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Reader question: Can I retire to France and open a gîte?

For those who are ready to give up the day job but want to remain active (and earn some money) retiring to France and opening up a gîte, B&B or similar holiday rental has long been a popular option. But Brexit has made this more difficult for Brits.

Published: 19 April 2023 16:33 CEST
Updated: 22 April 2023 12:08 CEST

Reader question: Can I retire to France and open a gîte?

(Photo by MYCHELE DANIAU / AFP)

The tourist industry is a popular one for foreigners in France to work in, and opening and running a gîte – a type of furnished, short-term rental accommodation commonly-used in France – is convenient for people who have their own property.

Over the years it’s been a common route for Brits moving to France to take early retirement from their day job in the UK, and instead run a tourism-related business in France.

But Brexit has made this more complicated.

Here’s a look at the options for people moving to France and those already in France – whether they are EU or non-EU citizens.

Moving to France

If you’re not already in France and you plan to move here and open up your gîte or similar, you need to consider your residency status.

If you are a citizen of an EU country (including Ireland) you can move without a visa – but if you are a non-EU citizen (including Brits) you will need a visa.

And visas are where the ‘retire and open up a gîte’ plan can run into trouble.

The reason for this is that there are different types of visa depending on what you want to do – you can find the full list HERE, but most retirees opt for the ‘long-stay visitor visa’.

This visa, however, requires an undertaking that you will not work in France.

The Local spoke with immigration attorney Maître Valerie Maricot with immigration attorney/partner with CMG LEGAL to understand the French rules and regulations on this subject.

When it comes to seeking advice opening a gîte in France, Maricot noted that “a lot of the answers online about how to open a gîte in France are geared toward a general public in France who it is assumed to have the right to work already”.

“To start, we must clarify one thing. With visitor visa status, it is not possible to exercise a professional activity in France, and therefore it is not possible legally to open and run a gîte in France . . . French authorities would require that a residency permit authorises this activity.”

Hypothetically, if you buy a gîte and pay someone else to run it and you are not involved, then that is a different story.

“But as soon as you are physically there and it is you who is running the activity, then you must have the right to engage in that professional activity”, Maricot said.

So if you want to run any business in France – including a gîte, B&B or similar, you will need a working visa.

The most suitable for this type of activity for most people it the “self-employed person or liberal activity” visa, which has its own requirements, including a detailed business plan and minimum income levels.

Unfortunately, this visa is difficult to apply for when opening a gîte for the first time, as you will need to demonstrate the economic viability of your project and prove that you have sufficient financial resources to support yourself.

This is generally worked out as the equivalent of the minimum legal wage in France for a full-time worker, which currently stands at €16,000 after tax for one person or €32,000 for a couple.

Maricot explained: “For third country nationals who want to open a gîte in France and who do not already live here, there are a couple of options.

“The first option is to request a ‘self-employed person or liberal activity’ (entrepeneur/ profession libérale) visa, which involves submitting a lot of documentation and a business plan.

“Sometimes the consulate will even ask for proof of the creation of the activity in France, which is a bit of a Catch-22. Basically, this will require that you have visited France several times to get the information necessary.

“Another option is to request the visitor visa to first move to France. But remember, you cannot work. It is out of the question that you can open the gîte and welcome people while a ‘visitor’ – but you can start preparing your project.

“Then after your first year on a visitor visa, you can request a change in status from visiteur to entrepeneur. This still requires many documents, like the business plan, but it will give you a margin of time.

“You could also apply – after five years of stable residence in France – for a 10 year residency card. This allows all types of work. But beware of two things: you must wait five years to apply and there is always a chance it won’t be accepted”, Maricot explained.

The other thing that you need to be aware of is that your visa and residency card will need to be regularly renewed – for most people a one-year residency card is standard when they first arrive.

Maricot added: “Regardless of which visa you apply for, you must remember that the next year you will need to prove that you stuck to the rules and requirements of that visa – so for the ‘self-employed visa’ you will have to show that you generated the minimum funds necessary to get it renewed.”

If you want to learn more about renting with Airbnb, which is a different process, you can click HERE.

Already in France

If you’re already in France, the plan of retiring from your day job and running a gîte depends on what type of visa or residency permit you have.

If you have a carte de séjour plurianuelle or any other type of long-term residency (which includes all Brits covered by the Withdrawal Agreement – ie those who moved here before 2021) then your right of residency allows you to do all types of work. This means you can go ahead and open the gîte without worrying about your right to stay in France (although you will need to look at business registration and tax implications – more in that below).

If you have a short-term residency card or a visa, then you may not be able to open a business, depending on the type of visa/residency that you have. If you have a residency tied to a certain status – eg student, retiree, salaried employee – you will need to look at whether it is possible to change your status and become self-employed.

You can find more details on changing your status HERE.

Citizen of an EU country

If you have citizenship of an EU country, then freedom of movement gives you the right to live and work in France, without requiring any extra permit.

That means that you can either move here and open up the business, or if you are already here change your life and open up your gîte. You will, however, need to look into business registration and tax implications.

Business registration and taxes

This can be a bit of a grey area when it comes to opening a gîte. Technically, French law recognises two different types of gîtes – one that is a “furnished rental maintained on a non-professional basis” and one that is maintained on a “professional” basis.

For the “non-professional” gîte (louer de meublé non professionnel – or LMNP), earnings must not exceed €23,000 yearly.

Additionally, for this status, your gîte income must be considered ‘secondary’ – smaller than any other sources of income that you have (eg a salary, income from freelance work or a pension).

If you are looking to earn more than €23,000 yearly on a gîte in France, then this would constitute your ‘main professional activity’.

It’s important to note that this threshold has to do with your tax regime in France – not your immigration status. Earning below €23,000 on the gîte does not mean that you qualify for the ‘non-working’ visitor visa.

“It is out of the question legally to have a visitor visa and say because I have earned very little money on the gîte that it is not in violation of my visa”, Maricot said.

Necessary paperwork

Whichever one you choose, first, you will have to register the gîte. You will thus have to declare it to your town hall by completing a Cerfa form, found HERE.

Next, you must determine if you will run the gîte as a non-professional letting or a professional one.

The document to be completed is the P0i form “Declaration of the start of activity – Natural person exercising an independent self-employed activity” Cerfa 11921. This declaration will allow you to obtain a SIRET number and to choose your tax regime. You can find the relevant forms HERE.

You will also have to declare your gîte on your income and local taxes.

If you are planning to do the professional status (i.e. earning more than €23,000 per year), then you will have to declare the business to the Trade and Companies Register (RCS) and to the Business Formalities Center (CFE).

There are a few different tax statuses you can choose from once you are in this category, and it would be wise to take on professional assistance prior to choosing one.

The following step is to determine if you will offer any meals to your guests (besides breakfast), because if so then you will need to obtain a restaurant licence.

While it is not required to take out insurance, many experts recommend getting a “seasonal rental” insurance (“location saisonnière”) to cover claims.

Before opening your gîte, you might want to register it with a label to help gain visibility and credentials. “Gites de France” is a well known classification. There are other labels – do your research, they might have special requirements.

Finally, you should also look into whether or not your municipality has instituted a tourist tax scheme. If so, then you will have to pay that amount back to your local community, so be sure to ask your town hall about whether this is a requirement in your municipality before setting up your gîte.

How much can I expect to earn with a French gîte?

“We rarely make a living from this activity”, Aurélie Patin, the director of “Gites de France” in the Calvados département told the business and economy news site Capital in 2019.

Patin explained that the average occupancy rate for the Calvados area, known as a popular place for tourists, is about 43 percent – or about 18 weeks of rental per year.

According to reporting by Capital, it typically takes about three years for a gîte to become profitable, “with an average of 16 weeks of rentals per year”.

According to estimates from the Eldorado Immobilier real estate company, gîtes located in popular locations for tourism generally earn around €8,000 to €12,000 per gîte per season.

However, prior to opening a gîte, you should also consider the costs of any renovations that might be necessary, as well as a realistic timeline for how long those will take to complete.

The profitability of your gîte will also depend on several other factors, including the amount of marketing you are able to do.

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New immigration law: Who has to take 'integration courses' in France?

The recently passed immigration law had two primary goals: “manage immigration and increase integration”, and within these objectives there were several changes for foreigners in France.

As The Local has covered extensively, one aspect of ‘increasing integration’ was adding new, stricter language requirements. You can find all of the details for that HERE.

The law also introduced other new requirements aimed at this goal, which include signing a contract to promise to ‘respect the principles of the French republic’, plus more involved civics and language courses for certain groups.

The ‘republican contract’ – The first change is the introduction of the contrat d’engagement au respect des principes de la République française for everyone applying for a French residency card or visa.

Regardless of your immigration status, you will need to sign this document as part of the application process. Previously, only certain groups of people (those required to take CIR courses, more on this below) would have signed anything resembling a ‘republican contract’.

As of April 2024, signing the contract was not yet a universal requirement for all visa or residency card applications, but the change is expected take effect in the near future, once a decree is passed by the Conseil d’Etat.

In terms of tangible change, this will simply be one more document to sign when applying for your visa or your next residency card.

What does the contract say exactly?

We do not know yet, but we can assume it will be close to what the new law lays out.

It says that; “Foreign nationals applying for a residence permit undertake, by signing a contract of commitment to the principles of the Republic, to respect personal freedom, freedom of expression and conscience, equality between men and women, the dignity of the human person, the motto (la devise) and symbols of the Republic within the meaning of Article 2 of the Constitution, and territorial integrity as defined by national borders, and not to use their beliefs or convictions as an excuse to disregard the common rules governing relations between the public services and private individuals.”

The next segment of the law specifies that “no residency document can be given to a foreigner who refuses to sign the ‘contrat d’engagement au respect des principes de la République‘ or whose behaviour clearly demonstrates that they are not complying with these obligations.”

Civics classes

Confusingly, even though it bears a similar name, the document you will have to sign when applying for a residency card is not the same as the ‘contrat d’intégration républicaine’ (CIR), which was first introduced in 2016 and encompasses several steps to help foreigners assimilate into France, including compulsory classes in French history and culture.

The CIR is a contract agreeing to the values of the republic, as well as a promise to take OFII provided civics/ language courses, as needed.

Unlike the new ‘contract of engagement’, which applies to everyone applying for a French visa or residency card, this one only applies to people with certain immigration statuses and many groups are exempt from this requirement. You can see an example of the document here (PDF).

If this is required for you, then you start by meeting with OFII (France’s office of immigration and integration). They will assess your needs and determine which training courses to assign you, depending on your individual situation.

You will also take a written and oral test to determine if your French level is beyond A1 (beginner level) – if it is not, then you may be assigned language courses. Some foreigners in France have reported being assigned between 100 and 200 hours of (free) language classes by OFII.

You will also be signed up for four days’ worth of civic training (a total of 24 hours) as well as an exit interview. The content of this course focuses on the values, principles and institutions of the Republic. At the end, you may also be provided with professional support if you are seeking employment.

How is the CIR changing?

Aside from increasing the scope of the civics courses to include more French history and culture, the main change resulting from the 2024 immigration law will be a test added at the end of the training.

If you do not achieve the minimum result, you will be allowed to retake it. You will need to show you passed the test when applying for your next residency card.

It does not change which groups are required to take the classes.

Who has to do the CIR?

The groups required to sign the CIR, and complete the resulting civics/ language courses, did not change as a result of the new immigration law.

The CIR is required of refugees, as well as certain people under ‘vie privée et familiale’ statuses, including parents of French minors and foreign spouses and partners (PACs) of French nationals.

People whose residency is tied to employment (salarié status) or self-employment (entrepreneur/profession libérale status) are also required to do the CIR, and proof that you completed it will be requested when you attempt to apply for a multi-year (pluriannuelle) card for either of these statuses.

If you want to apply for the 10-year carte de résident (available after several years in France), you may be required to show proof you completed and signed the CIR.

There are several exemptions, but the main group concerned by this would be those seeking the standard carte de résident de longue durée-UE, which is awarded to foreigners who has lived uninterrupted in France for at least five years.

Which residency statuses are exempt from the CIR?

There is quite a long list of groups who are exempt from the civics classes requirement, including;

Visitors (carte de séjour temporaire “visiteur”)
Students (carte de séjour temporaire portant la mention “étudiant”)
Trainees/interns (carte de séjour temporaire portant la mention “stagiaire”)
Temporary workers (carte de séjour temporaire portant la mention “travailleur temporaire”)
People who were born in France and have resided here for at least eight years (you fall under the jeune étranger né en France status of the carte de séjour temporaire portant la mention “vie privée et familiale”)
People with serious illness (you fall under the ‘étranger malade’ category of the carte de séjour temporaire portant la mention “vie privée et familiale”)
Seconded employees and their families (carte de séjour pluriannuelle portant la mention “salarié détaché”)
Seasonal workers (carte de séjour pluriannuelle portant la mention “travailleur saisonnier”)
Passport talent holders and their families (carte de séjour pluriannuelle portant la mention “passeport talent”)
People who completed at least three years of French secondary school or one year of higher education in France
EU/EEA/ Swiss nationals
Holders of the post-Brexit Article 50 TUE carte de séjour
People who qualify for the carte de résident due to service in the French foreign legion or military

If you fall onto that list, then you do not need to do the CIR, but in some cases you may be able to request it if you want to, as the free language classes and civics training could be helpful.

What if I spent five years on the ‘visitor’ card and now I am switching onto the carte de résident?

This situation is a little different than the norm.

People on the ‘visitor’ status are normally exempt from having to go through the CIR process.

However, after five years of consecutive residency under the ‘visitor’ status in France, you are eligible to apply for the 10-year carte de résident – and one of the requirements of the carte de résident is supplying justicatif (proof) that you signed the CIR.

This is where things get a little tricky – if you held visitor status for five years, you would not have been called up by OFII to do the CIR, so you will need to reach out to them.

Fill out this request form (PDF) and attach a copy (of both sides) of your visa or residency permit. Then send (by post) the documents to your regional OFII office – the bureau de l’accueil et de l’intégration.

You will then be given an appointment date for your individualised interview with OFII, during which they may assign you French civics/ language courses to complete.

Whether you have to do the classes really depends on the level of French language and integration that you can demonstrate at the interview.

That being said, there is a line specific to the carte de résident that states the mayor of your commune or municipality may be asked for their opinion on your integration level.

If you have a relationship with your local mayor, it might be worth asking them to write you up a quick document (attestation) attesting to your level of integration in France. While it might not get you out of courses, it could smooth things along.

As a reminder, the carte de résident already has a minimum language level attached to it, previously it was A2 (upper beginner), but the 2024 immigration law increased it to B1 (lower intermediate).

People who are 65 years and older are exempt from the language requirement, but they still must show proof they completed the CIR.

Can I count my CIR language score for the new language requirements?

As of April 2024, it was still not clear whether the CIR language certificates could count as proof of French level for immigration purposes. Previously, applicants have been required to show specific exam certificates, diplomas, or proof of higher education in France.

You can learn more about eligible language tests here.

When does this come into effect?

At the time of writing, the new laws have not been put into effect by the préfectures. It is expected that they will be in place by the end of the year, but there is as yet no confirmed start date.

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