Why I Won’t Be Getting A Carte De Séjour

Nope. You’re not going to make me. Surely this is the sensible option I hear you say? Surely you’d be mad not to, you know, just in case you need one post Brexit?

Nope. I didn’t get the memo on the sensible thing. Clearly I am not that way inclined. As the sensible thing would have been to hang fire on selling the family home in South London, hang fire on that moving the kids to a country where they couldn’t speak the language (or at best had the illusion of speaking it!), waited until the pound recovered from falling off a cliff edge and waited to see what would happen post Brexit. But where would the fun in that be?! If you, like me, voted with your feet – or took the view that a move had to be sooner rather than later – then what is the likely hood that I’m going to apply for a card, that I may or may not need, just in case ? Yarp you guessed it. A big fat zero.

Joking aside – if you want to know why we moved prior and not post Brexit you can read more about it here.

So primarily the reason I shan’t be getting a *Carte De Sejour (and now I can’t be faffed with the accent and you will not see one apart from the one in the title – oh bolshy old thing ain’t I!) anytime soon is, well, I can’t be bothered!

Seriously, don’t I have enough to do? Yeah, yeah you big martyr living the dream. First world problems and all that. Granted but the thought of starting another process, just in case, is not appealing to me in any way shape or form. In any universe. In any doing things proper type of World. Nope. And yes, you can all wave your Carte De Sejour’s in my face, being all smug like, when the clock strikes 2019 or 2020 or whenever it’s meant to be all over. I like admin but I don’t like it that much.

*Carte De Sejour – so in basic terms as I don’t do high brow – this is a card that your non EU citizens need to reside in France. Being part of the EU (by our skinny skin skin) we don’t need one. Freedom of movement and all that. We can just up root, plonk ourselves down in France and say we’re living, working, retiring, sending the kids to school, using your healthcare (ta very much!) here. And no one bats an eyelid. However, an American (for example) has to get themselves a Carte De Sejour to prove they have the right to live here. They have to send in all their paperwork i.e passport etc, prove they have a job and if you don’t – prove you won’t be a burden. Personally I’m always going to be a burden if I’m not fluent by next year. You will then get a temporary card for a year or 5/10 years. Not sure. But this site will tell you all you need to know Remain In France.

So far we have arranged; water, electricity (temporary and permanent), fosse (our waste system), schools, doctors, insurances – house, contents, car, health, set up micro-entrepreneur, Mr Normandy’s social security number for his work, mutelle top up, re-registration of our car (don’t talk to me about that car!), bank accounts and now I’m meant to get a Carte de Sejour?! I don’t think so.

And here (apart from being lazy) are some more reasons on the “Why should I?!” front:-

I’m still a European citizen and have the right to free movement. I’m going to darn well enjoy it and cling onto it as long as possible. I will get a card at the last knockings and only when I’m told to and not before.

What ever happened to the very first round of talks where the EU said anyone who is in France before 2019 will keep their EU status? I took that to mean…well, just that. I can come and go as I please thank you very much. No one is mentioning that now and even the British Embassy are suggesting  you get a card, as quite frankly, no one knows what will happen. Well, I’m going to pretend, that the first indication that things will be just fine, still stands. Ignorance is bliss.

What if, post Brexit, you need a special type of card? A card that isn’t a Carte De Sejour but a card that is for someone who was here as an EU citizen but then they weren’t. Just like all the EU residents in the UK. So, if I apply for a Carte De Sejour – it could transpire that I need a different card and what a waste of time that would have been #wails.

What if, they all agree, we don’t need any card for residents pre 2019. Or you just have a card issued that says you don’t need a card, as you were here before you needed a card. It does make sense you just have to re-read it.

I have 3 children in French schools (many schools close down due to lack of numbers in rural France) are they seriously going to kick out my children because I don’t have a Carte De Sejour? Are they going to kick out Master Normandy during his final Brevet year? That’s not very EU like is it. Much like you don’t kick a child out of school because the parent is a pain in the arse. The child has done nothing wrong.

Also, it has occurred to me that for all the Brits scampering around getting a Carte De Sejour may have stitched us all up like a kipper. Because had there not been a mass influx of this (and nationality by the way), the authorities might not have even thought about this route. As it is they might think, “so many have applied, we may as well get them all to get one”. But really we weren’t that fussed before. Understandably there are many different tales of how easy it is to get a Carte de Sejour. Some have waiting lists for an appointment, others are told they won’t issue one (I mean technically you don’t need to have one) and I can totally understand why some departments are puzzled by it all. So yes, I think we may have made a rod for our own backs.

I was on one forum recently and I was accused of not making people worry! Wow, that’s a first. How very dare I – being all laid back about things. I have no issues with people applying for a card. If it makes them feel better – great! It’s not going to make me feel better, it’s just going to be another thing to add on the “to do list”. Live life. Enjoy the moment and on the balance of probabilities I reckon everything’s going to be alright!

Edit – And another thing! After getting totally ambushed on a French forum for saying I wasn’t getting a card last week. The first assault was “you’ve been told by the British government” wailed one poster. Seriously? Do you really want to have this conversation? We’re still taking notice of what the British government says after recent times? Yeah pinch and salt spring to mind. It’ll be 600 euros afterwards. No, it’ll be 250 pipped up another. I DON’T CARE. TIME IS MONEY. My time is precious. I’ve got better things to be doing like 1) improving my French 2) earning a living. Well clearly you haven’t been here long enough when you realise they’ll be lots of paperwork…erm what like every other agency that requires paperwork, asks for it again and then some more?

Why can’t anyone see the logic in all of this? Do you really think, come March, if you don’t have a CDS you’ll be marched out? The conversation will go like this:-

“do you have a CDS?”

“no”

“you need one”

“ok”

“we need x,y & z and the kitchen sink – you’ll send it then we’ll ask for it all again about 4 times in total.”

“ok”

“here’s your card – as you were”

The End.

If you would like more information on the Carte De Sejour here are some more useful links.

You have been reading Our Normandy Life!

The Local Fr – why you should get one like now!  Calmez-Vous!

Connextion France – Confirmed Brits Need Carte De Sejour (la, la, la not listenning!)