Stuarta

"You can only register a car in the country where you normally live   or have permanent residence. You cannot   register your car in a country where you have a secondary residence or holiday house." Interesting - didn't know that. So basically, you can't have a car in France if you only have a second home there? Reason I ask is that my old car, which was bought and registered when I DID live there, is still insured etc. so that I can use it when I'm around. Or is it only that you can't register a newly bought one? Semantics, I know but that's the name of the game!

Moving slightly off topic - as a previous victim of cloning - not so much in the sense of fake speeding tickets - more like "no, you can't get a CT for this vehicle - it doesn't exist!", I can confirm that, although it is a very long, drawn out procedure and the vehicle is not able to be a) registered, b) insured or c) used throughout, in my case it did eventually come to a close - after a period of about 2 years had elapsed since I lodged a complaint. Unfortunately, they dropped the case as they couldn't prove anything against anyone (no word as to whether they actually found the culprit - almost certainly someone from a "depot vente" outfit that I had left my car for sale with). The vehicle is now "alive" again, reregistered, insured and locked in a friend's garage-waiting for me to buy a new house and start using it again. In this case. at least, there was light at the end of the tunnel. It was just a very long, dark tunnel.

Thanks to everyone for their replies - while I am somewhat heartened, I won't be going any further until I get clarification on this issue - lack of tax is about the only thing that makes working out here worthwhile so it's pretty important to us! To clarify :- Our only residence is in Dubai. The whole family lives here, all year round - kids go to school here. We have no family ties in France. Both of us work full time (only) in Dubai / Sharjah We do not own property elsewhere. We will not be spending more than 2 months per year in France. I have now found some information about the Dubai - France double taxation treaty but, unless I'm reading it wrongly, this seems to be aimed primarily at corporate income tax, rather than individuals. If it turns out to apply to individuals too, then great but I'll need to get this clarified. Thanks again everyone, Stuart. postscript - have just read the ufe.org link that was provided - it appears that I was mistakenly thinking of "centre de vos intérêts économiques"  as referring to assets, rather than income. In my view, that more or less confirms what several people have said here, that we should be classified as non resident for tax purposes :)

Hello all, Just came across this wonderful forum while looking for clarification on the above issue. We are an expat couple (UK/Canadian), living in Dubai and considering buying a second home in France. We are generally very aware of most tax issues, etc., having lived in France for 6 years before moving out to the middle east, filed tax returns, etc. The issue regards income tax. One of the main benefits of working in the middle east is the lack of income tax - something has to make up for the atrocious driving! The question is, if we buy a second home in France, which, although mortgaged, is worth more than our investments, etc. elsewhere, will we be considered "fiscally resident" or not? To clarify, we do NOT own property elsewhere, keep our savings offshore and did own a house in France up until 3 years ago. At the time, I worked as a "frontalier" in Switzerland and as such, the taxes were shared by the Swiss and French governments. As much as we would like to retain links in Frnace, with a view to eventually retiring there, I would most certainly consider being taxed on my income earned in Dubai to be a "deal-breaker". Many thanks in anticipation.......