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Bonjour! We are intending to move to our well-equipped holiday home in the PO before the end of March (B-Day!) but our home in the UK, which we intend to rent out to supplement our incomes, is not yet ready for rental. To maximise income we would need to re-decorate throughout and replace carpets. Has anyone on the forum been in a similar situation and moved first, declared residence and then travelled back to sort out their UK house? Were there any practical problems (health, driving)? On a related topic, can anyone recommend a removals firm? We live in the South of England. Thanks in advance for any pointers.

Brittania Sandersteads are worth asking for a quote. Owner Steve has a holiday home here so makes regular trips. I know of a couple of people who have used them and found them reliable though no personal experience myself.
https://anglophone-direct.com/listing/b ... dersteads/

For the rest, I don’t see what problems it should cause you (more than the usual moving problems) as it sounds like you’re talking months rather than years. But others may know different!

Bon courage with your move. Sounds like lots of great times ahead.

LukeandMarie wrote: ↑Thu 29 Nov 2018 12:43 Bonjour! We are intending to move to our well-equipped holiday home in the PO before the end of March (B-Day!) but our home in the UK, which we intend to rent out to supplement our incomes, is not yet ready for rental. To maximise income we would need to re-decorate throughout and replace carpets. Has anyone on the forum been in a similar situation and moved first, declared residence and then travelled back to sort out their UK house? Were there any practical problems (health, driving)? On a related topic, can anyone recommend a removals firm? We live in the South of England. Thanks in advance for any pointers.

We did this, mostly, but without applying for residency. No issues.

GBLiners did a great moving job for us.

Buying a car was simple 3 years ago. I understand that there are now problems in geting a Carte Grise without French ID.

LukeandMarie wrote: ↑Thu 29 Nov 2018 12:43 Bonjour! We are intending to move to our well-equipped holiday home in the PO before the end of March (B-Day!) but our home in the UK, which we intend to rent out to supplement our incomes, is not yet ready for rental. To maximise income we would need to re-decorate throughout and replace carpets. Has anyone on the forum been in a similar situation and moved first, declared residence and then travelled back to sort out their UK house? Were there any practical problems (health, driving)? On a related topic, can anyone recommend a removals firm? We live in the South of England. Thanks in advance for any pointers.

A belated query. What exactly do you mean by “declaring residency”? If you are an EU national, you can stay in your home here (at least for the moment) and move back and forth to the UK, with no formalities at all. If you tried to get some sort of residence permit (eg from your mairie), you would be met with a blank look. If you mean that you are becoming “tax-resident” here, you need to approach your “centre des impôts” (though my local one has been on strike much of the time, latterly): again there is nothing to stop you leaving France for temporary purposes. If you mean applying for permanent resident status, you are 5(?) years too early. Whether (and if so how) you need to do it will be revealed as Brexit plays out (or doesn’t, as the case may prove to be).

"Buying a car was simple 3 years ago. I understand that there are now problems in getting a Carte Grise without French ID"

Maybe there has been a change very recently. We bought a second hand car earlier this year from a dealer in Perpignan. Getting the Carte Grise was not a problem at all, the dealer sorted it for us as a matter of routine. We had to provide proof of address in France for the cars registration to us, but no French ID was asked for. Just as well as we have none and we have not gone for French resident status yet.