A very french start

Not the healthiest of breakfasts, but an extremely good pain aux raisins, you can see the layers in the flaky pastry, and full of sweet plump raisins, accompanied by a perfect milky coffee - just yummy.

In the last few days we had received the final piece of information for our registration to live in France, so yesterday we sat down to complete the online form. The website is very clear in what’s required, and user friendly, so as we had gathered all the information together it didn’t take long to upload everything : proof of address, proof of finances, proof of health cover, and photo ID. We did Brian’s first and submitted it, then moved onto mine. Unfortunately the website went down so we couldn’t complete it, so kind of left us hanging on why it wasn’t working. Just one of those glitches, as first thing this morning it was up again and we were able to complete mine and submit it also. We have both been advised that they have been received and have been sent to our local Prefecture for processing. We have no idea how long this could take - maybe 6 weeks, maybe 6 months!

If the authorities do not have any questions then we will be invited to the prefecture to finalise the formalities, which include completing our photo ID, and having our fingerprints taken. If not, they will come back to us by email for some additional information. Just need to sit tight.

The good thing is, because we have submitted our registration we will continue with all the same benefits as pre Brexit whilst it’s being reviewed. The latest for pre-Brexit applicants to submit their registration is June 2021, and this can be done via the electronic portal. The latest to be advised if they have been accepted, is October 2021. It means that if you move to France after 1st January 2021 you will need to apply via a different route. I’m just happy our application is now in the system.