moving
 

hi we are currently living in Spain and thinking of moving onto France next year.
As I work in UK I will have to travel back every month, so I would like to know if anyone in France has to commute to work, and what are the cheapest options.
I would prefer to make the trip by ferry, as I will need my car.
what are the best areas to look at for ferry travel, how do the costs compare between the different ports, do the ferry s run all year round.
we would be looking for a rural location with about 1/ 1/12 hours travel time from the ferry.
Thank you for any advice.

Re: moving
 

Hi, before you decide on where to settle and how to commute, you must first consider all the other aspects of living in France and working in the UK. There have been several threads on the subject of Tax Residency, Social Security, ... among others, and it doesn't sound straighforward.
Give us more info on yourselves -
Who are "we"? Will your OH be looking to work in France? Forgive my asking, but are you "legally bound"? If not, your Social Security wouldn't cover him if he hasn't got coverage transferred from Spain. Do you have to think about schooling?
Sorry to answer your questions with other questions!;)

Re: moving
 

Reasonable ferry prices are only available to Dover. This limits your residence to Picardy, Rouen is 2 hours from Calais.
There is a lot of good property in Normandy and Brittany but this involves using Brittany Ferries which are expensive.

Re: moving
 

As Cardi says, Dover-Dunkerque and Dover-Calais are by far the cheapest and have the advantage that there are lots of crossings..

Commuting isn't much fun in winter when ferries get delayed and cancelled and roads get blocked by snow and ice.

Re: moving
 

hi
we are me and husband. I work in UK, and am classes as a UK resident for tax purposes. My husband is retired. we have no dependant children to worry about.
I suppose my OH would have to take out private medical insurance ?

Re: moving
 

If your home is in France and that is where your husband stays then as far as France is concerned, you are tax resident in France. Each country has its own rules and you should check how this would apply to you in France.
There was a case (I think it was quoted by Blevins Franks) where a husband only visited his wife and kids in France at the weekends and holidays. The French government took him to court and it was found that he was tax resident in France.
On the face of it, yours sounds like a complex case for tax purposes and you check your position very carefully before you make the move.
If your OH receives a UK state pension then he will be covered by the UK in France.
Good luck

Re: moving
 

Hi, does your OH receive a UK and/or Spanish Pension? Then he should be covered for healthcare coverage here. He should be prepared to bring all the justifying documents in order to get registered. He would be recommended to take out a Mutuelle (Top-Up Insurance) to make up the 30% that the French S.S. doesn't reimburse. Speaking from experience, after retirement age, you tend to have more aches and pains and consult more often!
If you haven't found the pertinent threads, you may do well to start another thread concerning UK resident for tax purposes but actually living in France. Your OH's Pension would have to be declared in France together with your UK income as you are in the same "fiscal household".
Members in the know, who have advised others in the past, will soon come along to advise you on your potential problem.

Re: moving
 

my husband doesn't receive a pension, he is living off savings and my income.
I believe that if you have a main ( other home in UK) live in UK more than 183 days per Callander year, and don' carry out a professional activity in France, you can still be classed as a tax resident in UK.
Obviously still doing my homework at the moment.
I'm still looking into the ferry situation at the moment, as I will need to be able to travel back to the UK on regular basis.

Re: moving
 

with regards to ferry where would you be situated in France, and where you would need to be in the UK? Most popular place to go to France from the UK is Dover, and that is mostly to Calais. You may be able to go from another destination but this may involve changes, where as Dover - Calais is a straight journey. Other areas for consideration are Portsmouth.

Re: moving
 

Hi,
Your husband would have to take out private health insurance...
You need advice from a European Tax Consultant if no one on this forum can advise. (Those-in-the-know may be on holiday at the moment...). I simply know from earlier threads that your situation is a mine-field and you must tread carefully. Apart from your frequent visits to the UK, will you be working via Internet for most of the time? (= professional activity in France....)
The point being that husbands and wives are considered as being resident together if one spouse is resident in France, and, as I said, your joint income, including your UK salary, is declared to the French Tax Office which takes into account that you have already PAYE'd, but they would keep their eye on you...
It sounds as though this has been working out for you in Spain so far, but France is different!

Re: moving
 

we will have to take professional advice an the tax situation. I did work in Spain for five years, but de-registered when I returned to work in the UK. As long as I have a UK address and spend 183 days a year in UK, it's been straight forward.
As I said before, the most important consideration at the moment, is being able to get back to England for work.
We are drawn towards the nord pas de calais at the moment because of the travel distance.
does anyone live in the area ?

Re: moving
 

If you can swing it, working in the UK but having your family home in France can work out to be the best of all possible worlds. You get cover in France for yourself and your family via S1, because you are paying NICs in the UK, so you get into the French system for the price of UK contributions. You may find out that in fact you are classed as resident in France, if that is where your family home is (if you had no family in France, an identical working pattern would be more likely to get you classed as UK resident - it is to do with how much time you spend where but also, where you have the most 'ties'). In that case you pay tax in the UK but declare worldwide income in France; which will probably make very little difference if any, depending on your total income and where it comes from; either way you won't be taxed twice on any of it.

HMRC/DWP will have to make the decision on where you are tax resident and whether you get an S1.

I think that's correct, but don't shoot me if it isn't :)

FWIW, I lived in Lille for a few years which is not badly placed for driving to Calais and is a buzzing town to live in, I loved it. But you said rural, and rural it ain't.

Re: moving
 

thanks for the positive reply. :)