What are ‘local requirements’ for spouse of EU citizen to stay in France

Reader question: I am an Irish passport holder and my wife is a UK citizen. We live in the UK but have a second home in France. 

The Irish embassy told me there was a way we could avoid my wife’s 90/180 day limit on visiting the home ‘subject to local requirements’ but do not know what these are. Can you help?

Spouses of EU citizens are not fully subject to the 90/180 day limit on accompanying or joining their EU-citizen spouse, provided they are not staying in the country their spouse is a citizen of. 

Note this does not bypass general rules on remaining in the EU for an extended period, and you cannot spend more than three consecutive months in one country unless intending to move there (or obtaining the necessary residency card).

Non-EU spouses of EU citizens “are entitled to accompany or join you without any conditions or formalities for consecutive periods of up to three months per EU country visited,” the EU states, but not for longer than this in a single country. 

However, this flexibility does not help your wife to spend more than three consecutive months at your second home.

If you wish to stay for more than three months in France, your spouse will need to apply for the appropriate residency card: carte de séjour membre de la famille d’un citoyen de l’Union/EEE/Suisse – Toutes activités professionnelles. 

This is probably what was being referred to. It is free and lasts for five years, or as long as you are intending to stay on your visit. 

To apply, your spouse needs to provide:

• A valid passport

• Proof of address in France less than six months old

• Passport/ID-style photo

• Passport or identity card from your EU spouse

• Extract or full copy of the marriage certificate or partnership document

• Proof of the EU citizen’s right to reside in France for a long stay (notably, proof of sufficient resources to support yourselves) 

While this could work in theory, in practice, especially given the fact prefecture delays in issuing residency cards are common, it is much more geared towards couples moving to France on a settled basis. 

In your circumstances, therefore, your wife applying for a six-month VLS-T visa (that can be combined with visa-free visits to the bloc) may be more beneficial, although she must apply and pay annually for this.