Immigration to France

[Welsh_Italian]

Hi folks,

I've been lurking here and searched for a similar question being asked but found nothing. Hope this is ok.

I met a lady a while ago and all seems to be ok for us. I'm a UK national, she's Filipino. However, I am setting myself up in consultancy soon which can be done over the net so I can work from home.

I want to live in France as I have family there, property is much cheaper, and I prefer the lifestyle/quality of life out there. I speak enough French to get by and can learn more easily, especially if I'm living out there. As an EU national, there is no real hinderance to me living there.

But is this the same for my wife? I don't think she would need to work (that's her choice, but jobs are hard to come by over there) so residence is enough, but how would I go about sorting this out? As I understand, the Schengen visa is only valid for a short while and is only intended for tourism rather than living permanently. Would I need to get a visa from the French authorities, or is an EEA family permit going to do the job?

If an EEA permit is enough, might it be easier just to move myself to France and have my mahal meet me there and not bother with the UK visa process?

Thanks for any replies in advance.

[A_flyer]

My first question is: are you married, is she already in the UK?
If not, things will be difficult.

To get an EEA permit, she needs to be settled in UK first and that's the best solution for you as the European laws should allow her to join you in France. But as she's not an EU citizen, there may be some difficulties.
You can have infos here: http://www.iasuk.org/C2B/document_tree/ViewADocument.asp?ID=43&CatID=1

If you're planning to marry after transfert to france, the new immigration laws in place from end of last june give a delay of 2 years before being able to apply for a family reunification.

[Welsh_Italian]

Thanks for the response. We will be married when we apply (aiming for next Easter in the Phils) but she's not in the UK so I guess we'll have to go for a spousal visa and take things from there.

Thanks again.

[A_flyer]

Yes it will be a lot easier if she settles first in England, and then later move to France.

[KeithD]

Why would anyone want to move to France anyway......





...more importantly.....why the hell would anyone want to come to England? :doh

[walesrob]

Why would anyone want to move to France anyway......





...more importantly.....why the hell would anyone want to come to England? :doh

or Wales for that matter :cwm3:

[francesca]

They move to France for Pastis, hehe he