50 French senators back more flexible rules for second-home owners

Edited 16:45 on November 6, to add new senator bringing the total as of this time to 50
Dozens more senators have put their names to amendments seeking more flexible rules for non-resident foreign second-home owners in France.

Three amendments on this topic have been added to the immigration bill which is being debated by the Senate from today, including a new five-year homeowner visa, an ‘automatic’ visa right, and a new long-stay visa home owner category.

They have been grouped together one after the other in the order of discussion, and appear about a quarter of the way down the list.

Read more: Foreign second-home owners: What are French senators’ three proposals?

Two of the amendments were originally submitted by single Les Républicains (LR) senators, and one by a group of six centrists.

More than a quarter (39) of the dominant Les Républicains group in the Senate have now put their name to one or both of the LR ideas.

President Macron’s Renaissance party is in a minority in the Senate and will need support from members of the LR group.

Senator Imbert has so far attracted the most support, for her proposal for a homeowner visa, aimed at all non-EU foreign non-residents, with a total of 33 senators adding their name to this.

The idea would reduce the need to undertake visa formalities for extended stays to only once every five years instead of the current need to start a fresh application each time a person plans to spend more than 90 days out of 180 days in France (once a year for many second-home owners).

It would also free up visa officials at the French consulate in London, or their contractors TLSContact, who have often struggled to provide sufficient appointments to meet the post-Brexit demand.

Meanwhile, Senator Berthet’s ‘automatic visa’ idea now has 13 supporters, and the centrists’ amendment is supported by a total of 11 senators.

Debate on the bill is ongoing in the Senate all this week, and next Tuesday.

Readers who support the ideas may wish to let their own senators know: see here for how to contact them (click the letter symbol for the email address).

The bill is then expected to be debated by the MPs in the assemblée nationale next month. Click here for their details.

The full list of senators backing the amendments now is:

Five-year homeowner visa

Corinne Imbert Charente-Maritime / LR

Sylviane Noël Haute-Savoie / LR

Nadine Bellurot Indre / LR

Stéphane Sautarel Cantal / LR

Henry Leroy Alpes-Maritimes / LR

Patricia Demas Alpes-Maritimes / LR

Martine Berthet Savoie / LR

Else Joseph Ardonnes / LR

Olivier Paccaud Oise / LR

Viviane Malet la Réunion / LR

Laurent Burgoa Gard / LR

Bruno Belin Vienne / LR

Dominique Estrosi Sassonne Alpes-Maritimes / LR

Jean-claude Anglars Aveyron / LR

Cyril Pellevat Haute-Savoie / LR

Hughes Saury Loiret / LR

Catherine Belrhiti Moselle / LR

Alain Houpert Côte d’Or / LR

Rémy Pointereau Cher / LR

Pauline Martin Loiret / LR

Max Brisson Pyrénées-Atlantiques / LR

Brigitte Micouleau Haute-Garonne / LR

Pascale Gruny Aisne / LR

Gilbert Bouchet Drôme / LR

Daniel Gueret Eure-et-Loir / LR

Christine Bonfanti-Dossat / LR

Philippe Tabarot Alpes-Maritimes / LR

Daniel Laurent Charente-Maritime / LR

Yves Bouloux Vienne / LR

Alain Chatillon Haute-Garonne / LR

Françoise Dumont Var / LR

Antoine Lefèvre Aisne / LR

Khalifé Khalifé Moselle / LR

Automatic long-stay visa rights

Martine Berthet Savoie / LR

Fabien Genet Saône-et-Loire / LR

Frédérique Puissat Isère / LR

Philippe Bas Manche / LR

Nadine Bellurot Indre / LR

Patricia Demas Alpes-Maritimes / LR

Alain Houpert Côte d’Or / LR

Jean-Marc Boyer Puy-de-Dôme / LR

Olivier Paccaud Oise / LR

Françoise Dumont Var / LR

Gilbert Favreau Deux-Sèvres / LR

Marie Mercier Saône-et-Loire / LR

Antoine Lefèvre Aisne / LR

New long-stay visa category for homeowners

Michel Canévet Finistère / Union centriste

Yves Bleunven Morbihan / UC

Nathalie Goulet Orne / UC

Jean-François Longeot Doubs / Union centriste

Jean-Michel Arnaud Hautes-Alpes / UC

Anne-Sophie Romagny Marne / UC

Nadège Havet Finistère / Rassemblement des démocrates, progressistes et indépendents

Olivier Cadic French outside France / UC

Olivia Richard French outside France / UC

Annick Jacquemet Doubs / UC

Loïc Hervé Haute-Savoie / UC

Read more

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