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New forum for returnees?


Lassie
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With so many people selling up and returning to the UK, will there be a new forum dedicated to helping them?  We have put our house on the market ( in a small way) and will do a major marketing in the early Spring.  Meanwhile, what preparations should we make? I keep hearing about this final tax certificate which you need to be able to move your money back to Britain. Having sold your house, the first thing you want to do is to remit funds to the UK and get some decent interest as well as being able to buy quickly if the right house comes up.  Recently sold a small property and had to show the bank the sales documents from the Notaire before they would send the money back and that was only a small amount.  To hand back Carte Vitale, advise EDF/GDF, house insurance etc isnt hard, but sorting out potential tax liabilities when everything is done in arrears may be problematic.

 

And before the wrath of the ex-pat community descends, let me state we love France, have loved our many years, didnt run out of money or get homesick and can speak good French.  Didnt have HP sauce and Birds Custard in our culture anyway so didnt miss them or going to a pub or English TV. We know the weather here is better, the medical services better, the climate better etc. Know that Britain is going slowly downhill .. BUT the family are there .  They are at various ends of the age scale, need a little help from us as the only surviving sensible, middle aged relatives they have and its difficult at a distance. My ancient mother has just paid £150 to a casual workman to paint her 2m by 2m kitchen ceiling! She handed over the cash for 2 hours work and half a pint of emulsion. Had we been nearby..... And it goes on, with new babies you havent yet kissed, old friends' funerals, big birthday parties you dont get invited to because you are 'abroad'. Everyone has his reasons for coming and for going back too.

If others have sold up and have any helpful tips please post.Thanks

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[quote user="Lassie"]

And before the wrath of the ex-pat community descends, let me state we love France, have loved our many years, didnt run out of money or get homesick and can speak good French.  Didnt have HP sauce and Birds Custard in our culture anyway so didnt miss them or going to a pub or English TV. [/quote]

And even if the reverse of all that were true, it's nobody's business but yours. You - and anyone else - really shouldn't feel that you have to apologise for or justify decisions that are right for your life. No one has the right to be judgemental and if they are, ignore them. [:D]

The only bit I have to take issue with is that Britain is going downhill. I don't believe it is. But that's a different discussion so I'll just say best of luck with your eventual move. [8-|]

Edit:

the tax certificate is something I've seen mentioned on the forums. I think it applies only if a) the house sale is worth more than €150,000 and b) you are leaving France completely. In which case I believe the Notaire can (or must) retain a portion of the proceeds in order to ensure there's a pot of money for taxes various (capital gains, income etc) to be deducted when affairs are wound up. Perhaps you should discuss circumstances and amounts with your Notaire.

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[quote user="Lassie"]

With so many people selling up and returning to the UK, will there be a new forum dedicated to helping them?  We have put our house on the market ( in a small way) and will do a major marketing in the early Spring.  Meanwhile, what preparations should we make? I keep hearing about this final tax certificate which you need to be able to move your money back to Britain. Having sold your house, the first thing you want to do is to remit funds to the UK and get some decent interest as well as being able to buy quickly if the right house comes up.  Recently sold a small property and had to show the bank the sales documents from the Notaire before they would send the money back and that was only a small amount.  ited to because you are 'abroad'. Everyone has his reasons for coming and for going back too.

[/quote]

I sold up finally back in July and got the notaire to send the sale proceeds direct to UK rather than my French bank.

She did query, though, my residence status as I had a non-France address on the sale documents, and suggested that I might have to sign some sort of guarantee to pay any tax due from the sale. However, after producing my French tax reference, it seemed there was no need for anything. I think they just needed to make sure that it was a main residence and not a holiday home.

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Have just moved over here and not thinking of going back at the moment.  But, I can imagine it must be a very mixed-up sort of emotional experience "going back".  I started life in another part of the world completely and would no more think of going back there than I would of going to the moon.  But the UK is a different matter, it still feels like "home".

I have been here 6 months and, to be honest, I am a little anxious of going back to the UK in case I find I have made entirely the wrong decision to come here.  I want to give myself time to "bed down" before even attempting a short visit back to the UK.

Hope you get all sorted.  A lady posted here earlier this year and she said that moving back to the UK slipped easily into place for them and they felt as though they had never been away.  So, I do so hope you feel like that too!

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Well good luck Lassie, yes France is a wonderful country and just because you move back to the U.K. it does not mean you have failed, I think you have to do whatever is right for your situation and if you have a happy relationship you can settle anywhere, I think you will enjoy facing the new challenges ,just as you did when you moved to France, it will be wonderful to enjoy the family and rewarding to be on hand.Our health service is one of the best in the world despite what people say and what the papers say.France has its time to come where that is concerned.How lovely to have had the experience of living in France, but you probably knew it would never be forever.We are hoping to have some of our retirement years in France but should my families needs be greater then we would return unconditionally.You know ,it is not that bad in the U.K. in retirement, much worse in the work place and  young families have a lot of pressure as most woman have to work these days and family life does suffer.The U.K. has given me greater oppertunity and choices, than I could have ever have wished for and I do not understand people who run it down at any given oppertunity.All my family have good carreers and have never been out of work and have been able to progress up the ladder successfully.My son is 21 earning £40,000. per year he does not have a degree, but again he works hard and has had choices. I find it hard sometimes listening to people on this forum constantly running the U.K.down. I think life is what you make it. Good luck and let us know how you settle, I think sometmes people are scared to tell us when they return.I now await a shed load of controversy.
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Vervaille - no argument from me. We too hope to return to the uk and I get upset by the way people run the place down. Just to add a very sad story - a friend's husband is being treated for cancer here - 3rd time. They were planning to return to uk, because of his illness, and in fact have sold their house here and have bought one in UK. Now she'd stuck here in limbo, in a gite, wishing she was with her family. So if you want to go back, go when you have the chance or it may be too late. I hope we haven't missed our opportunity which we had last year.
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[quote user="cooperlola"]Live wherever you are happiest.  It is nobody's business but your own.[/quote]

 

I agree with Coops and I also support the sugestion that there a new place should be created on the site for people looking to discuss issues such as selling up and leaving France.

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Now I am going to stick my neck out a bit here  [:-))] so here goes

[quote user="woolybanana"]A sort of "How to live in UK again after X years in France and face you now ex-friends saying 'I told you so'".[/quote]

I don't think it is a case of  'How to live in UK' more like 'How to get out of France'!

I do see that it is inevitable that some people will need to return to the UK for all sorts of reasons, and asking for advice from 'forum friends' about repatriating is not some sort of  fever that some fear could be catching!

Edit: Re New forum for returnees

This will probible never happen as the powers that be and operate this forum would want to keep alive the dream that everyone that moves to France lives 'happy ever after'! I hope this is not the case and any one needing advice relating to France  will be welcome to post

And Wolly you are right they would be 'ex-friends' if they told me 'I told you so'

Jackie

 

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Exactly- my enquiry was how to get out of France.  I think I might manage to find my way back into Britain, thanks.  My concern is to tie up loose ends.  I have had the cat chipped and vaccinated but still have to wait 6 months before she could leave and will make sure I cancel all contracts such as mobile phones well in advance by recommandee.  Other concerns include getting a certificate from a French Insurance company saying I have had no accidents otherwise how do get a no claims bonus for car insurance in the UK? Ditto no claims on house insurance.  A friend told me he could not even get permission for a removal van until he had gained this final tax certificate although tthat was some years ago.  Its the potential income tax liabuility which is calculated in arrears that may be the stumbling block to remit funds from a house sale. Having just made my annual pilgrimage to the Impot, ( won a rebate this year!) I havent the energy to start asking about this today.  All my energy has been sapped by CPAM  who wanted documents after my husband turned 60 having been on my Carte. We duly sent everything and they lost the lot. Queried the delay as we were waiting for the E111 carte to go on holiday.  Sent to another office, woman there said , no must start again. Out of the blue, all original papers returned with a request for a Belgian Government E121.  Now, as they had a UK121 already registered 2 years ago, had UK birth certificate, UK passport details, old Carte Sejour showing British nationality, we wondered why they thought my husband had suddenly turned into a Belgian.  These are the sort of little problems that people coming to live in France will encounter regularly and I hope they take note and maybe consider learning French before they arrive as no-one at CPAM will bend over backwards to help an immigrant. If I can sort out the problem of having a Belgian husband suddenly I will toddle off to the Impot and ask about leaving certiuficates and spread the word.
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Not being at unsympathetic, but how do you think it will go back in Britain when you return?

Having just wasted over one day's professional time, sorting a migration of main bank accounts (Don't ask! [:@]), fighting with the DWP et al, trying to cancel and re-set Direct Debits and Standing orders etc, I can assure you it's no better here!

Most calls are routed through call centres - and that's after you've had a running battle with their Call Mismanagement Systems! - where the "Agents", when you can actually be connected to one, in 90% of cases can't speak English, can't understand English and in any case are just plain dumb!

Invariably, in this paperchase, one is given another number to call: which turns out to be dead! Since Government are presently undergoing massive organisational changes and neither their internal telephone books or letterheads can keep up with what's happening: let alone the staff.

We have one client, for example, whose Tax Office has now been moved seven times in two years! And the records can't keep up with the moves!

And I have the total misfortune of dealing with government departments day in and day out as part of my professional life!

A few years ago a young friend and his wife and young son, who had been living in France decided to return to the UK in order that their second baby would be born in the UK. So a "Scoping" visit was in order to start looking at realities................

All fine until they rolled off the ferry at Southampton: he was accused of trying to smuggle his almost new Renault into the UK and avoid duty and VAT! Despite the fact that it was on French regional plates!

Next up was that their temporary Cartes de Sejoure which they used to prove the French residence were cast aside as forgeries! So, they were arrested!

After four hours when they and they car was stripped; which even included reviewing a video of the youngest son having a bath and this lead on to suspicions of child abuse and child pornography! The youngster was deprived drink -which was screaming for! - they were both derpived from access to loos and food and drink.

Eventually and most fortunately, an older and much more senior customs officer arrived (he spoke fluent French) took one look at the temporary CdS and agreed it was fine), admonished the younger female officer and apologised profusely.

To me what it all means is that anyone planning on relocating in la belle France, or indeed, anywhere else, must plan their strategy very carefully indeed and not take what can be almost irrevocable steps, unless they are pretty sure they won't want to return.

 

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