Sprogster

Weedon, Barclays should have offered to transfer your account to their expatriate centres in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, when you advised them you were becoming non UK resident. In fact most UK banks insist on this if you have a non UK mailing address. These expatriate accounts operate on exactly the same basis as the UK domestic current accounts with the same cheque, debit card and standing order facilities, but with the added advantage that you get interest gross and the offshore branches are better geared to dealing with forex and opening accounts in other curriencies than a UK domestic branch.    

Whilst on the subject of non UK residents, as I am sure many of you are aware the UK government are changing the rules from the 6th April, 2008, in that days of arrival and departure will count towards your allowed ninety days per year. This will mean the UK will have one of the tightest tax residence tests in the world and the expectation is that HMRC will agressively use this. (After all the UK is running a record trade deficit and Brown and Darling need every penny they can get!) Add to the equation that the UK government are resisting calls to introduce a statutory definition of residence, it will be possible for you to be caught even if you spend less than ninety days a year in the UK, if HMRC are of the view that the UK is still the centre of your financial activities and family ties. Hence not the best idea to maintain UK bank accounts as a non UK resident. Those who live in France or elswhere abroad and travel to the UK on a regular basis, will have to be a lot more careful to avoid falling into the new UK residence trap.

BJSLIV, It is a lot less work to get the interest paid gross than to deal with HMRC who are notoriously slow, especially where tax refunds are concerned!

Ron, Increasingly,  UK banks and building societies are requiring their non UK resident clients to bank through their Isle of Man or Channel Islands branches or subsiduaries, as these are  their expatriate banking centres.  One of the main reasons are that banks and building societies in the UK are very reluctant to pay interest gross to non residents clients, as if it turns out a such a client is in fact UK tax resident then the bank is liable itself to pay the missing tax to HMRC. Not surprisingly banks are reluctant to take this risk, so are directing non resident clients to their offshore centres where interest can be paid gross without this liability exposure. There are also other UK tax planning considerations that make it unadvisable to leave your bank accounts in the UK if you are leaving the country permanently. For example, if it still can be shown you have financial links to the UK it can be difficult to establish a domicile of choice abroad, which as I am sure you are aware is imprtant for IHT planning purposes.  

Jura, Residents of France are required to disclose to the French Fisc their world wide gross income and gains. If part of that income has already been subject to witholding tax in the UK, upon evidence of the UK tax being provided the French Fisc will allow this as a tax credit against your French tax liability under the terms of the double tax treaty between the two countries. Depending on your French marginal tax rate you still could have a net French tax liability if the UK witholding tax rate is lower.

The European Savings Tax directive under which EU countries now automatically exchange with each other details as to interest paid to each others EU residents was only implemented last year, so it will take a while for EU member countries to process the huge amounts of information being automatically exchanged on a year end basis. (There are a few exceptions like Luxembourg.) If you have a bank account in the UK and your bank have a French mailing address then details of any interest paid on your accounts will end up with the French Fisc. However, if you have kept a UK mailing address the bank will presume you are UK tax resident and this information will end up with HMRC, who in turn will pass the details to the French Fisc if they are aware you are French resident. Likewise, if you have a French bank account and are UK tax resident details of any interest paid will be automatically passed to HMRC. People may have got away with it in the past as there was no automatic exchange of information between EU tax authorities, now that there is, I would strongly recommend that they make full disclosure as they will be caught in due course and the penalties can be severe. Also don't rely on the fact that if the amounts are small the tax authorities will not bother, as the collection processes are becoming increasingly computerised and tax authorities often take a potential tip of the iceberg perspective!

Mel, It is not just a question of affordability, as regardless of how much cash you have it does not appear that there are any private medical insurance policies available that meet the comprehensive requirements of the French authorities, if you are over the age of fifty and have any pre-existing conditions, no matter how minor. Even if you do not have any pre-existing medical conditions,  all the private medical insurance policies I am aware of only cover acute conditions and if you therefore develop a chronic illness after the policy has been taken out, you will only be covered for the diagnosis and initial treatment. For example, a friend of mine developed diabetes, but the ongoing treatment he now requires for the rest of his life is not covered under his long standing top of the line private medical insurance, as it is defined as a chronic condition.   Other countries require early retirees moving there to have private medical insurance, so as not to be a burden on the state. However, I don't believe that the policies have to be so comprehensive as the French requirements. As the costs of visiting a local French doctor for a common ailment is not expensive, it is probably more cost effective to pay it youself anyway, rather than cover GP visits under an insurance policy.

You would not want want to near your house ali-cat, as they can create noise pollution and therefore should not be postioned too close to residential areas. The whoosh, whoosh noise can drive you nuts!

From my experience new furniture is more expensive and of lesser quality in France than the UK, where you have more choice. I can't comment on Ikea, as have never been to one! The UK is a much more consumer driven society than France and to cater for the greater demand driven in part by much easier credit in the UK, there are a much broader range of shops in the UK to choose from. Whereas, in France credit is strictly regulated and therefore you never see those buy now pay later at zero per cent interest deals! On another thread a poster said one of the benefits of living in France was that you spent less, as there were fewer shops to tempt you!   

cooperlola, Although I have no plans to live in France permanently, although you could argue I am close enough! I still am curious as to the practicalities of the medical insurance requirements set by the French government. On the basis that probably the majority of people by their late fifties have some form of chronic health condition such as hypertension, arthritis or high colesterol, which nowadays in most cases are easily controlled with medication, how practical in reality is it going to be for early retirees to obtain such comprehensive cover? From my experience with private medical insurance, most of them do not cover chronic conditions, GP visits and ongoing prescriptions, as they are primarily designed for acute illnesses. Even the more extensive policies have claim limits, so does this type of cover available to individuals rather than employer corporate schemes actually exist ?   

Cooperlola, I always get very nervous when anyone mentions any business links to Nigeria. I am not saying your person is not genuine, but unfortunately Nigeria has got a deserved reputation of being where financial scams originate from on an industrial scale. Be careful! 

Pickles, you are absolutely correct. Income is taxed in the country it arises and if there is an appropriate tax treaty in place, you get the foreign tax paid offset as a credit against the tax due in the country you are tax resident. The non dom quirck will be only available to those who qualify from the 6th April if they are prepared to pay £30,000.00 fee to HMRC and accept they will lose all their UK tax allowances! 

Roxy, A very important factor in comparing prices between the UK and France is the prevailing exchange rate, as with the declining £ France gets more expensive compared to the UK by the day. Therefore, if you are going to be reliant on an income in £, it is important to factor in a margin to allow for further adverse currency movements, as otherwise if you are living on a low income you could face difficulties. In another thread a poster said that they budgeted for a 20% depreciation in the £. Although there are varying opinions as to where the £ is headed, the general consensus is that there is more downside than upside risk. 

The potential concern I have about some low cost carriers, is if the cost cutting culture starts to adversely impinge on safety, as happened in the USA leading to the demise of several low cost carriers including Valuejet, after the Everglades tragedy. As someone with a flying background, I visit the PPrune forum on a regular basis and it is disconcerting to read posts from unhappy pilots which are a pattern with a couple of low cost carriers complaining of adverse working conditions and a poor safety culture, due the overidding need to maximise aircraft utilisation and minimise costs.  Unfortunately, in aviation these sort of problems more often than not are only acted upon by the authorities when something goes badly wrong.

Ryanair are making so much money from checked in luggage and the resulting required checking in fee, that if everyone took hand luggage they would have to raise their fares to compensate. To discourage this, Ryanair have decided not to allow passengers to revert to the previously allowed two items of hand luggage allowance, although all British airports will permit this by the end of May. Add to this the restrictive hand luggage weight and size limits compared to some other carriers and it is clear what Ryanair's hidden agenda is and that is to maximise income generated by additional charges and make it as difficult as possible for passengers to avoid them!   

Nick 65, I notice that this is not the only French Forum you have recently joined and on which you are posting identical questions. Is this a spoof?

Another consideration is that debit cards are more prone to transactions being declined when they are being used abroad, as compared to credit cards. One reason is that everytime you use your debit card the computerised authorisation process has to entail checking you have sufficient funds in your linked bank account, which is more susceptible to communication glitches, especially at busy times like holiday weekends. With credit cards the process is more centralised and for small debits the retailer may have a floor limit and not require authorisation.  

Hi Will, Yes, I meant inadequate and I am a 'he' by the way for future reference!  

Jura, All the banks in France provide credit cards to customers who want one and qualify.  My bank Soc Gen, offers Mastercard and Visa credit cards and like other countries issues gold and platinum cards to higher earners. Most French professionals have them, as they are essential for travelling abroad in that you cannot rent a car without one and most international hotel chains outside France insist on taking a credit card imprint when you check in, to block off an amount on your card towards costs such as using the phone, mini bar and room service. I believe you cannot do this with a debit card.

I seem to recall that a few years ago when France suffered from the last canicule thousands of old people died from the heat, many of whom were in care facilities. Afterwards it was discovered that because of the grande vacances many of these care homes had been left badly understaffed, resulting in adequate care and medical support for the elderly who were struggling with the heat. In some cases apparently elderly people had been abandoned to fend for themselves, as their carers went on holiday.  This created a big national outcry at the time, with resulting national guilt over the perceived lack of care for its senior citizens. Not sure if matters have improved since.  

Hi Roadster, Very important that you allow a safety margin for exchange rate fluctuations, if you are reliant on a £ Sterling pension, especially with the general prognosis amongst currency analysts for a continuing weakening trend of the £ against the Euro. Another consideration is your age, as I cannot understand how those people who retire in their fifties on small pensions will cope in ten to twenty years time, as unless one can afford to save some money to offset inflation, your buying power will greatly diminish over time.    

Ian, A friend once pointed out that the potential problem with a holiday home is that it you feel obligated to maximise your use of it and it ties you to a particular area, when you could be using your valuable spare time to do other things and visit new places. Especially, if working and have limited spare time. It is a valid point especially when the novelty wears off and is one of the main considerations I believe why a lot of second home owners do end up selling, as they find themselves using it less and less as the years go by.

Celestine, It is good that it worked out for your friends childrens education, but it is clear from the education link that for many it doesn't. The general consensus seems to be that once your children are in their teens it is just too risky for their education, to move at such a critical time into a completely different education system taught in a language they have little or no comprehension in. Yes, it might work but the downside risk is immense as any adverse disruption to a teenagers education may impact the rest of their lives. You might take the chance if you had teenage children but if their education went pear shaped as a result, would you not regret that more ten years down the line?  

A publicity stunt that has backfired, as annoying the French President and his girlfriend was not the most commercially sensible thing to do. Ryanair must be worried, as they have apologised!!!! Is this the first apology Ryanair have ever issued?

clsoan, I presume you are a US citizen and looking to move to France permanently? If so, were any of your parents or grandparents born in what are now European Union Countries through which you could claim dual nationality and an EU passport? If not, you will require a visa to live and work in France and this is not easily obtained unless you can be transferred by an existing employer or sponsored by a prospective employer in France, who has to demonstrate that the vacancy you are filling could not be filled by a comparably qualified and experienced European Union citizen. As a US citizen you can visit France on vacation, but are prohibited from work and only permitted to spend six months in any one year in the country. There is also the possibility that individual visits might be restricted to three months in the future, reflecting comparable restrictions the US has placed on EU Nationals visiting the USA. As the USA has tightened up on immigration since 9/11, to the extent it is now extremely difficult for an EU national to obtain permanent residency in America,  EU countries have reciprocated by tightening immigration policy on US citizens wanting to move there permanently.