davenl

Hi there

I'm a business owner in London, UK, but I'm looking for weekend accommodation in Lille or Calais for the next 6 months.

Would be arriving Friday evening, leaving Sunday night or Monday early.

I'd need to be able to register with the authorities in France as resident in France (but will only spend just over 180 days resident there - the rest of the time in London at my home here) so I don't mind to pay a little extra to cover the inconvenience of me registering. Initially for 6 months as I would look for other accommodation when that period is up.

If you can help please do let me know - Thank you
David

cyrian

Hi David
Welcome to the forum.
You don't register for (tax ) residency - it isn't a choice - it is a matter of fact.
If you tick any of the boxes in the residency formula then you are resident. You can't choose to be or not to be.
180 days is just one test.
The french tax year is from January 1st so it may be an idea to choose your date to move carefully to reduce the complications re tax.
If you spend less than 180 days in France and your business and main home are in the UK then you could remain UK resident.
If you leave the UK to live in France then you should notify HMRC and you would of course no longer be eligible for NHS services.
You would also need to provide health insurance cover in France.
If you are tax-resident in France then you would need to complete a french tax declaration in 2020 for 2019 and declare your world-wide income and tax paid. You would not pay tax twice on UK income but it would determine your final tax rate and would also be liable to french social charges,
Unless you have a desperate desire to be taxed in France then you should consider remaining resident in the UK.
Lille is handy for Eurostar with the station in the centre of the town.
HTH

davenl

Hi Cyrian
Thanks so much for that. My plan was (because of Brexit) to become resident in France and spend the minimum amount of days there, but retain my UK business (and work here during the week, traveling on Eurostar on a Friday and Monday). Maybe I am clutching at straws a bit? What I was trying to do is get a French Carte de Sejour (eventually) - to retain some sort of freedom of movement (that UK nationals will lose after Brexit), but still have the UK business and travel back and forth. Do you think thats not really feasible?

Or do you think even if Brexit goes ahead I could still spend, say, weekends in France but stay (tax) resident in the UK and retain all my UK links but still spend considerable periods of time in France? I was thinking Brexit might complicate things if UK nationals want to spend longer periods in mainland Europe? (ie. spending periods of longer than 3 months may require a visa - not sure if that means 3 months in total (over a period of a year?)).

As someone self employed, is it better to pay tax in the UK or France, do you know?
Thank you

cyrian

Hi
France's Europe Minister recently gave a Facebook chat about the future after Brexit.
France Europe Minister
She said that it was unlikely that Brits would need a visa for visits of less that 90 days in any 180 day period.
At present, USA citizens can visit 26 EU countries without needing a visa.
France wants its citizens to be able to visit the UK with minimum hassle.
Remember around 250,000 french live in London alone - that would make London the 6th largest french city.
I live in the UK and spend 1/3 of the year in France and I don't expect any great change - perhaps longer queues at passport control.
I will always keep my taxation in the UK. France does not recognise things like ISAs and you would be taxed on any interest or Capital Gains on such UK accounts.
I think that you would be better to keep your taxation in the UK. It would avoid having to juggle two different systems and the taxation in France is increasing.
The NIC equivalent is increasing to 17.5% from 15% although you may not have to pay all the elements of it.
You will not be banned from France after Brexit.

davenl

Thanks for all the info - Certainly food for thought. It may just be easier like you said to keep things simple - keep tax affairs in the UK and just spend time in France as and when, its probably unlikely then in that case that I'd go over the limits for needing a visa, etc.
Thanks for your input!
All the best

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
Independently of organising the number of days that you'd spend in France in order to avoid being tax-resident here, you'd have to find out whether it would be possible to rent a Chambre d'Hôtes, AirBnB or Meublé de tourisme every weekend for the initial 6 months. There are limits to the number of days per year that landlords can rent their property in these ways, and all rentals are declared to their respective Mairies who keep an eye on these things.
You may do better to come to an arrangement with a hotel, although some one in authority may notice that you're a regular visitor but not a travelling salesman.
Be aware that one of the conditions for a Carte de Séjour is healthcare insurance from Day 1 of your arrival. Which would be complicated in your situation, as you'd be paying NI contributions in the UK, unless your company seconds you to France and agrees to pay into the French Social Security. This would immediately make you tax-resident in France, having to declare ALL worldwide income.
Research is the keyword!

dmu

Looking at your situation from the point of view of the French Authorities (particularly the Social Security, ...), even if you aren't guilty of doing so, they risk suspecting that you, as a business owner renting regularly for short periods, would be "working" while you're in France, and would want you to contribute into the System while doing so. The URSSAF is a dynamic Social Security organisation, with data coming from many sources and inspectors not to be treated lightly.... Sorry to sound like a wet blanket, but this is an important factor to take into account for your own peace of mind.
It may be simpler in the long run to buy a pied-à-terre which would be your "holiday home" and there'd be no paper-trail of rentals to alert any one. You wouldn't have the bother of bringing over your belongings each time, either.
HTH

EuroTrash

I agree with previous posters, I don't think a carte de séjour is going to be your answer David. Doing the necessary in order to qualify for a cds in France, would cause you too many complications in the UK. Basically if I've understood you correctly you want to stay UK resident but be able to visit France regularly. That's a very different thing from becoming resident in France. Cartes de séjour are for people who genuinely live their lives in France, not people who live their lives in another country and come to France as a visitor. Moving to France means a lot of changes, it means coming out of the UK system and going into the French system, becoming subject to French law not UK law - you will need to change to a French driving licence, put your car on French plates, register your employment here and pay French social security charges (unless you get a workers S1), declare your worldwide income for tax in France; any ISA interest or Premium Bond wins will become taxable because these are not tax free to French taxpayers; there will be all kinds of consequences that from your post I sense you don't want. It's the usual story I'm afraid - rights and privileges on the one side and obligations on the other side, and you can't cherry pick the rights and privileges but opt out of the obligations.

To clarify it in your own mind if you're not convinced, I suggest that the documents you need to refer to are:
the EU Freedom of Movement directive (to clarify exactly what is meant by "correctly exercising freedom of movement" if you are a worker, and what the potential "statuses" are)
the UK statutory residence test (to see whether HMRC is likely to let you out of its clutches)
France's residence criteria (to see whether you meet any of them)
the France-UK tax treaty (to see how your taxation would be affected)

In practical terms, I would be very surprised if the UK would regard you as a "leaver" as per the arrangement you outline (and I don't think you really want them to, do you?) and you can't become primarily resident in France while you are still primarily resident in the UK; and I would also be surprised if you manage to satisfy the préfecture that you meet the requirements for a carte de séjour. I would also be surprised if it become prohibitively complicated for Brits to visit France and vice versa. I imagine there will be a bit more paperwork involved, such as green cards for car insurance, but that's an inevitable consequence of Brexit. Certainly it'll be less complication and hassle than trying set up a dual identity as resident in both countries complying with two different and sometimes contradictory sets of legislation.

Tweedpipe

All good information given above.
One other issue not commented on - the plan to arrive Friday evening, leaving Sunday night or Monday early. In theory quite an exciting idea, until the realities of the plan kick-in. This could work quite smoothly for several weeks, but one would always be at the mercy of delays and cancellations (very real in France if one keeps up to date with daily affairs) which imho would end in extreme frustration and stress. I wouldn't entertain it even if paid a king's ransom.
It would be interesting to hear from any regular UK-France commuters, and for how long they have been doing so.