French Senator Campaigns For Special Visa for Second-Home Owner

A campaign initiated by France Visa Free has the support of French senator, Corinne Imbert, advocating for the introduction of new visa rules for second-home owners in France.

The proposed changes will be presented to parliament as an amendment to an immigration bill that will allow non-EU owners to visit their French properties more easily and for longer. The proposed visa will be valid for five years, allowing visits for up to six months at a time in each year of its validity without extra paperwork.

It was due to be discussed by senators in late March but has been deferred due to the pension reform controversy.

Second-Home Owner Visa Requirement Post-Brexit

Currently, British nationals and many other non-EU nationals with second homes in France must obtain a visa to stay longer than 90 days in any 180-day period, with the only option being a ‘temporary long-stay visa’ (VLS-T) allowing holders to visit France for up to six months at a time. This can be combined with the 90/180-day allowance under the visa-waiver program.

The visa costs €99 and the whole visa application process must be repeated for any future similar stays.

According to reports, British nationals own 86,000 second homes in France.

This is twice as many as any other foreign non-residents in France with most of the properties bought under the more flexible rules when the UK was a member of the EU.

A Spanish minister was also reported to have been seeking solutions to enable British visitors to stay beyond the limit of 90 days.

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