Newbie Question for move with family

[Steve-O]

Hi!!
i may have a potential move from the US to Southern France.
my company is Global and thus is would be a transfer for approx 2 years.

Questions:
1) will my wife be able to work (receive working visa) automatically? or would we have to file new papers in France?

2) as an expat, are my kids able to attend public Kindergarden?

3) With Dollar being weak, is the move worth it? we make in the range of
70K-85K and live modestly.

any and every help/information is appreciated.

thank you!!

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by Steve-O

1) will my wife be able to work (receive working visa) automatically? or would we have to file new papers in France?

2) as an expat, are my kids able to attend public Kindergarden?

3) With Dollar being weak, is the move worth it? we make in the range of
70K-85K and live modestly.

1. Probably not. This is where the expression "trailing spouse" comes from. Most visas allow for working privileges only for the person who already has the job. The accompanying family members (including spouse) generally are prohibited from working. But, this is France, and there is a way around most things.

Depending on what your wife does for a living, she may be able to "telecommute" back to the US. I know, for example, a programmer "trailing spouse" who continued doing her job, and just e-mailed her work into her old office. It may be possible to work out some sort of arrangement with her current employer - or even to do some form of part-time consulting work (again, via the Internet). It's not strictly legal, but it can be made to work.

2. I don't have kids, but as far as I know, there is no reason your kids couldn't attend local public school. (Kindergarten in France is "real school" - not just songs and games for socializing with other little kids.)

3. People live quite nicely on much less than that (at current exchange rates) here. But be sure to ask about any "expat" or "transfer" perks your company makes available. Usually on a foreign transfer there is provision for a housing allowance (of some sort), possibly private or International school for the kids and often a once-a-year home leave for a couple weeks or more once a year. Make sure you know whether they will put you on the "expat" payroll (i.e. pay you your US salary translated into euro with your US withholdings and deductions continued) or put you on a fixed salary on the local payroll (which has certain advantages, but complicates your tax situation). On the "expat" payroll, it's customary for the employer to provide tax preparation services and possibly tax equalization (i.e. to compensate you for extra taxes generated by being liable to both countries and receiving taxable perks).

OK - possibly more than you wanted to know... But congratulations. A couple of years in France sounds like a great opportunity.

[Frenchy11]

Great Post Bev

[Steve-O]

Bev,
thanks for the quick reply.
does this mean that it would impossible for my wife to work legally, unless she 'telecommutes'? any other ways of obtaining 'legal' work status that you know of?

thanks!

[Bevdeforges]

In France, nothing is impossible! <g> What exactly do you mean when you ask if she can obtain legal work status?

What I suspect you're looking for is a carte residente with working privileges, so that she can go look for a job after you arrive. That's probably the most difficult to manage. (If you were staying longer than 2 years, there would be a better shot, but it can take 2 years to change the visa status once you're there.) It would be much better if she could arrange for a job before your arrival, and then, in essence she'd enter the country on her own work visa.

If she comes into France on your visa (or on a dependent's visa, which is I think how they do it now), then she is labelled as "not eligible to work in France." No legit employer will consider her for a job unless her working priviileges are already sorted out.

What is often done is that the company doing the transfer for you may either offer your wife a job, or arrange for her to be employed by another company in France (say, a related company or a supplier or something) so that she will get her own working visa rather than entering the country under yours. Like visas in the US, the working privileges are tied to the one employer and she won't be able to change jobs once over there.

The other option is "informal" work - some English language schools will hire native speakers to teach without papers (ok, it's not legal, and those that hire in this way don't pay what the job is worth) or she could do things like tutoring (big demand for that) - stick a card up in the local bakery or butcher shop and go for it.

They are very sensitive in France about foreigners taking "their" jobs (sound familiar? <g>) and generally trailing spouses aren't granted working privileges once they arrive.

[Steve-O]

This may be a problem....how about school then? are there schools equivalent to community colleges to at least pick up french lessons and kill time? if there are, would we be paying international student tuition ?

thanks again for your help!

[Bevdeforges]

Oh, there are tons of schools for learning French (and a few other languages, if you prefer). But mostly they are private schools. Fees vary like crazy (but often are picked up by your employer for your wife and kids if you're on an expat package).

And, there are expat groups, depending on where you are located to occupy trailing spouses - with everything from trips to good deeds. Google an umbrella group called FAWCO to find a list of where their affiliated clubs are in the south of France. (Montpellier has a dynamite group, listed under "Languedoc-Rousillon")

Or, try to find an organization called AVF (Accueils des Villes Françaises), which is the closest thing France has to a welcome wagon group. The local groups are independent associations, but linked through a national umbrella organization. Some local AVFs have lots of foreigners and make a point of planning activities for them - language discussion groups to practice in "friendly surroundings", for example. In all the AVFs there are a variety of activities aimed at newcomers, whether French or foreign - trips, workshops in all sorts of artistic pursuits (needlepoint, cooking, etc.), hiking groups and whatever else the local folks like to do.

There are often other local groups, but those are the two biggies I've been associated with here in France. Your wife shouldn't have to worry about having "nothing to do." But she may have to hunt around a bit to find the groups - they don't tend to advertise very prominently.

[giantpanda]

Originally Posted by Steve-O

Hi!!
i may have a potential move from the US to Southern France.
my company is Global and thus is would be a transfer for approx 2 years.

Questions:
1) will my wife be able to work (receive working visa) automatically? or would we have to file new papers in France?

2) as an expat, are my kids able to attend public Kindergarden?

3) With Dollar being weak, is the move worth it? we make in the range of
70K-85K and live modestly.

any and every help/information is appreciated.

thank you!!

Hi!

For US and other foreignors, the regulations have been considerably complicated - it is usually advisable to start the red tape at the French Consulate in USA.

For your wife if she wants to work, same situation as you - you may find it rather difficult to get work

Travail des étrangers - Service-public.fr

For your wife if she wants to work, same situation as you - you may find it rather difficult to get work, even if she has a qualification and speaks reasonable French.

For the children: no real problem.

For the budget, that should be no problem - the 70 to 85k; is that euro or US Dollar? That to work out what Income Tax you would pay.
How many children do you have?
Is the income all salaried?

You have in France to declare your world income, and if you have foreign income, the uncome and the taxed paid too.

Yours,

giantpanda

[mas jen]

If you live in a commune, whether you are a house owner, renter, local or foreigner, your child has the right to go to the local school. It is simply a matter of going to the mayor's office to inscribe, bringing along the obvious important documents, including vaccination certificates. We arrived two weeks into the school year and they wanted our children to start the very next day! Good luck!

[Steve-O]

Bev, Giant Panda, Mas Jen;
thank you for the replies.

i have just come across 'foreign income exclusion'. anyone know how this works exactly? is everybody who is an expat entitled to this? My income is in USD and i have 2 children.

My company is offering 'tax equalization', but if 'foreign income exclusion' is real. i wouldnt pay any taxes....a bit confused.

thanks for all your help!