Flash20

I lived in France for about 10 years pre brexit.
ive got 6 weeks to plan and relocate with my 3 children (18,11 and 7 months) as a single mother. My older 2 were born in France and both have french birth certificates.

the more I’m reading the more I’m confusing myself.
my plan is to set up a business. It will be a earn just enough to fund us business I imagine (I’m not looking at this with rose tinted glasses on).
I have enough money saved to buy a small house and live very basically for about 6 months.

my 18 year old will be helping me with the business.
currently I home educated my 11 year old and have since birth. After reading the thread about home Ed being banned I’m rather nervous.

if we go ahead is there a company I can employ to help me set everything up. I can’t remember what was done last time. And tbh my ex did most of it.

we are looking at Brittany and that area.

Can anyone anyone help with recommendations please

cyrian

Hi Welcome to the forum.
Do you have french citizenship and passport?
Do your children have french passports?
I assume that you all must have otherwise you are looking at getting some sort of visa to allow you to re-locate in 6 weeks.
Good luck with your project.

EuroTrash

First question is, how long is it since you left France?
If less than 5 years you can return under the Withdrawal Agreement and things will be a lot simpler.
If more than 5 years, unfortunately you can't.

Flash20

EuroTrash

I think you need to do this step by step.
The first thing you need to do is to see if you can find a route to legal residence in France. Since Brits no longer have freedom of movement, ie they no longer have the automatic right to live and/or work in the EU, you can't just rock up in France and set up a business, you need paperwork that allows you to live/work there. Without that you're limited to visits of 90 days in 180 as a visitor and you can't work.
I don't know if you would qualify for a carte de séjour vie privée et familiale via the French kids. I was thinking you might, but on looking at the conditions it appears that one condition is that the children must be living in France. Which they're not.
https://www.service-public.fr/partic...osdroits/F2209
Failing that, I hate to say it but I don't see how you're going to get a visa that will allow you to do this.
Maybe the British Embassy could advise?

Either way, I think you will have to rethink your timescale. It's unlikely you will have got this sorted in 6 weeks.

Flash20

I’ll call them Monday. Thank you.
I haven’t done anywhere near enough research into this yet.

im on a time scale because I’ll be renting using the small amount I have after the mortgage is paid off after the house is sold. It completes at the end of next month. I’ll have enough to buy a project with enough land for an intimate camp site.
worst case is we go for 90 days (is rather rent in France than England) then go to Italy or Spain for the same then back to France again until a visa is sorted.

EuroTrash

That won't work unfortunately because the rule is, 90 out of 180 days in Schengen not in each individual country. After 90 days in Schengen you have to leave Schengen for 90 days before you can return. Your passport will be stamped when you enter Schengen and it will be checked when you leave to make sure you haven't overstayed.

Flash20

Crap lol
im just waiting for a reply from a solicitor about the citizenship by birth that I’m hoping my son will tick the box. I expect a no.
otherwise I will have to think of something else.
i don’t want to be in the uk again after the end of next month. So I have to make a plan work

calman014

A lot has changed since the Brexit and you don't really seem to be allowing yourself much time, besides not having done the basic research yet.

What's the big hurry?

You mentioned that you previously had a business in France? And you are not aware if it still exists or was closed by your ex partner?

You could be opening a can of worms and leaving yourself open to legal problems as well if this was not done correctly when you left the country before.

And if you want to start a new business such a problem could knock that on the head immediately.

As mentioned above, unless you have EU citizenship of some kind, you'll only be able to stay in the EU/ Schengen zone for 90 days.

Good luck!

Flash20

I found out after we left that he opened the business in my name (I didn’t speak french so just sat there agreeing to everything as I stupidly trusted him).
hes told me the business was shut down. I’ve just done a basic google search and it shows. It doesn’t mention it being closed down.

if it’s not been done properly surely it would be better to speak to them and sort it rather than just not return to the country I love and call home.
I’m planning to call the embassy Monday and see what they suggest.

if there wasn’t so much conflicting information it would be helpful to try and understand this

SanDiegogirl

Have you got permission from the father of the 7 month old child to take him to France?

EuroTrash

What conflicting information do you have? Maybe we can help sort it out.

Re the business, are you not in communication with your ex? Because France is quite big on accountability and things could get very complicated if you start trying to explain to the French administration that you allowed someone else to set up a business in your name, you left France 10 years ago and didn't inform them, you haven't had anything to do with the business and you don't even know if it's still operating or not. I would find out from him what the situation is first, so that at least you can work how is best to play it with the various administrations involved.
I can't even begin to get my head round how a business can have been operating in your name when you weren't even in France, and I suspect URSSAF and the fisc might have problems understanding it too. Do you even still have the same name on your passport as you did then?

calman014

Google is not a good indication. Your best bet would be to contact the local chamber of commerce to confirm if the business exists or not.

EuroTrash

INSEE will give you up to date info on the business. If you know the siren or siret number you can get an avis de situation here
https://avis-situation-sirene.insee.fr/

If you don't know the siren/siret you can search here https://www.sirene.fr/sirene/public/static/recherche

dmu

Hi, apart from the issues mentioned above, you must also consider other points:
- your 18-year-old wouldn't be "helping" you with the business, he/she would be an employee and you'd have to pay côtisations (social contributions) to the URSSAF and comply with all other obligations towards an employee. You would have to pay employer/employee côtisations for yourself. All of this would take an enormous chunk from your income (and would have to be paid even if no income were coming in....)
- as for your 11-year-old, as you've seen, you wouldn't be able to home-school him/her, and that age is particularly difficult for a "foreign" child to start school in France, at the best of times. Even French children find the change from Primary to Secondary a big culture shock (been there, done that...)
- as mentioned above, you would have to get written permission from your baby's father to take him/her out of the UK.
- another point, it takes on average 4 months to purchase property here (the search for it, followed by 3 months between signing the Compromis de Vente and final Property Deed). You could rent a gîte, while searching, but you wouldn't be able to use the address for setting up/continuing your business, and such a short-term lease might not be acceptable in the Visa process.
All this depends on your getting the correct Visa before you even leave the UK.... (Contact the French CONSULATE, not the Embassy) and I'm afraid that your time-line of 6 weeks will have to be extended. You can't reasonably bring your three children over for a 90-day period, hoping to get everything sorted on the spot in that time....
Sorry not to be more optimistic about your plans, but you really must do much more research on all the issues, and sort out in advance how your 3 children would cope while you're taken up with French Bureaucracy (purchasing land for a campsite and getting it up-and-running, setting up/resuming a business, schooling, finding a paediatrician for your baby's needs. Which brings up the question of compulsory private healthcare coverage until you're in the French System....
You say that you don't speak French - even if your 18-year-old is fluent, would he/she understand and explain to you all the Administrative/Legal/Fiscal/Social/Medical terms involved with your plans?
Hope this gives you food for thought. As I'm wont to say, fore-warned is fore-armed...
P.S. And there hasn't been any mention of Covid, which is an important factor where international travel is concerned. There's no way of knowing what the Situation will be in the weeks/months to come..... It might be feasible for some one on their own, but with 3 children in tow.....