After a a bitter sweet sitting of the French National Assembly last week when the highly controversial immigration bill, which included the motion to address the 90-day rule for British home owners in France, was tabled and elected representatives adopted a motion to reject it, the legislation was approved by both houses late on Tuesday night paving the way for the 90-day rule to be reviewed.
The big question is will Spain, which has made it clear that it would like to lift the restrictions on British second home owners, follow suit?
According to Simon Calder in the Independent and as the Bulletin has been reporting, the plan is to automatically grant long-stay visas to British property owners.
This would allow them to spend as much of the year as they wish in France – and not count towards the 90-day limit in the rest of the Schengen Area.
Steven Jolly, the founder of France Visa Free said: “Those with a home in France before Brexit should be allowed to continue living in their homes in just same way that they did before Brexit without having to make France their primary residence.
“The current visa process is time consuming and expensive, and really not equitable or reasonable, given that French people can spend 6 months per visit in the UK, even if they don’t own property.
“Ultimately, we want to ensure that Brits who lived part-year in France benefit from the same kind of protection that all other British residents in France were given via the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement.
“But our campaign is not only for homeowners, and we would ideally like to see a more inclusive solution that benefits all British visitors who might want to spend extended periods living with their families in France.”
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It'sgreen light to reviewed, not yet approved.
Pre Brexit
On property bought before 2021.