A French law could provide hope for British non-resident homeowners in Spain who have been tied by the 90-day law since Brexit.
The French bill, which will debated in December, proposes that British owners of second homes in France be granted automatic long -stay visa rights “without the need for any formalities.”
There is some way to go before the final draft of the bill will be subjected to approval by Frances’s National Assembly, but should it be passed, British non-resident homeowners in France would only have to worry about the 90-day rule when visiting Schengen countries other than France.
This would provide an important precedent in European countries, especially those, such as Spain, where many British non-residents own properties.
And there are signs that Spanish officials are taking note of the situation. The Mallorca Bulletin recently reported that Spain’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Héctor Gómez had held an “important meeting at the Foreign Office with the UK’s Director of Consular Affairs and Crisis, Jennifer Anderson, in which they discussed issues of interest regarding the stays of British tourists in Spain and discussed collaboration projects for future seasons”. These discussions are “understood to have included the 90-day cap.”
The 90-day issue is particularly relevant to the Canaries, where the year-round sunshine has led to a longstanding community of “swallows”, who winter on the islands.
Andrew Hesselden, who runs the 180 Days in Spain Facebook page, which has campaigned tirelessly for the rights of British second homeowners, said that he was “delighted to see French senators recognizing the situation that British part-year residents have found themselves in since Brexit.”
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