beflox

Ok, hi there.....

Right, I am moving to France to become a permanent resident as my partner is French........ anyone have any advice on the "official" things I need to do when I first arrive there??????

bourgogne

ask your partner?? better help than many of us have!

macadian

A 'Labotamy'might be a good start...!

Barbara Prod'homme

Where do you come from?
EU?
You have to inform your consulate first,
To get a visa if non EU
Open a bank account; in France, many things can't be pays with credit card, and we will have to pay a fees for Any expenses if you do not have a french bank account
Looking for a job?
First, "apprennez le français!"

proo

Join the social security system - me and my partner a couple of months because of all the bureaucracy (and he's French and even he had a difficult time finding out exactly what you need to do!). Either you or your partner has to be working and also get a mutelle (health insurance) with them. The health service is is way better here but you have to pay first and get then get reimbursed later (not always 100%). However, with the social security card (carte vitale), you'll get reimbursed quicker and any differences can come from the mutelle. I just got a pair of 400 euro glasses free via the secu/mutelle so it's worth it. If you intend on staying for the rest of your life - transfer your pension over, it pays better here than the UK (you need an E205 from the Dept Work and Pensions). If your partner worked in the UK, he should do the same. And get a bank account ASAP as you need to give account details to get a France Telecom line and perhaps other stuff too.
Bonne chance!

beflox

Thanks for all that

JAJ

One thing you might want to consider for the medium term is whether you'd prefer to be a French citizen , as opposed to just having residency as a British citizen.

http://www.southern-cross-group.org/...ip/france.html

You'd keep British citizenship however there would be other downsides, such as loss of access to British consular protection in France.

Jeremy

proo

You may also want to get PACSed if you don't intend to marry within the next few years. This can save you money on the tax returns that you have to fill in each year, however, the benefits of this only kick in after 3 years (I think).

beflox

Do you know anymore about the PACs system? Are there any other benifits, and is there somewhere I can read more about this????

proo

It's in French:
http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/p...0(PACS)&l=N144
http://www.france.qrd.org/texts/part...dedemploi.html

If you google France PACS, you may be able to find the info in English. You need to initially get a certificate of non-PACS (ie you're not already PACSed with someone). You can get it from the Tribunal in Paris (your partner needs to write to the Tribunal where he was born in France). You need a copy of your birth certificate and make sure you make your details clear in French. They managed to translate United Kingdom as USA!