Guyver

I will possibly be moving to France from the UK soon and would hope to get some good inside info

I have around £70k cash in hand but not in a bank account, do I just stuff the money into a suitcase on the plane or do I put it into a bank?

I will be arriving homeless in France, is it like the UK social housing system or do I have to go into a hostel etc?

What state benefits would I be entitled to recieve as an unemployed and homeless person?

I am a single male in his mid 20's just looking for a new start, I don't even speak any French but I am that desperate to leave the UK I would take the jump, I wouldn't even know what to do after I got out of the airport!

Thanks

Ka Ora!

Welcome to the Forum, What currency is the 70k in at the moment as 70k in cash is going to be very hard to turn into Euros. Without sounding rude can you prove that the 70k came by honest means as we have had issues just paying 20k from a car sale in cash into a bank here.

Guyver

It is 70k British pounds, yes they were recieved by honest means not sure how I can prove that though - will I need to?

Sue

Guyver,

Just wondering what your plans were with regarding to supporting yourself? Eg Not knowing the language it will be almost impossible to get a job and 70k won't last as long as you think.

TinaBee

Arriving in France you will not be entitled to any benefits at all, unless you claim unemployment benefit in the UK BEFORE moving and can prove that you are looking for work when you arrive, then you MAY be able to continue to receive some unemployment benefit for a period of time. Also, you would need to ask the DWP if they will fund your healthcare benefits whilst you are looking for work (this entitlement is based on previous NI contributions).

If you arrive in France and do not work, you may be classed as "inactif" and in this case you are legally required to prove you can support yourself (i.e. not be a burden on the state) AND have full healthcare insurance (there is no free NHS in France). There is a minimum income requirement in France and your 70k could be assessed to see how long you are allowed to stay (unless you can get a job or start a business and become productive).

My suggestion would be to do more research before taking the plunge.

cjm

Agree with TinaBee, you and anyone reading these posts need to realise France is NOT the UK. Chalk and cheese. Some might say UK is a free ride, if you can persuade the powers that be ...

France is not a soft touch. It's hard. Without language or a total focus on learning, you will not survive, unless you have independent means... and then some ... but I would not wish to change a thing ... perhaps I am fortunate ... in so many ways...

Im_and_Er

If you wish to carry more than €10,000 in cash through a UK point of departure then you are obliged to declare it to customs and conclusively prove where it has come from. If you can't and it is discovered then it will be confiscated until you can.

In France it is illegal for individuals to use more than €3000 cash in any transaction and as Ka Ora! discovered banks will not readily accept cash deposits in excess of that and just the same as UK banks are obliged to report large deposits, cash or otherwise, to the tax authorities.

How can you have that sort of cash and not be able to prove where you got it from anyway. Unless it is from illegal enterprises, and I'm not suggesting that it is, I don't understand how that is possible ?

Anyway, rules or not I think you'd be stark raving bonkers to carry that sort of money around. Why don't you or can't you put it in a UK bank, transferring to France is easy and virtually cost free if done sensibly.

For a single person renting a modest property £70 could be made to stretch for several years, there are couples who manage to live on little more than their UK state pensions (cica £12k/pa) so with real determination and effort your idea to move to France (it's far from a plan yet !) could be made to work.

I don't wish to pry but I would strongly advise thoroughly examining your motives though. Talk of a new start in your mid 20's could suggest that you may be running away from personal problems in UK and if so that is not a sound basis for moving abroad, be that to France or anywhere.

Bonne chance

Guyver

Thanks for the detailed info on the laws regarding money. I got the cash from a wealthy cousin when I told him of my want to move (which he obtained legally). The problem is if I brought the 70k over then it would be decided I have enough money to survive and not get any state benefits, I may have 70k but it would be constantly draining away as I would have no job prospects and no language ability. I don't plan on going to France and attempting to leech off the state but how else would I survive after the 70k ran out?

I would be dedicated to learning the language, going to college to improve my job prospects and basically creating a life, with all the challenges that comes with that.

Yes I am indeed running away from UK problems, big problems which the police cannot solve and it is not a crime I have commited either and I have moving around the UK attempting to escape these problems and that did not work - I've tried Cardiff, Manchester, Accrington and even Douglas on the Isle of Man and Dublin, basically desperate measures time.

dmu

Have you considered moving to Eire? At least you wouldn't have a new language to learn... Or Holland or a Scandinavian country where they all speak excellent English.
Please reconsider France as a destination. You wouldn't be able to "go to college" without speaking French, you'd have problems renting, since landlords don't take into account what's in your bank account, they want proof of a regular income. You'd also have to think about healthcare - the French Social Security system is nothing like the NHS.
Sorry to be a wet blanket, but I'm being realistic.
Good luck, whatever!

Guyver

I tried Dublin for a week and got the same old problem - albeit to a much lesser extent I got it in the UK. I toyed with the idea of Sweden for a while but it just seemed so alien and far from home, still a possibility though.

dennerlymum

If Sweden is alien then France will be more so+++ I speak pretty good French and still feel isolated at times

loy loy

I see a problem with the 70 grand. If someone gave it to you, then you are liable to tax on it I think.

I don't think you will able to get benefit here unless you have worked for 5 years in France.

I'm self employed and I don't think I'll ever be entitled to state benefit here.

But like always say, my info is sketchy. I don't quite know the rules.

We've been here a year now. The kids who speak all day at school now speak French. My wife who has done all the admin and school gate stuff can get by. I speak virtually nil. and need to get lessons. You won't get by without the language.
Even with lessons I think it will be years before I am fluent enough to work.

mikelincs

Don't forget that these problems, whatever they are, would easily follow you to France, especially if they followed you to Eire. This is particularly true if they are financial ones, which, reading between the lines of your posts, they would seem to be else why no UK bank account. When we were living in Spain we had UK baliffs at our door looking for the previous tenants as they had skipped the UK owing money.

Guyver

Nah mate it is not money problems or me skipping out on a debt, infact I only wish it was something along those lines - it would be less troublesome than my actual problem Basically I am looking for somewhere I won't be recognised due to being put up on the internet and I get daily harassment over it and did get the same harassment in the other parts of the UK and in Dublin - I doubt I would be recognised in France as well it is obviously another culture, and just to make this clear - it is not because I commited some type of crime it's basically public humiliation.

Im_and_Er

OK, let's put this very simply.

If you move to France you must have sufficient resources so as to not be a burden on the state. That includes full health care cover whether that be by an S1 form from UK which only last's for an absolute maximum of 2.5 years or by means of private insurance. Only after 5 years of legal and stable residence would you be entitled to state assistance of any sort.

By definition this means that you cannot come to live in France and claim state benefits, which BTW are means tested just as in UK.

That really is the top and bottom of it.

If recognition is the problem then perhaps some of your £70k might be better spent on plastic surgery and a name change by deed poll !