France Rejects Proposal Allowing British Expats to Remain Over 90 Days Visa-Free

French court denies extended visa-free stays for UK expats, impacting 86,000 second-home owners and affecting France's property market post-Brexit.

The recent decision by a French court, declaring an amendment that would have permitted British second-home owners extended visa-free stays as unconstitutional, has impacted approximately 86,000 British individuals who own secondary residences in France.

This proposed amendment, part of an immigration bill, sought to grant British expats owning a second or holiday home in France the ability to stay beyond the standard 90-day visa-free period. Despite passing through both chambers of the Senate, the amendment was ultimately deemed unconstitutional and irrelevant to the broader immigration bill, with no possibility of appeal in France's Constitutional Court.

The ruling means British expats in France continue to face restrictions post-Brexit. As third-country nationals to the EU following Brexit, UK citizens lost the privilege of indefinite stays. They are now limited to 90 days within any 180-day period unless they secure a temporary long-stay visa (valid for up to six months) or obtain permanent residency. Overstaying without a visa could lead to expulsion and a ban from France and the EU.

The failed amendment had briefly raised hopes for eased visa regulations, evidenced by a 582% surge in inquiries about French properties on Kyero, a UK-based international property portal, in the three weeks following its proposal.

The rationale behind the proposed change, as explained by French senator Martine Berthet in November, was to prevent economic harm from a growing number of vacant tourist properties. Berthet, representing Savoie in the French Alps, introduced the amendment following complaints from British residents in her area.

Brexit's implications have been stark for British second-home owners in France and Spain, with many visiting less frequently due to the new visa requirements. For some, the additional bureaucratic hurdles have led to the sale of their properties.

Currently, about 177,000 British citizens live full-time in France with residency permits. They constitute an estimated 24% of the foreign population in the country, as per a survey by the expat community organization InterNations.