EU Visa and Health Insurance

[stranded]

Well played John! I think you and Westernman are right about thinking laterally about documentation. Though we haven’t had a result yet, the TLS chap looked a bit sceptical when I relied on our pension increases from April because we have not yet received our letters confirming them. But they are public service pensions and the increases are enshrined in law. Still I had thought I was probably just wasting ink printing of the 3x17 pages of House of Commons Library briefing for MPs setting out the legal basis for the increase, but the TLS man was most impressed! As you say, TLS are screeners, it’s the embassy that will make the decision, and we distill don’t know what test they will apply, but your outcome makes me more hopeful.

 

[westernman]

My interaction with many different public servants (for different companies, public grants, subsidies for the company during covid, France Relance, etc) in France has always been friendly. They always seem to be willing to help if you try to help them check their boxes. Even their version of MI5/6 is helpful. They screen some of my business contacts for me.

 

[stranded]

Just got our visas, two weeks to the day after our interview.

 

[luckybeanz]

Thanks for all the answers and interesting discussions on this thread. I ended up receiving a 6 month French tourist visa from the consulate in Cape Town. Process was pretty straight forward and Capigo was super helpful and responsive.

For those interested, I did and do not have any season or annual berth booked. Instead I wrote a lovely cover letter with my itinerary and some "bookings" from Navily. I have included the letter below for anyone interested, it might even provide some entertainment for some.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to request a French Long Stay Visa for myself, I am applying for this visa with my British passport, number xxxxxxx, although I do also hold South African citizenship. The reason for this is that I shall be entering the EU on my British Passport as I do not require a tourist visa for stays of 90 days, but I would like to stay in the Schengen for more than 90 as detailed in this letter.

The reason for my travel in France is to fulfil a long term dream of taking my electric sailboat through the Canal du Midi and exploring the astoundingly beautiful cruising ground of the French Atlantic whilst enjoying some of the best surf breaks Europe has to offer. As mentioned this has been a long term dream but was put on hold during the pandemic and Brexit has now made it necessary that I obtain a long stay visa to ensure enough time to complete the journey. As mentioned my sailboat is electric, powered by solar and as such it has limited range and speed, for this reason it is difficult to plan exact dates and timelines as I am so dependant on the weather. My boat is currently in Spain and I will spend a month there getting it ready and sailing to France to enter the canals. Once through the canal, I plan to sail north along the coast and then cross the channel into England. I have included a more detailed itinerary at the end of this letter.

I am a law-abiding citizen who has previously travelled to France multiple times on short-term Schengen visas prior to receiving British Nationality via naturalisation. I have a valid passport and am in full compliance with all the necessary documentation required for a long stay visa. I am also in good health and have made all the necessary preparations for a safe and successful journey. I have been researching the possibilities for my voyage and making these preparations for it for multiple years, and I am confident that we will have a wonderful and rewarding experience should the visa be granted.

For the entirety of my stay in France, I will be residing on my sailboat, which I own outright. As such I have included a copy of the boat registration with my supporting documents, as well as the current marina contract in Marina Burriana Nova, Spain.

In 2020, I converted Simplicity from diesel to electric and designed the system specifically for travelling the French canals. While this allows for silent, pollution free travel, it also means that we travel slow and are extremely dependant on the weather. This is the reason for requiring an extended stay over the 90 days normally allowed. It is also the reason why I am unable to provide exact dates and bookings for the entire itinerary, it should be noted that most marinas also only allow bookings of short term spots closer to the specific dates required as they have many transient boats which they need to accommodate. In addition to this I will mostly be making use of anchorages over marinas, I have provided more details of our movements in the itinerary section of this letter.

I will be funding my stay through savings of mine and promise not to take part in any professional activity or work during my stay in France. I have included bank statements, showing regular income transferred from my investment accounts as well as statements of my investment accounts showing a cash balance above the minimum requirement for the visas as well as investments in excess of the required amount which can be used to fund our stay.

I am eager to immerse myself in the culture and history of the regions I will be visiting and to make the most of the opportunities that are available to me. This voyage is a long-standing dream of mine, and I am looking forward to the adventure of a lifetime.

I am sure that I will be a responsible traveller and will abide by all the laws and regulations of the country while I am exploring. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely, Mark


Detailed Itinerary for France:

02-May-2023

Arrive in Marseilles from Balearic islands. Booking with Marseille

07-May-2023

Leave Marseilles and sail toward Sete, anchoring along the way.

17-May-2023

Arrive in Sete and remove mast, prepare boat for entering the canals.

21-May-2023

Enter the canal du Midi near Marseillan, and spend a month travelling up the canals to the Atlantic coast.

20-June-2023

Arrive at Pauillac and have mast put back up, prepare boat for sailing the coast.

25-June-2023

Leave Pauillac and head north out of the Gironde. Sail north anchoring in bays and rivers allowing access to the many surf spots along the coast.

25-July-2023
Arrive in Benodet -Booking with Benodet Marina

30-July-2023

Leave Benodet and continue north towards Brest and on wards around the cape to Roscoff.

30-Aug-2023

Arrive in Roscoff and wait for weather window to cross the channel to England. Booking with Port de plaisance de Roscoff-Bloscon to be confirmed by marina.​

Having arrived in Spain and prepping the boat after her standing for over a year, I doubt I shall make it as far as planned and will likely leave her somewhere on the Atlantic side until the next adventure so will be looking for affordable options in France or Spain, Rochefort seems like it might be a good call.

I have also heard that the water levels in the canal are low this season due to lack of rain. I'd be interested if anyone could confirm this. It is actually a benefit to me as I have 80cm draft with the keel up, but need to figure out the best position for solar panels whilst doing the canal.

 

[Caladh]

Having applied for a 6 month visa and it being rejected in February by the embassy, I then took considerable time effort and French translation to compose a decent appeal which I was advised I could do. This was sent to the French visa appeals centre in Nantes within the 30 days of my rejection and I know was received as it was signed for. I emphasised that my wife was an EU citizen amongst a myriad of further financial information about my status. To date I have received no response at all, although I recently emailed the embassy in London. I do not expect a response! I fully understand the French process and the fact that we are in their eyes a third world coI try for entry purposes. However to receive absolutely no response, even if it was another “non” is to say the least, galling. Congrats to those who do and have negotiated their process. All for around £150 incl fees and tax with no recourse to a refund on rejection. I’ll endeavour to be more thorough next time.

 

[pragmatist]

Have read all this with great interest and some depression ! But wondered if we might, in this case, have access to another potential "address". As has been said here, the 120EUR/day is a ridiculous sum. The husband/skipper's sister is a resident in France (running a gites business for 17 years near the Canal du Midi) and her husband became a French citizen post Brexit. We would love to traverse the canals slowly plus some sailing on the French Atlantic coast. I would much appreciate any suggestions from those who have succeeded (or otherwise) in getting a visa. TIA

 

[stranded]

Have read all this with great interest and some depression ! But wondered if we might, in this case, have access to another potential "address". As has been said here, the 120EUR/day is a ridiculous sum. The husband/skipper's sister is a resident in France (running a gites business for 17 years near the Canal du Midi) and her husband became a French citizen post Brexit. We would love to traverse the canals slowly plus some sailing on the French Atlantic coast. I would much appreciate any suggestions from those who have succeeded (or otherwise) in getting a visa. TIA

If you can demonstrate that you have accommodation you do get a reduced subsistence requirement. When I did mine (only a few months ago) if that was as a guest of a private citizen then among other things they would have to go to the mairie and get an invitation or something notarised pre-application. BUT - I would be wary of asking someone who merely has residence to be anything less than frank about the living arrangements because it might not just be your immigration status that is affected if anything untoward is discovered. I suggest you look into that yourself - it’s probably not an issue - I don’t know what they have to say - but if it is that you will be staying with them for the duration it is of course a much bigger deal putting someone else at risk than taking a punt yourself.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

It's €120 a day if you have no accommodation and €65 a day if you have accommodation a boat is likely to be perceived as accommodation.

 

[stranded]

a boat is likely to be perceived as accommodation.

That may be true but I found it difficult to find firm information about successful applications from boat dwellers who didn’t have either a marina contract or a house in France, a Passeport Escale, or who could evidence the higher rate. Not to say it doesn’t happen but that is why we took out a French marina contract for the period of our visa - we probably won’t visit said marina but the Passeport Escale that came with it should recoup the modest cost if we use Passeport Escales marinas just 20% or so of the time.

 

[bobgarrett]

The recent Cruising Association web seminar on this which was open to members and non-members covered all the requirements for boat owners getting French VLS-T visas and gave examples of those who had been successful and some that had not along with the reasons why.

 

[pragmatist]

If you can demonstrate that you have accommodation you do get a reduced subsistence requirement. When I did mine (only a few months ago) if that was as a guest of a private citizen then among other things they would have to go to the mairie and get an invitation or something notarised pre-application. BUT - I would be wary of asking someone who merely has residence to be anything less than frank about the living arrangements because it might not just be your immigration status that is affected if anything untoward is discovered. I suggest you look into that yourself - it’s probably not an issue - I don’t know what they have to say - but if it is that you will be staying with them for the duration it is of course a much bigger deal putting someone else at risk than taking a punt yourself.

Thanks for that - of course you are right - even though we might stay with them for some of the time - think they have proper power showers (one thing I miss on the boat !). Realistically this is all a washout. I remember Knox Johnston saying at the time of Brexit - something along the lines of "surely not for yachtsmen".

Sympathise entirely with the OP on a recent thread about taking his dog to France and living the retirement dream. We now have a cat with suitable draught for the canals and the skipper has always wanted to "do" the French canals in winter ... with the obvious follow-up being some Med sailing. Makes the whole thing nigh on a disaster area. During lockdown I started "virtual cruising" using the Internet. Perhaps this is the better route to follow.

 

[stranded]

Thanks for that - of course you are right - even though we might stay with them for some of the time - think they have proper power showers (one thing I miss on the boat !). Realistically this is all a washout. I remember Knox Johnston saying at the time of Brexit - something along the lines of "surely not for yachtsmen".

Sympathise entirely with the OP on a recent thread about taking his dog to France and living the retirement dream. We now have a cat with suitable draught for the canals and the skipper has always wanted to "do" the French canals in winter ... with the obvious follow-up being some Med sailing. Makes the whole thing nigh on a disaster area. During lockdown I started "virtual cruising" using the Internet. Perhaps this is the better route to follow.

It is a royal pita. For the sake of a visa fee might still be worth trying (assuming you can demonstrate the lower income threshold) relying just on the “I got a boat, I’ll be living on that cruising around” argument. As Fr Hackett says (modified by me) it may be accepted as having accommodation. Or look into getting a marina contract. Ours was c€1400 for 5 months including high season, and crucially for us, including a Passeport Escale which allows us to stay for up to 5 days in each of most of the marinas on the Atlantic coast, and unlimited days at those in the Plaisance Morbihan schemes, albeit restricted to two nights in any one visit. May not be as much use to you on the canals, but what price la dolce vita (sorry don’t know what the French equivalent of that is. Good luck.

 

[luckybeanz]

For those who have managed to obtain visas. what have you done with regard to check-in, check-out process. I am about 30nm from the Spanish/French boarder in the med and have no idea where I am meant to check out of Spain, for France I at least found a list of marinas, but not so lucky for Spain. Any experience/advise?

 

[luckybeanz]

That may be true but I found it difficult to find firm information about successful applications from boat dwellers who didn’t have either a marina contract or a house in France, a Passeport Escale, or who could evidence the higher rate. Not to say it doesn’t happen but that is why we took out a French marina contract for the period of our visa - we probably won’t visit said marina but the Passeport Escale that came with it should recoup the modest cost if we use Passeport Escales marinas just 20% or so of the time.

Can you provide more details on how the Passeport Escales actually works. I have visited their site, Home - Passeport Escales but the only info is in French and in a e-mag so I can't translate it. I also downloaded their app but need a card to create a login, which I assume one gets when they get a contract from the Marina. I will likely leave the boat in France/Spain, but the marina prices do vary greatly. Rochefort Rochefort for instance had an amazing deal, which I can't seem to find now, but it was less than 2000 euro for an annual contract. So does the passport vary depending on the marina you claim is your home marina and how long are the stays in other marinas?

I answered my own question above, found an english version here PASS-PORTS Mag 2023 page 21. It seems benefits are defined by the home marina, which leaves the question of which is the best marina to sign a contract with?