American marrying Brit and living in France

Hello,

As stated in the title of this post, I am an American who will be marrying my British partner, and we intend to settle in France.

Since we do not intend to settle in the UK, only marry there and visit from time to time, am I correct in assuming that I would fill out the Visit - Fiance visa rather than the Settlement - Fiance visa?

I'm prepared to include most all of the recommended supporting documents such as property deeds, bank accounts, copy of his passport, etc. Do you think I would need to include our birth certificates as well? It is recommended for the Settlement visa, but I don't think it is necessary for the Visit visa... or is it?

I ask because it means we would need to drum up fresh copies of our birth certificates which would take at least 6 weeks. I was hoping to apply for this visa within the next week.

Any advice appreciated! Thank you so much for your time.

I know nothing about French immigration law as such, so I shall limit by answer to the EU aspect of this.

Under EU law your fiancé has the right to exercise EU Treaty Rights in France. That includes the ability of live and work in France. Actually, what will he be doing in France? That is, in what way will he be exercising his Treaty Rights?

If the two of you were already married, or have already lived together unmarried in a "durable relationship" then you can apply for a French-issued EEA Family Permit, and that will give you the right also to exercise EU treaty Rights in France, and long as your husband/partner continues to do so.

So what is the situation? Are the two of you living together now? If so for how long? And when do you intend to get married?

Hi John,

Thank you for your speedy response.

Currently my fiance owns a house and land in France, where he has just begun running a non-profit. He has not yet started living there year-round, but that is the plan within the next year. For now he spends nearly half the year there and half the year in the UK.

I plan to travel to the UK this spring, spend a couple weeks there with him, then we will both spend a couple months in France before returning to the UK to get married.

We are not living together at the moment, because (due to visa laws) we need to go back and forth between our countries, which we've been doing for the past 2.5 years.

I hope this clarifies the situation for you. Do you think I would be able to apply for a French-issed EEA Family Permit while I'm in France? I dread the thought of having to leave the country in order to apply back home in the States.

Thank you so much for your help.

lilhumanbean wrote: I hope this clarifies the situation for you. Do you think I would be able to apply for a French-issed EEA Family Permit while I'm in France? I dread the thought of having to leave the country in order to apply back home in the States.

That's really a question of French law and you may not find an answer on a UK-centred forum.

Do bear in mind that France is not obliged (under EEA rules) to extend French citizenship to you and you will have to investigate separately whether you would be allowed to naturalise under their domestic law should you want this. Same goes for any children you have born in France.

That's really a question of French law and you may not find an answer on a UK-centred forum.

Do bear in mind that France is not obliged (under EEA rules) to extend French citizenship to you and you will have to investigate separately whether you would be allowed to naturalise under their domestic law should you want this. Same goes for any children you have born in France.

Hi JAJ,

Thank you for your response. To clarify, I am not seeking French citizenship, just trying to find out what I need to do to be able to legally reside in France year-round with my British soon-to-be husband.

I'll take your advice and do a search for French immigration forums and see what I can come up with.

Cheers!