The simple answer is "This is France!". Why make things simple when you can make it mind bendingly difficult and frustrating seems to be their motto 
We do love living here though. If you can deal with the French system, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks
Bonne courage! |
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"I live in France as well. We are in dept 74 in Annecy. Fab location for lake, mountains and beautiful town. Love living here never going anywhere else..."
We were there last summer for a couple of nights, and it's a truly stunning location.
Heaving in the old town at night, though. |
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"The simple answer is "This is France!". Why make things simple when you can make it mind bendingly difficult and frustrating seems to be their motto
We do love living here though. If you can deal with the French system, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks
Bonne courage!"
Until we are free from parent duties that wont be happening. Mandy's dad is mid ninties, his sharp as a razor lives alone and we cant leave him so meantime we jump the hoops!
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It's is truly lovely, but yes it can get extremely busy July and August, but out with that it's always busy but very manageable. If you're ever this way again let me know and I can show you around ???? |
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By *coptoCouple
over a year ago
Côte d'Azur & Great Yarmouth |
Good Luck, keep on keeping on, at least you know it’s not a prejudice or racist thing, French citizens are treated exactly the same way! To import a car here, we needed a Quitas Fiscal, in theory a simple proof that VAT has been paid somewhere or other in the EU. All that’s needed is to produce the UK dealer’s invoice (yes, once upon a time the UK was part of the EU) and have the details confirmed on the French paperwork. But where, local tax office perhaps? Nah, not me guv, it’s the Gendarmerie. Stop wasting Police time, go to the main tax office in Draguignan. You don’t have an address in Draguignan, go to your local tax office. Phone the tax office in St Tropez (again!), speak to a different woman: if you’ve got the original invoice, bring it along and I’ll do it while you wait. In and out in five minutes, no charge. Now THAT’s France!
I’ve got a Carte de Séjour so exempt from visas and the 90-day rule, but that’s only for France so I’ve still got problems throughout the rest of Europe. And to avoid a 90 day limit to the UK, my German wife had to go through similar rigmarole to get “settled status”. Thank God the kids have dual nationality! |
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Before we moved here, we chatted to a French lawyer about house buying and other such stuff connected with the move.
He explained things extremely well. So much that our faces glazed over, petrified at the thought of dealing with all the paperwork involved in moving countries.
He smiled and said "Remember this. We invented the word bureaucracy and we're doing our best to make sure the whole world knows it...!"
He wasn't wrong....
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"Before we moved here, we chatted to a French lawyer about house buying and other such stuff connected with the move.
He explained things extremely well. So much that our faces glazed over, petrified at the thought of dealing with all the paperwork involved in moving countries.
He smiled and said "Remember this. We invented the word bureaucracy and we're doing our best to make sure the whole world knows it...!"
He wasn't wrong....
"
well that made us both chuckle, we owned a family property in cyprus for 20 odd years before brexit. They had a simple routine for most problems shrug your shoulders say you dint understand and walk away. If followed tell the person ciga ciga (slowly slowly). How the world changes for the better right?  |
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By *ucianpoundCouple
over a year ago
Cap d’Agde, France |
Yes the level of bureaucracy is infuriating and time consuming but there are other benefits.
Since become tax resident here we’ve noticed that we pay less income tax than in the UK and can apply for various cash back schemes and discounts on house improvements or even buying electric bikes plus we have access to a first class health system.
Just got to make sure you fill all the forms in triplicate and tick every box! |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Agree the bureaucracy is tedious, getting our carte de séjour was fun! The plus side is,for example; on market days our insurance company opens an branch office in the town so you can actually speak to someone rather then press 1, for this press 2 for that on the telephone.
I also wonder if the problems are possibly exacerbated by not speaking the language as a native and knowing the system? After all I wouldn't go to the Police station in England to try and pay a tax bill. |
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ours elapsed 01/10/2022 or 2022-10-01! So we need to apply 02/04/2023 or 2023-04-02 thats just in the 20 day recomended date. Fingers crossed that they are not inundated with people applying for the two week annual holiday visas 
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Must be an easier way to do this. Why restrict the application date if the travel date isnt until after the 6 months expiry date? 
