Brexit

[Smudger]

I am in the process of converting a property in France into gite accommodation with the plan to move out permanently in early 2018 to run the business. If the UK were to leave the EU, what impact do you think that would have on my plans? Has anyone done any homework on this?

[andyh4]

An exit vote will take years before the UK can extricate itself and set up its international agreements.

If you have a good business model for your gites then I see no problem in continuing with the plan.

[minnie]

Could the UK stop paying for the healthcare of S1 holders almost immediately?

[lindal1000]

I guess the answer is no one knows. It's unlikely but it depends what the Daily Express readers are thinking about 'expats living in luxury at the expense of the NHS' at the time.

[andyh4]

Could the UK stop paying for the healthcare of S1 holders almost immediately?

Could it? I guess yes, but it would still be part of the EU and therefore in breach of treaties that it has agreed to. It would set a bad international precedent if it broke its treaty obligations and would probably make the negotiation of new treaties as an independent country very difficult.

As a further reason why I think it will not do so is that it would be likely to provoke a mass return of ex-pats to the UK, who would almost certainly have not sold their French properties and if they held no UK property could be declared homeless and would need to be handled by local authorities.

[chessie]

No the UK could not do so;  it would be in breach of the Vienna Convention.  

Very complicated but in essence if we are here legally, then the UK could not stop paying for healthcare.   I rather think that the UK has a separate double treaty (apart from any eu Treaty) which covers health-care for UK exPats.