Senator calls for improved visa rules for second home-owners in France amid wildfire risk

A French senator is calling for easier visa access for Britons with second homes in France, so they can maintain properties amid wildfire risks. 

Senator Lauriane Josende, of Les Républicains, has raised the issue in a written parliamentary question to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. 

Her argument is that a special new visa or easier access to existing visas would help Britons with second homes have more freedom to complete their mandatory undergrowth clearance requirements.

This, it is argued, would help reduce the risk and intensity of wildfires in France, following a record-breaking summer of blazes. 

Currently, Britons with second homes in France are limited by the EU’s 90/180 day rule, with no special concessions for owning a property. 

This is a longstanding Schengen area rule, not specific to France. 

To stay in France and the Schengen area longer than this, they need to apply for a VLS-T visa for up to six months, which is admin-heavy, costly and also requires an in-person appointment at one of just three UK visa centres. 

Applicants must wait six months between one VLS-T visa ending and a new one starting, further limiting how long someone can stay in France (although they can combine the visa with their 90-day allowance).

Undergrowth clearance rules difficult to perform

Ms Josende said this limitation on when homeowners can visit their French properties limits their ability to comply with undergrowth clearance (débroussaillage) regulations. These are obligatory rules aimed at reducing the risk of wildfires spreading to buildings and improving access for firefighters.

"Whilst this scheme allows for extended stays, the procedures involved and the process of renewing them appear ill-suited to the situation of property owners who are resident in the UK but who must, on a regular or sometimes unpredictable basis, manage, maintain and secure their properties and land situated in France," she said in her written question. 

She added: "This problem is particularly acute in areas at high risk of wildfire. The Trévillach fire, which broke out in July 2026 in the Pyrénées-Orientales, burned across nearly 5,000 hectares and required the evacuation or relocation of nearly 12,000 people."

Homeowners in many departments – many popular with Britons who have second homes – are required to clear properties of vegetation and undergrowth around buildings on their property. Trees must also be trimmed and roads cleared of excess vegetation

This usually applies in a 50-metre radius, but can be extended up to 200m in some wooded areas at the highest risk of blazes. 

Those who fail to do so face fines and prosecution if lack of completion leads to wildfire issues.

More information can be obtained in our article here.

French authorities estimate that 90% of homes destroyed in wildfires are located on plots where undergrowth clearance is not successfully carried out.

It is often advised to tackle the requirements over several months, cutting back bushes, branches and heavier vegetation in autumn and winter and doing lighter maintenance in the spring. Legal deadlines fall before the main summer period when fire risk is highest.

For second homeowners however, the limits on the time they can spend in France make this more difficult to carry out, particularly when many want to spend their allowance in the summer, after deadlines have passed.

Time restrictions limit ability to fight fires

It is indeed these time restrictions that Ms Josende highlights.

Some Britons have reported that having used up their 90-day allowance they struggled to come to France to complete undergrowth clearance, or to check on properties when wildfires sprung up nearby, were reported.

This included some who had applied for visas but were unable to obtain appointments during the run-up to summer, the busiest time for appointments.

This summer has also seen wildfires spring up across several months, making it difficult to predict how long an owner would need to stay in the country in the event of a blaze. 

This is the latest in a number of requests by senators and MPs for Britons with second homes to be able to obtain longer visas or simplify visa rules.

In 2024, parliament passed a law offering very simple ‘automatic’ visas to the group, but it was struck out at the last minute by the Conseil contitutionnel, which said it was insufficiently linked to a law it had been attached to as an amendment. 

However, the Conseil never said the idea itself was unconstitutional.