For all those coming to France - Page 6

The Moose · #51 (**permalink**) 10th October 2008, 04:18 PM

Re bank accounts.
If you are with the HSBC in the Uk you can open an account for France via CCF whilst in the UK (sister banks). If you want you can transfer money between the UK (if you still have it) and French account for free providing you hold £60.000 or more in either account. Any transfers are free (Premier account) whilst holding the this amount of money. I know this is a lot of money, but if you are selling (or sold) you might have it anyway. It makes any account easy to use then. Just a thought

maria0301 · #52 (**permalink**) 10th October 2008, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Moose

Re bank accounts.
If you are with the HSBC in the Uk you can open an account for France via CCF whilst in the UK (sister banks). If you want you can transfer money between the UK (if you still have it) and French account for free providing you hold £60.000 or more in either account. Any transfers are free (Premier account) whilst holding the this amount of money. I know this is a lot of money, but if you are selling (or sold) you might have it anyway. It makes any account easy to use then. Just a thought

Hi Moose, thanks for the quick reply but we havent got that sort of monet, we are renting our house out and then renting in France. No-one can sell at the mo!! I am going to take utility bills and english bank statements and try to open an account when we fly out next week. Wish us luck. Maria

maria0301 · #53 (**permalink**) 10th October 2008, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

Hi Maria,
Opening a bank account will go a whole lot smoother once you're actually living in France. Usually they want you to make an appointment (often the same day) and come in with your last three months' of pay slips (basically proof of income - your pension will do), proof of residence (normally an electric bill) and the usual round of identification (passports or whatever).

The immobilier should be able to help you figure out how to make the necessary deposits.

Which order to do things (rent in France, let in England) is pretty much up to you. The risks are fairly evident. You have to figure out what you could work around if one side of the transaction should fall through (and with the current economic situation, it's probably best to assume something will go wrong. If it doesn't, it will just be a happy surprise.)
Cheers,
Bev

Thanks Bev, really looking forward to getting sortedin La Belle France.

maria0301 · #54 (**permalink**) 10th October 2008, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Moose

If the kids think you are mad you are on the right road.

I wish you all the best with the year and the eventual move. Have a great life

Love it, Moose, thanks. Hope evrything works out next week.

Bevdeforges · #55 (**permalink**) 11th October 2008, 06:33 AM

Until you find a place in France, you may have to settle for a "non-resident" account, which has a few restrictions on it that you won't have on your "resident" account after you settle in. Make sure the bank is aware that you're moving to France and will become resident very soon. Banks in France aren't the most "user-friendly" but if you explain your situation to the conseiller, perhaps they can accommodate you.
Cheers,
Bev

The Moose · #56 (**permalink**) 11th October 2008, 07:05 PM

Fingers and legs crossed. Everything will work out fine. Just dont expect it to be rushed. Good luck and thinking of you.

maria0301 · #57 (**permalink**) 15th November 2008, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by extankie

Hi Bev,
My wife and i are moving to France shortly, I will be a UK pensioner when we move, my wife in Sept 2009. Will we be liable for tax on our combined pensions and if so will it be on the sliding scale dependant on income.
Cheer
Ernie

Hi, My husband and me are both moving to France in January and we are both receiving state pensions. As far as I amaware we will pay our tax in England, and only if we work in France would we pay French taxes. Good luck with the move.

parsnips · #58 (**permalink**) 15th November 2008, 08:51 PM

Hi Maria ,
If you mean state retirement pensions , they are taxable only in France. If you have pensions in respect of government or local government service these will generally be taxable only in UK.
If you want more information you can PM me.

maria0301 · #59 (**permalink**) 15th November 2008, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parsnips

Hi Maria ,
If you mean state retirement pensions , they are taxable only in France. If you have pensions in respect of government or local government service these will generally be taxable only in UK.
If you want more information you can PM me.

Hi Parsnips, help what do we have to do then, I just thought we would be taxed by the Inland revenue. Thats what I have been informed. We are coming to France Jan 3rd for 1 year iniatially.

frogblogger · #60 (**permalink**) 16th November 2008, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maria0301

Hi, My husband and me are both moving to France in January and we are both receiving state pensions. As far as I amaware we will pay our tax in England, and only if we work in France would we pay French taxes. Good luck with the move.

Funnily enough my mother (former teacher) had her tax deducted at source, while my father (former senior local government officer) had to pay his in France, for some reason. Or was it the other way around? Whatever - despite double taxation agreements, the French and Brits of course managed to complicate things unnecessarily!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

France is a tough country to love as a foreigner. The culture is such that it isn't easy to get to know people, especially if you don't speak French reasonably well.

Just one comment - individual experiences differ a lot in this respect. And perhaps it depends where you end up as well? There's a difference between a village of 3,000 in the backwaters of the Vaucluse and the Paris area, both in terms of community spirit and the local character and culture of the people.

When I first lived in France 30+ years ago (a small town in the Vienne department) I absolutely loved it. Later I spent a few years in Lyon. Not the same at all - more difficult to integrate in some respects. Then the Vaucluse for a decade - the people couldn't have been more welcoming. Then the notoriously insular upper Tarentaise Valley in the Savoie - the 'montagnard' attitude was superficially cold, but once through the barriers they are quite easy to get close to as well.

On the whole for me personally I found the French to be a warm and welcoming people, and the country very easy to love - sorry! But you're right - picking up the language as quickly as possible is important. And in some respects we are our own worst enemies. The Brits have a bit of a reputation for going abroad complete with 'Little Englander' attitudes at times, which doesn't always endear us to the locals! The number of times I've found myself having to apologise on behalf of Brits for their attitude/behaviour as guests in another country...

I wrote a blog entry partly on this topic recently ....

Greener Grass ... Cautionary Tales for Budding Expats

The tone may come across as rather negative, but the more people are aware of the pitfalls - and why we are at least as responsible for things going wrong as the French - the better chance new expats have of making it in a new country, I reckon!

I've dozens more stories along similar lines - these events were far from one-offs, unfortunately...
_____________________________
Pete - FrogBlogging from Chiang Mai