FLeaning

Hello,

I'm a British citizen who worked in Australia and married a Pakistani woman. I am going back home and would like to spend a year living and working in France. We are planning on heading over start of next year. We have a combined savings of €40,000. I also plan to find work but I would like her to join me immediately as I move there.

Our plan is to get my wife a Schengen visa (which she is entitled to as my wife) and then when we get to France apply for a residency card. But help doing both of these parts would be greatly appreciated.

For the Schengen visa if I'm right in thinking all we NEED is proof that:
*I am an EU national (my passport should do this)
*Marriage certificate
* Insurance.

Am I right in thinking those are the only things that are definitely needed. With other pieces of information such as flight information, proof of how much you earn, and accommodation not required if she is going to be the partner of an EU citizen. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

The other question is what do we need to do when we get to France as this seems to be very confusing.

I am aware that we need to apply for her EU Residence card within 2 months but what is needed for this process:
*Proof of relationship with me
*Proof of where we live (Some form of accommodation proof)
*Proof of insurance
*Proof she is legally allowed into France (her Schengen visa)
*Proof that I am an EU national (my passport)
*Proof of sufficient funds

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I would love to get everything sorted out as much as possible as early as possible.

Thanks in advance and sorry for such a long post.

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
If your ultimate aim is to live in the UK, then you might do better to post again in the "Moving Back to the UK" forum, where members who have returned to the UK with their non-EU spouses via an EU country can give you up-to-date info and advice.
As far as I know, you would have to work several months (at least 3) in the EU country of your choice before you can apply for your wife's visa. Which means that she would only be able to join you after you've been working for the regulation period and have applied for the visa.
Do you speak French? Unemployment is very high in France and countless bilingual French candidates are chasing any jobs going. Ideally you should have a job lined up for when you arrive, in order not to prolong her waiting time.
By having a salaried job you would have healthcare insurance, but until then, you'd have to take out private healthcare insurance.
Hope this is of some help, but as far as I remember, there aren't any members in France who have done this.
Good luck!

graham.miln

For your wife's carte de sejour in France, you will need the documents listed on https://www.service-public.fr/partic...sdroits/F19315

FLeaning

Thank you for your responses

FLeaning

Let me try putting the question a different way if it helps....This is all hypothetical..

I am a British citizen who is married to a Pakistani citizen. Im going to travel to France from the UK in February and i have sufficient funds to cover the minimum 700 euros per month for 24 months. The week after I arrive can my spouse travel to France from Pakistan and meet me?

Once she is in France, we plan on getting a volunteer job such as working on a farm for 3 months with food and accommodation included. ( would this accommodation meet this criteria....'Indication relating to domicile: provided by any means')

After 2 months in the country, are we able to apply for a residence permit for her?

Is this scenario at all possible??

Thanks!

InVinoVeritas

I think it would be helpful to have a read of this wiki:- Surinder Singh : British Expat Wiki

I am no expert but I don't think what you are proposing is viable

EuroTrash

I think you will find all the answers here
https://www.service-public.fr/partic...osdroits/F2653

"Si vous êtes citoyen de l'EEE ou Suisse, pour faire venir votre famille, vous devez disposer d'un droit au séjour en France en tant que travailleur ou inactif ou étudiant."
...
"Les 5 premières années:
Les membres majeurs de votre famille (ou de plus de 16 ans s'ils souhaitent travailler) doivent obligatoirement détenir un titre de séjour.

Ils doivent le demander dans les 3 mois de leur entrée en France.

Dans un délai maximum de 6 mois, une carte de séjour membre de la famille d'un citoyen de l'Union leur est délivrée, sous réserve d'absence de menace pour l'ordre public."

etc

I think you've got your eggs and chickens in the wrong order here. Your wife needs to get her papers before she can work. As a non EU citizen with no carte de séjour giving her the right to work, she cannot legally be employed.
Not sure what you mean by volunteer job - France doesn't really do voluntary work in the context of commercial businesses, the concept of unpaid labour is very much a social no-no. If you do a job you have to have a contract and a salary. Working in exchange for accommodation is a very grey area as it avoids taxes and social contributions and is also seen as unfair competition, doing "proper" workers out of jobs - it goes on to some extent, but I think it would not be a good idea to bring this type of arrangement to the notice of the préfecture. Of course you have the right to work, as an EU citizen, and as long as you have accommodation that you can both live in long term, I don't see why that would be a problem.

dmu

This is what I was hinting at in an earlier post. They only intend to live in France for a year and I presumed, rightly or wrongly, that their intention was to live in the UK eventually, via the S.S. route.
The Carte de Séjour procedure is for those intending to stay here for a longer period, not as a stepping stone to the UK.
Perhaps the OP could clarify what their ultimate intentions are and we can advise accordingly?
I should have done a multi-quote reply, but, as to working on a farm of the Wwoof ilk, this surely can''t be counted as "employment" by the powers-that-be, and I'm not sure that coming with "sufficient funds" would comply with the requirements.

FLeaning

Cheers. I am just trying to find a way without really committing long term residence plans without making sure that my spouse can be with me. i.e. getting an apartment and a job and next thing you know she doesn't get RC .. :/

dmu

Maybe you shouldn't have mentioned "spend a year" in your first post! This led to confusion and possibly false assumptions.
Sorry to say that you've got a vicious circle to cope with - find a job and then an appartment (in that order) before you can apply for the visa and/or RC, without knowing whether your wife will get it.
Is there a particular reason for deciding on France? Have you considered the Republic of Ireland, or one of the Scandinavian countries or the Netherlands where English is more widely spoken, if your French isn't up to it (for a job)?
All the Best, whatever you decide!

FLeaning

I believe you are right
I think I will have to commit to some country for a while and maybe go for SS route. France was a country I have fond memories due to most summers spent there.

Reading various threads and posts on FB Ireland seems to be catching on people exercising EU treaty and delaying visas and RC (up to eight months). My wife doesn't want to just sit around and not work... as an engineer she likes to keep herself busy.
I suppose if you know any of EU countries that offer it RC within 3 months that would great.

Thank you!

HKG3

The language can be a problem. Does your wife speaks French? Is she looking for an engineering job in France?

EuroTrash

If finding work is high on your agenda, isn't it a little perverse to choose the country with the sixth highest unemployment rate in the EU? (9.5% as opposed to the UK's 4.5%) There's an awful lot of well-qualified French nationals sitting around and not finding work - and they're going to be at a big advantage in the jobseeking game over a newly-arrived foreigner who may not speak fluent French.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...-eu-countries/

dmu

There's a vast difference between spending holidays and actually living here.
Have to agree with ET and HKG3. Even if your wife speaks perfect (technical) French, she would have stiff competition from unemployed bilingual French engineers chasing any jobs going, and TBH employers usually look after their own, i.e. would select a French national over a foreigner with equivalent diplomas/experience.
What is your own line of work? The above also applies to your own prospects of employment....
I've just checked the S.S. route in the BE Wiki link given above - savings can't take the place of an earned income, so a job is essential, and one with a take-home salary 3-4 times the rent of an appartment. (See the "Renting" thread in the Read Me: Moving to France FAQs above for more details).
Sorry not to be optimistic, but even with a change of Government, the social/economic situation in France is bleak. Fore-warned is fore-armed!

HKG3

Would the new 'Sun King' bring glory to France?