LucyR93

Hi everyone 👋 Hope you’re all keeping safe in this crazy time! I’m seeking some advice from people that have been in my situation. I am British and have moved to France a couple of months ago to open a restaurant with my French partner (unmarried). However now all plans are on hold of course.

My plan was to have a job, bank account, apartment and all things in order so I could apply for my Carte de Séjour when the online portal opens in July. The restaurant isn’t looking likely to happen any time soon. Does anyone know (in baby steps) what I need to do for my carte de séjour or to remain legally resident in France after all this Brexit malarkey is over with?

I am finding it super confusing and feeling very anxious in this already uncertain time. I would appreciate anyone that can give me advice and also would love to hear from people about their experiences in moving to France to be with their French partner 😀

Merci beacoup!
Lucy

EuroTrash

Easy peasy.
Get married

Seriously, you need to get married or PACS'd. Unless you have some kind of private income, or you happen to have Irish ancestry, I can't see another solution.
To exercise FoM you basically need to be a self supporting inactive or retiree, or a worker.
Get a job before the end of the year - difficult; start a business that will earn you a living wage before the end of the year - difficult.
Unless transition is extended or France / the EU decides to relax the rules, a PACS is probably your best solution.

dmu

+1, as already advised in the OP's other thread.
I don't know about the PACS which can be signed before one Official, but all marriages at the Mairie (and Church) have been postponed until further notice.
@lucy - you're in a "delicate" situation, unrelated to your partner, and with no income, no healthcare cover. If a PACS isn't feasible in the near future, you can at least solve the latter issues by looking for a job as from now, for example in the food industry, even in a supermarket. This will get you into the S.S. System and provide payslips, and when the restaurant is allowed to open and can employ you, you could give in your notice or even work part-time in each.
HTH and please give us some feedback!

EuroTrash

Yes, not sure what other advice there is to give - but, after you with working in a shop just now. Though of course as a young person your chances are better.

The bottom line is, whatever time you spend in France but not in the health system and not meeting FoM conditions, won't count towards your period of legal residence.
On the other hand there is no need to put in an application for a CdS as soon as the website opens (which may not be July in any case). What matters is that you get your act together before the end of transition. Even if your period of "legal residence" only starts in December, you'll be given an opportunity to clock up five years continuous. But the "continous" is important. It's no use getting a job for a few months, getting a temporary CdS and then stop working. To qualify for permanent residence five years down the line, which presumably is the objective, your dossier will need to prove that you met the conditions continously, month in month out, year in year out, for five years.
But, there must be many many Brits whose best laid plans have been scuppered by the health crisis, and hopefully the government will be sympathetic. Hopefully there will be announcements in due course but you can't expect Brexit and the plight of Brits to be at the top of France's agenda right now, its priority is to try and stop its citizens dying in their thousands.

If marrying your partner is an option, you won't need to worry about any of this.

scot47

If there is no impediment to marriage, why not just do it ?

LucyR93

Thanks for the replies! I understand marrying my partner would be the easy option but I don’t feel ready for that just yet. Perhaps a PACsed is an option for us. Has anyone else done this?

Also in terms of getting a job, as long as it doesn’t have to be done before July (as it’s not looking likely). It’s possible I will be able to get a contract somewhere as we have several family members also in the restaurant industry. It’s just whether or not everything will be done before the time restraints really as obviously we don’t know when businesses will be open again. I understand it is not the governments priority to push back these time limits however I’m sure there are also a lot of other Brits worrying about the same thing after losing their jobs etc.

Hope everyone else is managing ok 🙂

EuroTrash

If yoiu decide to enter into a PACS (pacte civil de solidarité) it is basically just a matter of collecting together the required documents.
You'll need to demonstrate that you are living together in a partnership.
Details here https://www.service-public.fr/partic...vosdroits/N144

As said, under current arrangements the transition period is set to end on 31 December. That being the case, 31 December is the deadline by which Brits would need to be legally established in France with enough of a papertrail to qualify for a temporary CdS. July is neither here nor there.

dmu

- From experience, it's not as straighforward as all that, to get married in France, esp. if one of the couple isn't French! I don't know whether any one on the forum has been PACSéd, but for either change in status, you'll have to collect together your Birth Certificate and other documents. It would be simpler to enter into a PACS (and, by the way, to terminate it) since an appointment with a Notaire would be quicker than trying to get a date at your local Mairie for a marriage. All marriages which have been postponed due to the confinement will be at the front of the queue when Mairies can start programming them again.... Check on the official Service-Public sites for the documents required in each case.

- I must have missed an episode - what's the significance of "before July"?

P.S. I wouldn't choose to work in a supermarket either, but if it's the only way to justify employment and get into the System as from now, then it should be feasible until such times as restaurants can open again . Prés. Macron is expected to announce a prolongation of the confinement on Monday evening.. Such a pity that this Crisis has come just when you were going to open a restaurant. You must both feel gutted....
P.P.S. Post crossed with ET's

Listen Very Carefully

If you are considering getting pacsed ensure that your partner and you both write wills as being pacsed does not give you the same automatic inheritance rights as being married and of course not forgetting any children that you may have from previous relationships If you can get an appointment with a notaire then ensure that you discuss this especially in view of the current situation
One other thing to consider which may help you in the future with a CDS is to perhaps volunteer in some form whether it be directly or indirectly Then of course if there is a problem you could perhaps get a "reference" from the voluntary organisation For example my wife's patchwork group is making gowns from old sheeting etc but not with patches obviously

EuroTrash

Was wondering whether or not it would be a good idea for the OP to register as a jobseeker, assuming she isn't already.
On the one hand, I don't know what the restaurant sector has been doing but the government has encouraged employers to put employees on chômage technique. If the restaurant sector has followed that route, their employees will be returning as soon as work starts up again and there probably won't be too many new jobs on offer. Plus, I imagine the government will be keen to get unemployment down so there may be incentives for employers to take on jobseekers to fill vacancies. What I don't know, is whether there will be a distinction between jobseekers who are receiving benefits and jobseekers who aren't (presumably the OP won't be getting chômage if she hasn't been employed in France yet). If all that matters is being a registered jobseeker, the OP might find herself at a disadvantage if she wasn't registered.
But another thing I don't know, is whether having been registered unemployed whilst in France would be a negative thing on a CdS application.
Maybe other forum members have advice on this?
I guess it depends what contacts the OP has. She says "it's possible" which doesn't sound too confident. If it were me, and getting a job before the end of the year was crucial to my plans, I think I would be putting my cards on the table at this stage and talking to people with inside experience of the sector, to sound out what the prospects are. We can hope that Johnson's near death experience has changed his views but I wouldn't bet on it so I think it's important to be proactive rather than reactive.

dmu

Useful comments to research on!
Except that we're in France and whatever BoJo's (I'd almost forgotten his surname) views are/were, it's the French Government holding the reins here!!

I still say that, since the OP can't be classified as being au chômage technique as she hasn't starting working yet, if getting a job is crucial to her future plans and even present life, a lowly (temporary) job is better than no job at all.... Meanwhile her French bf (and "other family members" if they're French) will be keeping up to date on the future prospects in the French restaurant industry....)
As you say, the OP should be proactive - advice given on a forum is supportive but insufficient if no action is taken....

EuroTrash

Well, with the best will in the world the French government can't extend transition if BoJo won't agree to it.
To me it seems obscene to stick to 31 Dec - on the one hand I don't see how it will be possible to reach a comprehensive deal in time given the situation, and on the other hand so many Brits have had their plans to move to the EU disrupted and giving them more time to get back on track seems the only decent thing to do - but Johnson has done plenty of obscene things in the past and the last thing he said was that there will be no extension.

dmu

Sorry, I thought you were talking about the employment situation in France, not the transition period.

EuroTrash

My fault I didn't make it clear

dmu

Unfortunately, as you must have heard, cafés, restaurants, hotels, etc.... are unlikely to be able to re-open before mid-July. Deconfinement conditions on May 11th will not be for all categories of activities, there will still be restrictions in order to prevent too many people gathering in one place, e.g. cinemas, theatres, festivals, etc.... (Presumably schools will be suitably organised....)
A very hard time for every one running businesses or employed in these sectors....