Long Term Visa for EU

Dunclair

I have tried all sorts of ways to discover if we can do this but short of contacting the French embassy, you guys are my last chance.

We would like to spend far more time in France than the allowed 90 days out of 180 that the current Brexit lunacy allows. We are both extremely interested in historic buildings and the art and craftsmanship that they contain, so want to travel around with our van visiting them, just as we used to before the gammons prevailed.

We fit all of the criteria for getting a long term visa (Up to 12 months) but a requirement seems to be that we need to provide an address in France. But is it? I haven't been able to nail that down.

So, is anyone doing what we would like to do? Does anyone have any practical knowledge about this, please?

Hja

Have you looked at Motorhome Fun? There are certainly people on there who have been successful in obtaining visas for France. 

ValDa

You can get a six month French 'tourist' visa and then tag on your 90 days at the end. That removes the need for a home address, and full HEALTH insurance which is required for a 'residency' visa. The six month visa only requires your EHIC (but you should still top up with adequate travel insurance). You don't have to leave France at the end of the visa period, but do need to enter France on the first day of the visa, or as soon as possible after that date in order to validate the visa.

You can find more information from the French Government site about tourist visas, and then you do the application process through an agency TLS Visa application process.

You could do 90 days at the start of a year, return to the UK for a day, and then travel back on the first day of your visa to 'validate' it.  Then stay at the end of the visa for your second period of 90 days.  There are official sources confirming that this is accepted but they are on another group.  

Dunclair

Thank you ValDa. You are a mine of information and a star of this board.