If you own a holiday home and
will never intend spending more
than 90 days there in every six
months then essentially little has
changed for you. You will just need
to ensure you do not go over your
allowance - there are a number
of online calculators available
to help you keep tabs on this.
Also, there has been discussion
on forums about the need for
homeowners to provide any house
guests from non-EU countries with
an attestation d'accueil, an official
document from the Mairie. It is now
believed that this is not needed
for UK citizens, merely proof of the
address - be it your second home
or your host's, or a hotel, that you
are visiting.
However, if you have what
is genuinely used as a second
home - where you spend half
of each year, or perhaps four
months every summer - then you
will need to apply for a long-stay
visa before you leave for France,
through the third-party company
called TLS Contact that processes
visa applications on behalf of
the French consulates in the UK.
Second-home owners are currently
campaigning to have the right to
able to spend 180 continuous days
in France (instead of 90+90), as
European Union owners of second
homes in the UK can do.
Until anything changes, there
are two relevant long-stay visas for
visitors: the VLS-T and the VLSTS.
They are just two of the types
of Long Stay Visitors Visa (Visa
Long Sejour or VLS), depending on
your purpose of entry. The cost
starts at €99 per adult for these
visas and the process should take
about three weeks. You will need
to show that your passport is valid
at least three months beyond the
visa expiry date and prove you
can financially support yourself
during your visit, have somewhere
to stay and have adequate health
insurance.
If you do not yet own your
home but will be staying with
a host or in a hotel, the French
consulate website gives financial
guidelines: a minimum is required
of between €65-120 per day of
stay, depending on whether you
can present a hotel booking.
If you are hosted by an
individual, you must provide a
certificate of staying with a relative
validated in the Mairie at the
request of the person who invited
you.
The VLS-T Visiteur (visa de long
séjour - temporaire) is for those
who wish to stay for between
three and six months, such as
second homeowners who want
an extended stay at their French
holiday home, but not to work. It
is not renewable in France so you
must leave when it runs out. But,
if you stay in France for less than
six months on this visa, after 90
days back in the UK, you should be
able to return to France or another
Schengen country for the rest of
your annual 180-day quota.
33
LEGGETT IMMOBILIER - LOCAL KNOWLEDGE YOU CAN TRUST
Holiday home owners &
second-home owners
Don't forget that Leggett
has now started a
property management
company and can look
after your keys for free
if there is a property
manager locally. Our
local property managers
can organise security
checks, gardening, pool
maintenance and many
other tasks. Full details at
www.leggettpm.com
STRUGGLING
TO VISIT YOUR
SECOND HOME?
If you are resident in France:
All residents need healthcare and
you must register in the system to
receive your Carte Vitale. If you
are working, either as an employee
or self employed, you will be
entitled to healthcare and pay for
it through your cotisations. If you
are a pensioner you apply for your
Carte Vitale as an S1 holder. If you
are an early retiree or economically
inactive you apply through the
Protection Universelle Maladie
(PUMa) scheme.
If you are visiting your second home,
or are a tourist:
You will need to have health
insurance or face hefty bills if you
fall ill. The UK Government has said
that you can use your current EHIC
card until it expires. If you don't
hold an EHIC card you can apply for
the new Global Health Insurance
Card (GHIC). This card will allow
you to access state provided
healthcare in France whilst visiting.
The EHIC and its replacement GHIC
remain free of charge.
HEALTHCARE