France to cut red tape for British second home owners
France is considering overhauling visa rules to make it easier for Britons to stay in the country for more than 90 days at a time.
The move would throw a lifeline to some 60,000 British second home owners who face restrictions on how long they can stay at their properties in the country.
It comes as English councils crack down on second home owners by hitting them with double council tax bills – while British nationals buying property in Spain are threatened with a 100pc property tax.
Currently UK passport holders may visit France for no longer than 90 days – approximately three months – every 180 days.
A separate longer visa of six months is used by British nationals with homes in France to get around the rules, however it can only be issued once in a year.
The French government is considering a proposal to reduce the six-month period second home owners must wait before reapplying for the long-stay visa.
Bruno Retailleau, the French interior minister, said there would be a 'new and appropriate examination of the situation' on the visa requirements.
In a letter to French senator Martine Berthet, who represents the Savoie region in the Alps, Mr Retailleau recognised 'the difficulties encountered by British nationals who own second homes in France in obtaining a long-stay visa'.
The correspondence was published in the Majorca Daily Bulletin, a local English-language news website.
Mr Retailleau's response was to a query lodged by Ms Berthet on behalf of a British second home owner in the country, who said the six-month break between applications for long-stay visas should be reduced.
The so-called VLS-Tatrois visa lasts six or four months and requires proof of property ownership or a rental agreement in France. The only longer visa, lasting 12 months, is linked to a residency application.
It has served as one of the preferred ways for Britons to escape the standard visa-free rules in France that limit stays to 90 days within a 180-day window.
But due to the enforced six-month gap between consecutive applications for the scheme some Britons face lengthy waits before they can return to French properties for extended stays. A shorter waiting period would permit more regular visits.
Britons currently have stricter travel requirements when visiting France than French nationals do in the UK, where they may stay for up to six months without a visa.
Ms Berthet has been a prominent campaigner in favour of better visa rules for British nationals in France. In November 2023 she tabled legal changes that would have allowed second home owners to stay in the country for as long as they wished.
The amendment to French immigration law was drafted to automatically hand six-month visas to Britons with second homes in France, but was ultimately shot down by France's top constitutional court in January 2024.
A change to the VLS-Tatrois visa arrangements is a separate proposal from the remedy attempted by lawmakers last year.
There has been little progress on the issue since that time. There are an estimated 60,000 British households who own second homes in France, a number that has decreased from 89,000 in 2008.
In 2019, a report by estate agency Savills found France was the most popular location where Britons bought homes abroad, just behind Spain.
France's approach is at odds with Spain whose prime minister Pedro Sánchez announced plans to impose a 100pc tax rise on property purchases by non-residents living outside the EU. Mr Sánchez branded foreign buyers 'speculators', who were out 'just to make money'.
And last April, the Spanish government axed its famous 'golden visa' scheme, which offers non-EU citizens residency rights in exchange for a €500,000 investment, typically in property. It closed on April 3 this year.
Meanwhile, councils in England were given the power to charge a 100pc council tax premium for second home owners from April 1 under laws passed by the previous Conservative government to ease housing pressures.
Over two-thirds of local authorities opted to impose the charge. It means 157 second home owners will face council tax bills of up to £10,000 per year, according to Telegraph analysis.
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