Since January 2021 British nationals wanting to stay more than 90 days in 180 have required a visa (unless they have an EU passport). It is also easier to do so if your spouse has one.
Yet still not everyone knows the rules, says Tim Swannie of Marseille estate agent Home Hunts. “It is something we have to explain early on. For working couples or young families who are buying a holiday home, it is quite rare for them to use the property for more than a few weeks a year.”
Buyers have to be more pragmatic now, says Mark Harvey, head of international at Knight Frank. “We are seeing more people keen to rent out their holiday home when they are not using it now that their usage is limited, and to help cover running costs.”
There are also many expats still keen to tap into the tourism market of the world’s most visited country, by running gites or a B&B. There are plenty of charming properties with gites and land for well under €500,000 (£434,200) in the rural southwest – with modest purchase costs (6-8pc for resales).
Alongside Lucy’s business, the Barkers are about to start taking guests at their three-bedroom gite they’ve renovated at their home in Fontenay-le-Comte, an hour from La Rochelle. Peter, a keen triathlete and coach, will guide like-minded guests up and down the hills and across the lakes of the Bocage – to help attract visitors all year round.
Peter, 48, a former chief technology officer, says: “We would advise anyone to buy a ready-to-go gite – rather than a renovation job – it’s easier to prove income in your business plan for a visa as you have to project three years of income.”
The couple first thought they would apply for the “entrepreneur/independent professional” visa – based on income from the gite – but then realised it would be better trying for the “talent creation” or Passeport Talent Entrepreneur visa, using Lucy’s business (which required at least €30,000 in a French bank account). “The visa process took 9 to 10 months – we had thought it might take three,” he adds. “Yet we think our new life is wonderful and more than worth all the effort.”
Nick Smith and Scott Bayley who swapped running a B&B in Llandudno, Wales for the Dordogne in southwest France, would agree. The couple are renovating the barns and cowshed at their property in the village of Badefols-d’Ans to offer glamping.
Smith, 58, says: “The French embassy website (see box, below) was easy to use, we worked out we needed to apply for the entrepreneur visa and pulled together a business plan, helped by our previous experience of running a B&B. It took three weeks to get an appointment at the visa centre, then three weeks to get a ‘yes’. The process cost us €250 each.”
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