Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

SECOND HOMES

French MPs reject bid to ease visa rules for British second-home owners

France's parliament has thrown out a proposal by Senators to relax visa rules for British second-home owners, which had been added as an amendment to the country's new Immigration Bill.

Published: 1 December 2023 16:34 CET
French MPs reject bid to ease visa rules for British second-home owners
The Assemblee nationale has rejected the bid. Photo: AFP

France’s controversial Immigration Bill is currently at the committee stage in the Assemblée nationale and already MPs have thrown out several of the headline-grabbing amendments that their colleagues in the Senate added last month.

Among them is a bid to relax visa rules for Brits who own property in France.

The Senate had considered three amendments relating to second-home owners, including one that proposed creating a special visa for all second-home owners (not just Brits).

But in the end it adopted a vaguely-worded motion to exempt British second-home owners from the requirement to either have a visa or abide by the 90-day rule.

In essence, it would have restored pre-Brexit travel conditions to Brits who own property in France, although the amendment added that “The conditions for the application of this article shall be specified by decree in the Conseil d’Etat”.

However, MPs on the Commission des lois (law committee) of the Assemblée nationale have now junked the amendment, meaning that the current rules will remain in place for British second-home owners in France.

The application to cancel the amendment stated that: “The automatic granting of a long-stay visa based solely on property ownership could be perceived as favouring a category of people because of their financial situation, creating inequality in relation to other foreign nationals who have to follow a more rigorous procedure to obtain such a visa.”

A second amendment on the same topic added: “Nothing justifies this exemption, British citizens made a sovereign choice to leave the European Union and renounce the advantages that come with it. The simple fact of owning a second property is not sufficient grounds to justify exemption from visa requirements.”

It added that the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement already contains measures that allow British nationals to get visas or residency cards relevant to their status.

Since Brexit, British visitors have had to follow the same rules as other non-EU nationals like Americans and Canadians – either limiting their visits to 90 days in every 180 or getting a short-stay visa. 

In France, it is the Assemblée nationale that has the final say on laws, so this signifies the end of the road for this particular attempt to ease travel conditions for British second-home owners (although others may follow).

The Immigration bill is the flagship piece of legislation for this parliamentary term, and has already stoked plenty of controversy.

As it passed through the Senate, many senators took the opportunity to add attention-grabbing amendments such as the withdrawal of medical cover for undocumented workers.

The Assemblée’s law committee has already cancelled several of these and looks likely to cancel more as hearings continue.

The full debate on the bill before parliament is scheduled to begin on December 11th. 

Calendar: What happens next with France’s immigration bill?

Other potentially significant parts of the bill, such as the introduction of language tests for certain types of residency card, remain in place.

READ ALSO What would change for foreigners in France under the new Immigration bill?

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

POLITICS

8 things you never knew about Andorra

The tiny statelet nestled in the Pyrenees mountains that mark the border between France and Spain hit the headlines with its new language requirement for residency permits – but what else is there to know about Andorra?

Published: 26 April 2024 15:11 CEST
8 things you never knew about Andorra

This week, Andorra passed a law setting a minimum Catalan language requirement for foreign residents. 

It’s not often the tiny, independent principality in the mountains makes the news – other than, perhaps, when its national football team loses (again) to a rather larger rival in international qualifying competitions.

The national side are due to play Spain in early June, as part of the larger nation’s warm-up for the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany. Here, then, in case you’re watching that match, at Estadio Nuevo Vivero, are a few facts about Andorra that you can astound your fellow football fans with…

Size matters

Small though it is – it has an area of just 468 square kilometres, a little more than half the size of the greater Paris area – there are five smaller states in Europe, 15 smaller countries in the world by area, and 10 smaller by population.

People

Its population in 2023 was 81,588. That’s fewer people than the city of Pau, in southwest France (which is itself the 65th largest town in France, by population).

High-living

The principality’s capital, Andorra la Vella (population c20,000 – about the same population as Dax) is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres above sea level. 

Spoken words

The official language – and the one you’ll need for a residency permit – is Catalan. But visitors will find Spanish, Portuguese and French are also commonly spoken, and a fair few people will speak some English, too.

Sport

We’ve already mentioned the football. But Andorra’s main claim to sporting fame is as a renowned winter sports venue. With about 350km of ski runs, across 3,100 hectares of mountainous terrain, it boasts the largest ski area in the Pyrenees.

Economic model

Tourism, the mainstay of the economy, accounts for roughly 80 percent of Andorra’s GDP. More than 10 million tourists visit every year.

It also has no sales tax on most items – which is why you’ll often find a queue at the French border as locals pop into the principality to buy things like alcohol, cigarettes and (bizarrely) washing powder, which are significantly cheaper.

Head of state

Andorra has two heads of state, because history. It’s believed the principality was created by Charlemagne (c748 – 814CE), and was ruled by the count of Urgell up to 988CE, when it was handed over to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell. The principality, as we know it today, was formed by a treaty between the bishop of Urgell and the count of Foix in 1278.

Today, the state is jointly ruled by two co-princes: the bishop of Urgell in Catalonia, Spain and … the president of France, who (despite the French aversion to monarchy and nobility) has the title Prince of Andorra, following the transfer of the count of Foix’s claims to the Crown of France and, subsequently, to the head of state of the French Republic. 

Military, of sorts

Andorra does have a small, mostly ceremonial army. But all able-bodied Andorran men aged between 21 and 60 are obliged to respond to emergency situations, including natural disasters.

Legally, a rifle should be kept and maintained in every Andorran household – though the same law also states that the police will supply a firearm if one is required.

SHOW COMMENTS