callumalden

Hello all, it is often rewarding to read someone's "I'm Moving to X" post, there's a distinct sense of one clutching at straws, where bare essential ideas (ideals?) of the OP meet dead-on harsh reality of the seasoned Expatter! Always food for thought. Here's my very own rendition of the "I'm Moving to X" post. And thank you for your time!

We (that is- Miss. Cloggy, Me and our small dog Flynn) currently live in Galicia, Spain. We've been living half-way up a lush green hill on the coast for a few months, its lovely, sometimes severe, ever so picturesque and very damp. Escaped the fires in Portugal last Autumn and drove here for some moisture. True story. Renting all the way.

We're both self-employed and derive a consistent income from online sales of our work, so this works. Not fabulously wealthy... but it works, and we're getting better at our own independent jobs every month.

My "I'm Moving to France" Bit–
As we never really meant to relocate to Spain, it has been fun. And delicious. But every now and then we'll find ourselves driving across the vast country of France and I become a bit emotional. I'm always quite sad to leave.

So we've decided to stay. Or try and stay.

North East Brittany / North West Normandy is in our sights. We don't mind slightly remote, as long as La Poste will deliver. Ideally we'd find a rental place on the edge of a sleepy town. BUT–even better a small city with an artistic sentiment, should such a place exist.

Although we have friends in Paris and Burgundy we don't really know anyone with an intimate knowledge of of Brittany. In fact (much like Galicia) it seems no one we know has spent a good enough time there to come to any conclusion of what it would be like to stay... for a while at least.

The Car Bit –
Oh yes, our trusty 1990 Volvo 240 is coming with. It recently made it from the Highlands of Scotland to Portugal (through soldering eucalyptus, literally) and up to Galicia (with a few trips to the Netherlands in between). We'll make it to France for late April. But the old Swede needs an MOT in May. Or else...

My currently plan is to import myself, and the car into the French system in May. Wild idea, eh? Being pushed for time, would anyone have a clue on how long that process might take. Say we sign a rental contract May 1st, AND I get cracking on declaring myself 'Auto-Entrepreneur' immediately THEN- find the right documentation for my trusty old car. Are we talking weeks, or most likely Months.

We have been living (and doing work) in Spain for the last few months. Burocracia is my middle name.

Thank you for your time. To conclude, my questions were:

• Could you recommend an arty town in North Normandy?
• How long does the process of registering as Auto-Entrepreneur take?
• How long might the process of importing my old Volvo take?

Thank you again, one and all for making it this far. Now, where's that emoji with the wine bottle... its lunch time in Galicia and lashing it down again

EuroTrash

Well, you have great taste - in my opinion you've chosen the best part of France


Arty towns - take your pick. Honfleur, Coutances, Dinard...
Registering as a micro entrepreneur - you can do it online, so it takes as long as it takes to get all the documents together and submitted correctly. If it's an artisan activity you will then need to attend a several-day course next time it's run in your area.
Importing a car - again the government likes everyone to do this online via the ANTS system, but in order to use ANTS you have to be already known to the central admin computer, with tax numbers and social security numbers and goodness knows what, which you won't be. So your best bet would be to go to a garage or another motor professional who offers the service, and see if they can do it for you for a small fee. Again, it'll take as long as it takes you to get all the paperwork together. You'll need to get the car CT'd (=MoT'd) first before you can register it. Unfortunately the CT test is about to be tightened up a lot, so if you can do it before this happens, which I think is mid May, the test will be cheaper and the car is less likely to fail.

Hope this helps get you started.

EuroTrash

Just re-read this and noticed that bit.
Where's the fire?
It sounds as if you think there's some kind of deadline after which you turn into a pumpkin if you haven't registered, but that's not the case. Unlike Spain, France doesn't have any requirement to register as resident. As an EU citizen you have the right to exercise your right to freedom of movement and move to France, and if after a period of time you can demonstrate that you have been living your life here as a law abiding citizen - making your declarations, paying your social security, paying your taxes etc - then you will have certain rights and entitlements as per French law.

The other thing is that finding somewhere to rent if you can't prove a secure source of income, preferably a French permanent employment contrat, can be tricky because rental agencies will mostly refuse to deal with you.

So one way and another, setting yourself deadlines and rushing at it like a bull in a china shop is a bit pointless. It's not realistic to imagine you can turn up in a town on Monday, decide you like it and sign a rental contract on Friday. Patience is a virtue, and especially in France.

dmu

Most French landlords require proof that a potential tenant has a regular income of 3-4 times the rent. And, if you use the rented address as the place of business, you need the landlord's written permission (unless it's a commercial lease).
Also, if you're both ("we") self-employed in the same business, an Auto-Entrepreneur set-up wouldn't work for a couple and you'd have to get advice about another business structure.
HTH

cyrian

Hi Callum,
I like your map prints.
You referred to your OH as Miss Cloggy.
If you are not married or PACS'd to one another then you have to look at healthcare where you would both have to contribute into the system to qualify.
The french healthcare system only cover 70% of the cost of most treatment and you make up the rest with an insurance to cover the rest.
Basically, the more you add on to this insurance, the more it costs.
If you want rural then you need to check available broadband speed because out in the sticks it can be non-existant or very slow.
Some people have had to resort to mobile network or satellite for internet.
HTH

callumalden

Hello Eurotrash, its funny how many wonderful and insightful posts I've read on this forum are by your very self- AND then here you are. Thanks for your two (Euro) cents!

Great idea, I didn't realise such a service would exist. If I am not a full-blown, card carrying (paperwork wielding?) French resident at that point would that be an issue with importing the car, or does the 'service' side-step that issue somehow.

Ah, yes there is a (self-inflicted) deadline on this. Our Car (British Reg, 1990 Volvo 240) has a valid MOT only until late May. Its in good condition and had a major service back in August. Shouldn't need any serious attention.

BUT-� to avoid traveling back to Dover (for an MOT) and back again to France, where the intention is to stay long-term, I thought it may be best to get the car CT'd in France and start the importing process right-away. Our rental contract in Spain ends mid-April we'll be in France May 1st.

... I think your initial idea of having a garage provide the importing service will be a good option. Especially as this is a 'classic' car, Volvo have told me 'COC’s are only available for cars produced from 1996 onwards.' so I'll need some input from the officials on that problem.

Its a European car, I guess that's a good starting point

Merci!

callumalden

Hello, thank you so much for your thoughts! Very kind.

Yes, I understood that our landlord would have to 'ok' our intention to work from home. I would try to get that added to the contract for official purposes. Might be a challenge but we shall see.

Luckily we aren't involved in the same business. Mrs. Cloggy is a fully fledged artist. I'm a printer. Our work is entirely separate. Would that be okay, or can you not have two Auto-Entrepreneurs at one address in France? Yet to look into the financial structure she'll require. She'll need an accountant most probably to crack that.

Thanks once again!

callumalden

Thank you @Cyrian for your input. I'll leave health insurance for another day... as there's lots of info in the forums about that specifically.

Regarding Internet- in Galicia we currently rely on 4G (with a router). Its €10 per 10GB and I'm using an eye-watering amount of data as they don't have unlimited data contracts here for non-residents. Well, 24mths. But that wasn't a realistic option.

Happyo to 4G again. Thank you!

EuroTrash

If you can't obtain a CoC, you probably have fun and games to look forward to because no matter how you approach it, France ain't going to accept a car that is not certified conforme.

If it's less than 30 years old I suspect you'll have to go through France's equivalent of a construction and use inspection by the vehicle inspectorate, which used to be called DREAL but I think it's all changed and it goes by a different name now.

However it's over 30 years old it is old enough to qualify as a véhicule de collection and there is, optionally, a special procedure for registering classics which you might find simpler. The FFVE will help you with this.
https://www.carte-grise.org/mode_emp...collection.htm

Mattsvb

I do not know if it can help you but I put this here if you wanted information about the import of your car
Member State of the European Union, whether new or used, are not subject to customs formalities. If the country has been purchased in a foreign country, the owner must pay the customs duties. 10% of the tax value of the car. the supporting documents required for registration:

A copy of the customs declaration
Certificate No. 846 A
A fiscal discharge Perform a technical control to ensure that the vehicle meets

callumalden

Matt, thanks for chiming in! These forums are always useful, yes the car was originally made for the UK market (in 1989!) and sold there in 1990. We purchased the car last year, from its third owner. We have proof of purchase and I had read in the literature that such proof is good enough for the French Authorities.

@EuroTrash - the heat is off. We are delaying our move to France for two months as we are traveling to the UK for an MOT and then to the Netherlands for a 'working holiday'. This will allow us time to find all the documents we require. Also, replace the headlights (which point the wrong way!).

One further issue- as the certificate of conformity doesn't exist for this vehicle (according to Volvo, UK) it may actually be quite impossible to import due to its age. Currently the car is only 28 years old and does not have 'classic' status. So I believe that DREAL(?) would need to inspect and this would probably cost two-or-three times the value of the ageing vehicle!

So might be best to sell the old beauty and purchase something second-hand in France. Sad, as its an absolutely wonderful drive, solid as a proverbial rock!

Thank you one and all! Travelling through Brittany in a few weeks, Dinard > Avranches en route to the ferry and an MOT in Dover. Fingers crossed that all goes well!

Related, I'm posting a new question regards self-storage: http://britishexpats.com/forum/franc...unkirk-911621/

- Callum

EuroTrash

I think you need to prepare yourselves for the likelihood that parting from the car would be the most practical option.
If it had been build to EU normes then Volvo would issue a CoC regardless of age. The fact they won't, strongly suggests it specced for the UK market and is not to the same specification as the equivalent model produced for the Continental market (if indeed that model was marketed here). If that's the case the main cost would likely not be the cost of the DREAL inspection, it would be the cost of having the necessary modifications carried out to make it fully compliant and you won't know exactly what these are until you've had it checked. But for instance, issues that tend to crop up are foglights, does it have one or two? If it only has one and it's on the "UK" side rather than in the middle, it will need changing. Is the windscreen and window glass stamped with the "CE" stamp to certify it complies with EU normes or does it only have the old BSI kitemark? If the latter, all glass would have to be replaced with CE-stamped glass - if you can get it and if you're willing to pay for it. Same with the seatbelts and anything else that's stamped to say what standards it was built to.
You could go through the car and check this kind of thing for yourself to get a basic idea of what modifications would be needed.