CDS....I did say wait. Yes you did ALBF.

[alittlebitfrench]

The internet is alive with posts that Brits will soon be able to apply for a CDS.

For those who don't know what a CDS is, it is a bit of plastic with your name on it (in case you forget) that does not fit in your wallet. .

But it can be used for many things if you buy a big enough wallet. Like...ummm....proof of identity for signing cheques...which nobody accepts anymore.

It can also be used to cut cocaine (a CDS is quite sharp)....if that is your thing.

So, if you already live in France you can now live in France because you have a bit of plastic. Apart from that..it is quite useless.

I wonder how long Covid will last on a CDS ?

Anyway, get applying folks. The Oceans will be happy.

Ps...those who have decided to move to Eymet or France this year will need to prove that you are not poor. Good luck with that. LOL.

[EuroTr@sh]

Not QUITE useless ALBF.

It will mean you can come and go freely without having to count the days (or the ways).

It will mean you can apply for new jobs and set up new businesses.

It will mean you will keep your rights with CAF and keep getting bennyfits. And CPAM and keep getting elfcare.

And all kinds of really exciting adminny things like that.

And - if it doesn't fit in your wallet, then either your wallet is stuffed to bursting with notes, or you have a very small one. A CdS is credit card size.

Don't mind me, I'm just verrry 'appy because if what is being reported is true, I will be able to do a straight swap.

Even though - I don't actually live in France.

It's a mad mad world :-) :-) :-)

(but I'll believe it when it happens)

[alittlebitfrench]

ET said "It will mean you can apply for new jobs "

Wot..... like in the fishing industry ? LOL.

Cool...I'm off to live in Boulogne Sur Mer.

I'm sure they will welcome my application with open arms.

But at least I am free to open a gîte. France needs some more gîtes. I will open one as soon as I get my CDS.

BTW...a CDS never used to fit in your wallet.

Have they changed the size ?

[pomme]

They started issuing the credit card-size cards in summer 2011. I have a credit card-size one with 10-year validity dated end Jun 2011. But they must have been short of supplies/machines and still had some of the old, larger size in stock. We have one of those dated end Aug 2011. It all seemed slightly odd, as we applied for replacements at the same time. And the larger card was only valid for five years.

[NormanH]

We establised a very long time ago that ALBF has no idea what a CdS looks like [:P]

[BritinBretagne]

The French government is certainly making it very straightforward for British citizens resident in France before 31/12 to get a CdS and that will come as a huge relief to many people.

My CdS is credit card sized and fits in my small wallet. It is very snug there and has been there since I collected it, I have never once used it in any way. The new card will however be worth its weight in something a lot more valuable than gold given the rights it will bestow upon its owner.

For anyone wondering about ALBF’s worth it is worth noting that he qualifies for the new card in the simplest of way, his right comes from him once saying, ‘I do.’

[alittlebitfrench]

I bet those who voted Brexit and then quickly moved to France this year (yes there are some who openly admit it) are happy they can now be part of the EU again with their CDS. LOL.

Mad world we live in.

Personally I don't think those who voted Brexit and moved to France should be allowed a CDS. It is just plain wrong.

[Lehaut]

Ps...those who have decided to move to Eymet or France this year will need to prove that you are not poor. Good luck with that. LOL.

What has changed? We needed to do this 24 years ago when we came across.

[EuroTr@sh]

"What has changed? We needed to do this 24 years ago when we came across."

If the portal when it launches exactly reflects what France Rights Org are predicting, the main change will be that the requirements have been made a lot less stringent.

It appears that those who have been in France for 5 years or more won't be asked about income, and arrivals within the last 5 years will be assessed against the basic RSA figure for a single person under 65 regardless of circumstances, ie the additional requirements for a couple/family with children/over 65 won't be applied.

France is being kind.

[suein56]

EuroTr@sh wrote the following post at 14 Oct 2020 9:52:

France is being kind.

And I for one am extremely grateful ..

[sid]

[quote user="suein56"]

And I for one am extremely grateful ..[/quote]

Me too !

EDIT I only wanted to echo suein56, I've no idea where all that code has come from !!

[woolybanana]

Norman, I wonder if the powers that be will take the opportunity to clear out some of the illegals who dont qualify for a CDS. I have heard that some applicants for the original card who were turned down were told to leave France forthwith.

Which begs another question: if the UK issued a CDS or a simple identity card, how many would be declared illegal and told told to leave?

[Lori]

I would beg to differ that the CDS is never used (useless).  It was required when we:

Opened a bank account or conducted any transaction at a bank

Applied for a rental lease - or even asked to see a potential rental

Wrote a check at the Auchan, Leader Price or Carrefour (who do still take them)

Various times when I picked up packages at a Relais when the employee working did not know me

I'm sure there are more cases, those are just the ones that popped up in my mind.  This, of course, goes beyond the fact that without a valid CDS, we would be here illegally...

It also pays to keep it updated when you move (within France) too. 

[EuroTr@sh]

WoolyB wrote: "Which begs another question: if the UK issued a CDS or a simple identity card, how many would be declared illegal and told told to leave?"

The other way of looking at it is, if the UK did actually issue residence cards, the Home Office would be less likely to try and kick out those who are there legally (eg Windrush).

Re the French criteria, and thinking about the UK method, it does just occur to me to wonder how literally France means it when they say Brits who have been in France for 5 years plus will not be asked to provide evidence. Do they mean there will be an amnesty and nobody will check whether you met the criteria or not, or, do they literally mean We won't ask you to provide lots of paperwork, because we can check our records and save you the bother? Which I think is what the UK does when EU citizens apply for settled status.

Hmm.

[BritinBretagne]

Lori as you are not British your CdS has had a different importance. Up until the end of the year British citizens have been able to use their passport to confirm their right to be in France. Quite different situations.

[BritinBretagne]

Reading similar threads on other forums it’s become clear that a significant number of second home owners are going to be applying for a CdS believing that it is a way to bypass the Schengen 90/180 day rule. I’ve no idea how successful they will be but I’m worried that their applications will slow down the system and potentially raise the scrutiny carried out on genuine applicants who can’t tick many boxes.

[EuroTr@sh]

I imagine France anticipated this happening and has already decided whether it is going to play along or not.

Provided they won't become a burden, I don't see why it wouldn't. The purpose of the withdrawal agreement was to stop lives being disrupted and you could argue that if a person has over the years been spending 6 months of the year in France, it would disrupt their lives if they were stopped from doing that.

But if it decides No, it shouldn't be hard to identify them since the tax office has a record of every address and whether it is registered is a principal or a secondary residence. I suppose issue would be for people who have genuinely moved into what up to this year was their second home.

But it may all become clear on Monday when the portal opens.

[alittlebitfrench]

I can't see how a CDS can be issued to a second home owner.

You are resident in either the UK or France.

You can't be both.

[EuroTr@sh]

I agree albf but there WILL be a lot of second homers applying whether they should be or not, and is it worth the effort and expense to weed them out and reject them and get bad press in the Connexion ;-)

These will be retirees and early retirees who can float around because they don't have to work, and let's face it, 10 years down the line most of them will no longer be in France, they will have moved on either back to the UK or to a "better place".

[pomme]

EuroTr@sh wrote the following post at Thu, Oct 15 2020 9:48 But it may all become clear on Monday when the portal opens

Although the portal opens on Monday, the French government is still working on the decree which will define the conditions. That has been delayed until the end of October.

There will not be any problem for those with 10-year permanent CdS applying from Monday but those without that should probably delay their application for a couple of weeks. The information published so far is rather light on full requirements detail compared to the outline I think was given earlier in the year.

[alittlebitfrench]

Surely the documents you need to provide will easily show if you are a second home owner or not.

This must also be a security issue as well for France.

Not all second home owners are loverly grey haired old people that watch BBC and countdown all day.

With islamic extremism/right wing extremism etc rife in France..you need to know who is legally resident and who is not.

You know that sort of thing.

[EuroTr@sh]

No not all second home owners are cottontops of course but anyone who is still working in the UK will find it difficult to claim that they actually live in France I think.

Another thing is, we don't know what checks they do when you apply for a cds. They don't ask you about criminal convictions but I imagine they check that out for themselves.

[Hereford]

We have Permanent (10 year) CDSs and have used them at La Poste and other places where they need ID. We have a buyer for a house we own (not where we live) and the Agent asked to see and copy our passports. I offered the CDSs and she copied them but then said she still needed the passports (plus birth and marriage certificates...? er we are the sellers). I asked if a French seller would have to produce a passport plus other ID. She looked very sheepish but insisted that the Noptaire wanted them.

I give up.

[BritinBretagne]

If CdS get issued to non resident second home owners that becomes a Schengen problem not a France problem. Somewhere on the current CdS paperwork it states quite clearly that a CdS is not proof of identity and holders will need a passport for that. The only time I ever have to use my passport as an ID is when I use my rail discount card. The only time I’ve used that since I’ve had a CdS I was going to see if that would do instead but despite doing four separate train journeys my ticket was only checked twice and neither time was I asked for proof of ID. That was strange because up to then I’d been asked for my passport every time.

[nomoss]

[quote user="BritinBretagne"]If CdS get issued to non resident second home owners that becomes a Schengen problem not a France problem. Somewhere on the current CdS paperwork it states quite clearly that a CdS is not proof of identity and holders will need a passport for that. The only time I ever have to use my passport as an ID is when I use my rail discount card. The only time I’ve used that since I’ve had a CdS I was going to see if that would do instead but despite doing four separate train journeys my ticket was only checked twice and neither time was I asked for proof of ID. That was strange because up to then I’d been asked for my passport every time.[/quote]

These links may help.

https://www.inc-conso.fr/content/pourquoi-et-comment-justifier-son-identite-dans-les-transports-collectifs-avec-la-fnaut

https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F31208