, determine whether you remain a UK resident with UK domicile and are therefore merely a frequent visitor, or whether you become a French tax resident and perhaps acquire French domicile. These questions are important to determine where you should be declaring your income and paying your tax; what precautions in terms of wills or otherwise you should take to protect your family and assets; and whether or not to set up that trust fund before moving.

If you stay in France more than 183 days in any tax (calendar) year, then in principle you are a French resident for tax purposes, and should make sure that you submit a tax return in the May of the year following that in which you become resident.

The same residence rule can apply even if you do not sojourn as much as half the year, but effectively make France the centre of your family’s or business affairs. Ask yourself where your children are in school; where you manage your business or investments from (even by IT connection); are you registered with the French health system? Is some family member using your French telephone or bank account all year round?

If any the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, then whatever you are told at the local bar or neighbourly cocktail party, you should be declaring your worldwide income for French tax purposes and contributing to the cost of running France by paying income and wealth taxes, inheritance duties and social contributions.

These may or may not create a greater tax burden than you had in the UK, so it is worthwhile obtaining qualified advice in advance of making a permanent move. This is particularly the case if you are in a high-income bracket and are also returning to the UK for more than 90 days (days of travel included!) in the UK tax year.

From an asset management point of view, you will acquire French residence rather more easily than you will lose your UK domicile, so again qualified advice is necessary to see who gets what on your death; what you are free to dispose of and what will be dealt with by the French compulsory rules of inheritance; whether your English wills remain valid/effective; and what to do about it in terms of new wills or even a marriage contract.


Sean Pilcher is a solicitor with Girlings Europe