French Senator Proposes 6 month visa's - Page 2

I've not seen any gloating, read anyone saying "it serves you right", or found any indication of smugness. 

I've not seen it suggested that it's an individual's fault that, for whatever reason, they should have moved here prior to Brexit. 

All I've seen is helpful members explaining the situation, as it now stands, to anyone asking about moving here and perhaps more importantly, structuring the expectations of those hoping for any changes to or relaxation of the Schengen agreement. This is usually backed by evidence for those wanting to read further. 

Of course, I don't read every post here and I freely admit that I might have missed the ones that you allude to. If you wish to highlight them for me, I'd gladly take a look and, if necessary, eat my words. 

Hi Kimmy

No, I was refering to an article in the Connexion this week. We were going to move to France so I am still a subscriber. You are correct it was also in a previous article, but France has had more pressing things , like the Pension reforms. However, Madam Imbert is still pressing ahead.

Laws can be changed or altered. If I have any other news on the subject I'll report back.

Hi Alfapash,

Yes, that's the second article referred to in the Schengen Visa Info link.  As I said previously, the original Connexion article was published in March 2022.  

That's also the date of the EU Directive requesting member states to abolish their Golden Visa programmes.  France doesn't have one, Portugal and Ireland have already ceased theirs, and Spain has already passed new legislation to remove the two articles that allow for such residency visas by way of investment in property alone.  

As more member states comply with the Directive, I can envisage there being a stronger case for introducing a visa of longer duration for non-residents who own property in EU states.  It would seem like a reasonable compromise to differentiate them from regular tourists - especially for UK citizens who owned their properties prior to Brexit and didn't vote to leave! 😉

Kind regards,

Kim

There were only 5 countries that signed the original Schengen Agreement in 1985.  Today, there are 27 countries (23 EU member states and the 4 EEA countries).  Whilst the UK and Ireland received opt-outs from implementing the Schengen acquis (Schengen Agreement 1985 and Schengen Convention 1995), the acquis protocol specified that they could request to opt-into Schengen measures on a case-by-case basis - and the UK did so.  

For example, although the UK was not part of the Schengen passport-free area, prior to Brexit it used the SIS (Schengen Information System), a database used by European countries to store and disseminate information on individuals and property.  This allowed the UK to exchange information with Schengen countries, usually for the sake of law enforcement.  In May 2000, the UK also opted-into Police Security and Judicial Cooperation of the Schengen acquis.

So whilst the UK (and Ireland) were not original signatories to the 1985 Schengen Agreement, to suggest that the UK had no involvement in the development and ongoing implementation of the Schengen acquis, at least in part, is incorrect.

As for "No one Voted to become a third country", what did you expect from losing the benefits of EU membership?

The U.K. could have been recognised as a Second Country. No one, including Ministers had a Clue what they were doing. imho. I voted remain but now couldn’t care less what happens , they couldn’t even negotiate a U.K. issued Pet Passport that would be recognised in the EU for Gods sake ! 

You could argue that UK citizens were treated differently, in that we were granted visa-waiver travel to the Schengen travel area, whereas some other Third Country Nationals have to apply for a visa to come here, e.g. India, South Africa, Thailand, and a whole host of others.  

But let's face it, it didn't matter whether our PM was a closet Remainer, such as Theresa May, or the BoJo flip-flop, happy to sell either argument to the British public, for the the best deal he could get for himself personally, they were simply the dogs being wagged by the far-right ERG tail, a relatively small band of super-rich, protecting their personal interests and those of Conservative Party donors - such as German property tycoon, Henning Conle, a major funder of the German far-right party, Alternative für Deutschland, and a Conservative party donor.  But I doubt the average Brexiteer even knows that, let alone cares about its implications for the democratic rights of UK citizens.

You cite Pet Passports; similarly, I'd suggest the Driving Licence Exchange was an even bigger fiasco that wasn't given the attention it should have had at the outset.  But the sole focus of  successive Conservative government's has been to "Get Brexit Done", they couldn't care less about how it impacted their citizens - and the racists and lemmings will still vote for them in 2024. 

Like you, I voted Remain and moved to Spain a week before the referendum result was announced.  Having obtained residency here in 2017, the impact of Brexit on me has been negligible, but that doesn't stop me being angry and disappointed for those whose futures have been wrecked - not just people whose retirement plans have been destroyed, but for the next generation whose world has become so much smaller because of Brexit.

I suspect we were granted visa waver because Etias was coming in anyway . Walt Disney has a lot to answer for re Lemmings ! but, yes the clowns will put them in again but then again Labour(no better) will have the Scottish vote this time I believe . The World is a mess , and the Greens will cause so many problems, the U.K. are trying  to be like The Netherlands but the culture is so different .  Beam me up Scotty. I’m ready.  

Well said. 

There is a Petition which is live for a homeowners visa.

https://www.change.org/p/costaluz-lawyers-a-homeowners-visa-for-spain?recruiter=1233001585&recruited_by_id=de893b00-40b0-11ec-8674-5fd9628e05bd&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard

Bee

Wasn’t it obvious 😳