Many readers have told how the EU’s 90/180 days rule – enforced on British visitors post-Brexit – is causing difficulties in their lives after we put out a call for experiences.
They told of health, family and work problems, among others.
It comes as there are calls by UK MPs for more flexible rules and acknowledgement by the EU of the difficulties caused to some people.
No time for health scan
Stephen Moore described how the 90-day limitation caused stress and discomfort after he suffered a severe sciatica attack.
“The doctor at the local French A&E wanted to send me for a scan but my time allowance was running out. The journey home to North Wales was agony.”
Medical reasons are one possible ground for asking the prefecture for an emergency extension called an autorisation provisoire de séjour.
However in view of frequent communication difficulties with prefectures, obtaining this could be an additional stress at a difficult time.
Robert Clark said he and his wife have retired and had planned to spend more time in their holiday home in France, purchased in 2011.
However, his wife’s sister has now moved to Spain and his son’s employer requested his son move from the UK to a Paris branch.
“Naturally we wish to spend time in both Spain and Paris as well as at our second home and for holidays elsewhere in the EU.
"While we have been able to juggle our time with the help of a six-month VLS-T visa there is now a further complication in that we are expecting our first grandchild in Paris.
"We are worried that we will be restricted in the time we will be able to help out.”
Rule forced us to move to France to spend time with family
Mark Hamer described similar concerns, saying the family have had a house in Normandy since well before Brexit.
“My son moved there and started a relationship with a French national. They had our first and only grandchild. However, ‘90/180’ meant we could spend very little time with her, little time looking after her while her parents worked.
“So, we applied for visas each year. Sometimes we could get them and stay six months, leaving us free to use the 90 days for emergencies, parental or child illness.
“Sometimes we could not get visas because there were no appointments at the visa centre – which was a nightmare to get to from where we lived in Wales and meant an expensive overnight stay in a London hotel.
“There were times when we were needed to help but could not be there to help.
“Eventually we decided we had no option but to leave the UK and apply for residence in France so that we could be the good parents and grandparents we want to be.”
However, he said they now worry about the annual requirement to renew their ‘visitor’ residency cards.
Deana Misbert is approaching retirement and had always planned to spend several months of the year in France. She is British but with a French husband and daughters.
"I’ve been married since the early 1990’s and always saw the ability to visit my French family and friends as a right and I’ve even lived in France before, without issue.
"Sadly, this is no longer the case, without time consuming and costly visas, none of which meet my requirements currently.
"I don’t want to live full time in France, I just want to come and go freely to my own home, with my family.
"Our house in France took many years for us to save to purchase and this is my husband’s only property and pied à terre in France.
"I am the only member of our family who can’t spend the time there that I choose with my family."
Haulage work now put at risk
Stephen Robinson said: “I'm a self-employed light haulage operator in business 30 years.
I have only ever done urgent deliveries from the UK to mainland Europe and we’ve had a workaround since Brexit but EES [involving strict automated checks on respect of the rules] is closing that.
This will seriously affect me financially as I will only be able to work for six months a year: in fact less as we normally spend on average six weeks a year in France on holiday.”
Philip Prior bought a house in Brittany with his partner 25 years ago and had intended to retire to France. However, illness prevented them from doing so before the deadline to benefit from the Withdrawal Agreement's flexible rules.
"Thankfully I have recovered and am again able to travel back and forth to our house, but the 90/180 day rule is very restrictive.
"My daughter, who has Irish citizenship, lives in the house for considerable periods of the year, but visiting her - upon whom I increasingly rely as I get older - is compromised by the unequal Schengen / UK visa rules."
Heather and John Crail bought a French property 12 years ago with a view to sharing the year between the UK and France in retirement.
"We were very disappointed by the outcome of the Brexit vote which limits our ability to travel freely.
"We retired this year 2025 and at a time in our lives where we should be free to enjoy our property it is a constant worry trying to calculate the rolling 90/180 day system.
"We have made many friends in France over the years and actively partake within the community when in France, we contribute by paying taxes in both the UK and France and support local charities in both countries. We think of France as home the same as the UK.
"However should the restrictions not be eased in some way we will consider selling our French property as the worry of calculating dates means it isn’t worth the stress it causes. This would be so disappointing after working all these years in order to have the wonderful experience of spending time in France with our French friends."
Historic renovation did not go as hoped due to limit
Terry Donohue, an American, told how the 90/180 days rule caused difficulties after he and his wife bought a traditional mas farmhouse, parts of which are 800 years old, in need of renovations, in the Cévennes.
At the time of purchase they were residents in Laos, but his work was flexible enough to allow him to visit France to look after the property, which has a hectare of land with fruit and olivie trees, vines and gardens, descending in steep terraces.
"As the property needs care throughout the year, the 90/180 rule posed a huge challenge.
"In the late summer and fall the fruit and olives need to be harvested and many things need light pruning. In late winter, the fruit trees need to be pruned every other year.
"In the spring everything grows dramatically and needs a lot of attention.
"In the summer my wife has more time off, so this is the time we really enjoy the property with family and friends.
"Because of the 90/180 rule it is impossible to manage the property, so we were forced to hire people to help.
"Then we started a historically-sensitive renovation, dropping €200,000 into the local economy and employing dozens of local artisans. It was impossible for me to be there during the entire renovation, and despite hiring a project manager, things did not turn out as expected and there were problems with the quality of the workmanship.
"It seems to me that if people are willing to buy a French property, care for it, and make improvements, they should be allowed to stay as needed to do that."
John and Marie Lever bought a home in France over 20 years ago.
"Prior to the new [post-Brexit] rules we spent periods in France enjoying a new culture and making new French friends and neighbours and spending money locally.
"Now it is difficult to continue the upkeep of the garden and property.
"Our family often joined us and France became a huge part of our lives. Now our time in France is complicated by the new 90/180 day rules. To obtain a visa is complex and expensive. We don’t live near one of the visa centres."
Maintaining boat was made impossible by rule
Michelle Burton and her husband own a boat berthed at Antibes, Alpes-Maritimes, which they like to visit frequently.
"The nature of boating is such that more frequent use is necessary in the summer months, to enable us to use our boat in calm waters. It is not therefore possible to evenly spread our usage across the year.
"For this reason the 90/180 rule simply doesn't work for us. Neither is it an option to move the boat to the UK, where, due to weather conditions, we would not be able to use the boat enough to justify keeping it.
"To enable us to enjoy our boat under the 90/180 rule it is necessary for us to apply for a long-stay visa each year, incurring fees, and there is no guarantee that our application will be accepted. This is valid for six months only and is issued subject to financial tests.
We also lose our passports for a month each year during the application process, which limits any travel further afield.
"In the event that we are not granted a visa, we will need to consider selling our boat.
"It is worth noting that having to operate within the 90/180 rule and retaining our boat in Antibes, would prevent us from travelling to any other Schengen countries, given that the 90/180 days rule applies across the whole zone.
"Conversely, EU citizens are permitted to visit the UK for up to six months in any one year."
