DayPerson

We're currently in the UK and mum is ill with infections but not getting the support we need to stay. Dad is considering moving back to France next year and setting up the business and language app there.

Which country would be better to set up a business in?

I know the French system must have a lot of strict rules, working hours e.t.c. but would there be grants we can access which we can't access in the UK?

quiltman

Sorry, did not see this thread before I responded to your previous one. things are now a little clearer!
Setting up a business in France can be a bureaucratic nightmare and needs very careful investigation. If he set up the business in UK , yes that is easier, but he will still fall foul of the French taxation system after , I think 183 days in France. Search the forum for "setting up a business in France" using the search button on the beige line above.
AFAIK there are very few, if any, grants for businesses in France and any there are will likely only apply to French companies. Others will have much more knowledge than I on this subject.
Oh, by the way, what citizenship do your parents hold?

dmu

Sorry, I didn't see this thread before I replied to the other one, either!
I didn't realise that your Dad was relatively young and professionally active.
IMO it would be foolish to consider setting up a business here. Without speaking French, it wouldn't be a doddle, with all the bureaucracy, and a language app would be useless....
What is his line of work? and did he work when they were living here before?
Apart from that, he would have a full-time job caring for your Mum (who, if I remember rightly, suffers from more than "infections"?), even with daily help...
A difficult situation for you....

cardi

Setting up a business in France is full of difficulties and is extremely stressful.
Setting up a company is likely to be a nightmare from which you never awaken.

DayPerson

Thanks for the replies, I know it would be a struggle to set up especially not being fluent in French but it's convincing dad and also depends on where we choose to live.

dmu

What about your house in the Limousin? If they/you don't move back there, it would have to be sold to finance another lodging.
My late neighbour's house (in rural Hérault) took over 2 years to find a buyer, after a substantial reduction in the selling price.
I think you (or at least your Dad) are being over-optimistic about being able to cope with everything, including a business, the most important being your Mum's well-being. Without wishing to go into details which I observed with my neighbour, I imagine your Mum having all the physical problems that my neighbour had, made worse by her Alzheimers. Twice-daily Carers and once-daily home help are indispensable. One person can't cope and remain healthy (and sane)...
Please be realistic!

EuroTrash

+1.
Alzheimers can result in unpredictable and aggressive behaviour. My mum had been a headmistress and was a very prim and proper person, and as her alzheimers progressed she started using foul language, throwing things and lashing out at her carers with her stick because of things she imagined they'd done to her. It would have been funny to see her acting like that if it hadn't been so desperately distressing and sad. She didn't recognise us when we visited, she was shut off in her own world which seemed to be a very hostile place. She couldn't have been left on her own for fear of her injuring herself or even trying to wreck the place or set fire to it, she kept falling out of bed in the night in spite of her bed in the care home having sides that were supposed to make it impossible to fall out, we could only suppose that she contrived to fall out on purpose. If the OP's mum reaches that stage it wouldn't be humanly possible for her dad to cope on his own. Let alone even think about running a business at the same time.

I have every sympathy for the OP but I don't see an easy option. I know it's not what the OP wants to hear but would the best option not be get rid of the French house even if it means selling it for peanuts? In the circumstances it's a liability rather than an asset in that it's preventing them getting any state assistance. And unless I'm missing something I can't see it ever turning into an asset because sooner or later the care costs will have to come out of the value of the house. If these costs are incurred in France then this will happen at the latest when you inherit the house from your dad, the notaire who deals with the succession will make sure of that. If you stay in the UK then I believe the UK will let you keep up to a certain amount from the proceeds of the sale. You won't have the house, but you will have some of the money and you will have access to care for your mum. Surely that has to be better than the nightmare you are living right now.

Also without knowing the situation, is Dad even in a position to exercise treaty rights and move to live in France? To legally reside in France he would need to meet the minimum income requirement, and I'm getting the impression that part of the problem is that his income is not high.

DayPerson

My dad and I cannot cope (I have IBS and am in the process of getting signed off sick with all the stress).

I can see that returning to France is a mistake but dad sees it as the only option because we are self funding in the UK. I've said that we'd get less help in France and I don't want to run a business in a foreign language. Dad seems to think he can use the app to learn French but he has a lot of bad habits (pronouncing the d on chaud etc) and I don't think he could learn it fast.

We seem to be caught inbetween a rock and a hard place. The UK refuses to pay for mums care because of the house in France which is on the market but has no interest and may take years to sell.

So if we stay in the UK and money runs out, then what happens? Both of us haven't worked for years and I have been jobseeking but I find nothing with my lack of experience.

The app we were writing still isn't out (with the stress, dad could not commit to just get it out to test despite my nagging). Even if it is out tomorrow, it will be at least 6 months until we get funding for it if we are in the UK.

EuroTrash

Have you raised this issue with him?
Freedom of movement is for workers, it is not unconditional for economically inactive EU citizens. To live legally in another EU state as inactifs you have to meet the conditions, and one of the conditions France sets is that you must have sufficient funds not to become a burden on the state's social security system. If your household income doesn't meet the threshold you won't be allowed to join the French state healthcare system nor access any state benefits.

In your case since you're an adult you would treated as two separate households. Your parents would need a minimum income of (at present, it tends to increase slightly year by year) 818.22 per month and you would need an income of 545.48 per month. Will you meet that requirement? Because if not, you would be living in France irregularly and therefore you would have no rights or entitlements.

https://www.service-public.fr/partic...sdroits/F12017 (click on Ressources suffisantes to see the income thresholds for legal residence)

EuroTrash

How hard are you trying to sell the house? Are you advertising on leboncoin for instance?

dmu

Not sure where to add this question, but since the OP's father is professionally active and wants to set up a business in France to develop an app, here goes....

What was his status before the couple returned to the UK? OP's mother was an OAP at the time, but no mention of how old he was then and whether he was "inactif". If they return to France, I believe he wouldn't be able to piggy-back on his wife's S1 and would have to take out private healthcare insurance for himself before being eligible to join the PUMA system or until his business is set up. Correct me if I'm wrong....

Is the OP showing all these threads to her Dad? Opinions from unbiassed third parties who live/work in France and know the ropes, might be taken on-board more readily than from a close relative.

EuroTrash

OK, I didn't know if mum had an S1, if she does then that would obviously mean mum and dad can live in France legally (until Brexit at least, and presumably afterwards but remains to be seen) as France can reclaim all the healthcare costs it pays out, from the UK. However the OP would still need to qualify in her own right if she wants to go with them.
Why wouldn't Dad be able to piggyback? I thought was automatic for spouses.

dmu

I had an idea that one couldn't, but if it's possible, then that would be one drawback less to consider, if Dad insists on returning to France. I think that the OP said earlier that she didn't want to return with them...

EuroTrash

I don't know for sure but people seem to do it. France doesn't allow ayant droits but the S1 would be issued by the UK, and if DWP puts both names on the form then France will do as instructed by DWP and provide cover to both people.

DayPerson

Yes I've been showing dad and I think he is changing his mind but I cannot be sure.

Dad is 63 and was inactif before (we've both spent 3 years on this app without a penny or cent in income other than mums UK pension). Dad was covered in France under mums UK pension and I got AME for living with them. But I don't intend to go back, I hated every minute out there.