Interview: British couple ordered to leave France due to bad year at work

A British couple who relocated to south-west France after Brexit in 2023 have been issued with OQTF (Obligation to Leave French Territory) orders after they applied for self-employment residency permits.

They have appealed against the orders, and have spoken to The Connexion about their experience. 

The Prefecture of the Dordogne ruled their income from a gîte and small farm fell short of the required level (about equivalent to the net minimum wage of €17,116 per person per year).

Their lawyer, Marco de Sousa said the couple, a former plumber and events manager in their 40s, now meet required thresholds but had faced “minor administrative difficulties” in the early stages of setting up, limiting their income.

They used savings to see them over the shortfall and did not seek aid from France. However, under the rules for their visas only income from self-employment can be taken into account.

An appeal has been lodged but Mr de Sousa said officials have continued to press for the couple’s departure, which he described as highly unusual. He hopes their status as homeowners will help.

“Normally, in cases like this, there is no move to force people out,” he said, linking the stance to the current political climate. “They sold everything to move here and invested in their business.”

The couple were on ‘entrepreneur’ visas, where the right to stay is linked to evidence of sustainable, regular income from the self-employment work set out in a business plan to obtain the visa. 

After five years on such a visa/residency card it is possible to apply for a 10-year carte de résident, offering more secure long-term residency rights including a broader right to work. ‘Entrepreneur’ visas are issued for either one year or, on certain conditions, in a ‘multi-year’ (usually four) format.

9.8/10 reviews for gîte

Kimberly and Stuart Hawley, from Busserolles in Dordogne, said they had sold their London flat and moved over looking for a new start and a less stressful life.

“We knew it would be quite difficult post-Brexit, with visas, but we thought we had a strong business plan,” Mrs Hawley said.

“We put this together for the visa application and it was subject to a test of viability in the Dordogne department. They came back saying ‘yes, good luck with it’.”

They had loved the area for years, linked to family holidays.

The couple have ‘Exceptional’ 9.8/10 reviews for their Champs de Rêves wood cabin gîte on reservations site Booking.com with one user saying they had “an absolutely radiant stay”, and say they have worked hard to set up their agricultural tourism business.

“However, the overriding thing was we did not make enough money in the first year, but there were a lot of reasons: gaining permissions, and a difficult situation with a neighbour which meant we had to close the cabin at one point.” 

They came on ‘visitor’ visa at first

They originally came on a ‘visitor’ (no work) visa in 2022, starting to do some renovation of their house. They then applied for the ‘entrepreneur’ visas to return under a working status.

Delays with appointments at the TLScontact visa contractors in the UK meant Mrs Hawley obtained her visa in May 2023 but her husband did not receive his until October 2023.

“I was here on my own at first,” she said. “There was a lot to do with clearing the land, where we were putting the holiday cabin.

“When you apply for the visa you don’t know if you will be successful until you pick up the passport. But as soon as Stuart got his visa it was all-systems-go with building work and setting up our business Siret number. 

“We set up as agri-tourism: a holiday destination and also selling our own produce in a farm shop.

“On the farming side, we have been finalising registration with MSA [farmers’ social security]. We understand rules are important to keep and breed pigs, but we only got our registration this February: it took over a year.

“We expect to make over 60% of our income from farming, but it took so long for the permission for the pigs, that we only have 16 now that are getting to the right weight. We are due probably to process them in January but if we are forced to leave, that causes a huge problem for this.

“We know we didn’t make enough money in the first year, but we are just asking for a little more time.”

The couple came in 2023 on ‘VLS-TS’ visas, technically deemed equivalent to a carte de séjour (residency card) for the first year.

However, the real problems arose when they sought to apply for their first physical residency cards from the Dordogne prefecture in 2024 – and officials looked at their 2023 income, declared in 2024, to see if the business was running profitably.

No opportunity to explain

 There was no opportunity to speak to anyone to explain the issues, she said.

“We are not expecting special treatment, but there were delays. 

“We were not able to complete our residency card applications on the online portal [‘Anef’] because there were issues with the site.

“I did it by email, back and forth as the prefecture asked for different documents.

“But then our visa validity ran out and I told them I was concerned to have no news, as we were going to have to travel to the UK for an emergency. 

“We went to the prefecture and obtained récépissés valid to travel, however mine expired at the start of 2025.

“I kept being told I would hear from them, and only a few days before receiving the OQTF, I emailed that it was very worrying that you can’t speak to someone.

“We went a couple of times but they said you need to make an appointment.

“I had an email saying ‘you’ll hear from us, your file is progressing’, then a couple of days later I found myself signing for a letter from La Poste – and it was an OQTF, saying I had 30 days to leave. 

“We got two individual letters and we haven’t spoken to the prefecture since. 

“I emailed saying can we discuss it? It seems to me to be based on a tick box – ‘have they made enough money, yes or no?’.”

Main appeal avenue is to administrative court, with a lawyer

The OQTF came in March and they engaged Mr de Sousa who lodged an appeal for them. He has not dealt with this process for Britons before.

“He told us, once a prefecture makes that decision, the only way to get it overturned is to appeal to a judge within 30 days. We were then given three months to provide any updated information and changes in finances that we would like the judge to see.

“We had a fantastic summer this year: we made the money that we needed to make, and more in some months.

“The cabin is seasonal and there will be quieter times but when we come to process the pigs that will provide the majority of our annual income. But the prefecture had struggled to understand there was no regular income coming in.

“We were recommended to get local testimonies. Our mayor gave us a fantastic statement to say that they need people like us here. It is a very small community and hopefully in the future we will look to employ people on the farm.”

Mrs Hawley added: “This summer, after every booking, we received such fantastic feedback – and they were all French people, looking for something a little different. We have stunning views and they can walk in a forest. My husband is working on rewilding and on our wetlands.

“We just want a little more time to prove ourselves. We understand there are financial requirements, however we can support ourselves and are not asking for handouts; we are self-sufficient.”

The deadline to supply details for the judge expired in July but given the summer break they are still waiting for a court date to be set.

Pressure to leave

“We were advised that due to the OQTF we could be put under house arrest [assignation à domicile]. The gendarmes came in August and issued the order, saying we cannot leave the Dordogne.

“I volunteer as secretary of a small association running events for French and British people, mostly retirees, and now I cannot attend sessions. My husband cannot get to animal suppliers in the neighbouring department [they live on the border with Charente].

“Every Wednesday we must go to the gendarmerie station and each day we can't leave the house between 6:00 and 8:00 so they know where to find us, if necessary.”

They decided not to appeal the house arrest as they expected the court hearing to be imminent. Their passports have been confiscated.

“We then received texts from the Nontron gendarmerie saying to attend, and when I got there they gave me a document saying I was booked on a flight on September 12 and our passports were waiting for us at Bordeaux Merignac airport.

“I left and returned with a prepared statement, saying, ‘we are not getting on the flight, as we are awaiting our appeal’.”

She said her lawyer considers this pressure unusual when an appeal has been lodged. However he told the couple that house arrest itself is not unusual in OQTF cases and that those who do not own their own home may be placed in a detention centre.

“It does feel heavy-handed. We want to pay our tax and have integrated in the community. I don’t know what our lives would hold if we had to go back to the UK.

“Also, because of the restrictions we have missed two funerals in the UK. My husband’s grandfather is unwell and he would like to visit him.”

Is it political?

Mrs Hawley said that with a more hardline attitude towards immigration in the news, the “big picture, politically, is worrying but the support we have from locals is amazing”.

People are also aware their own businesses would be affected if there was a “mass exodus of Brits”, she added.

“We live so harmoniously here, everyone is willing to help us, and we help them. My husband has just met a local beekeeper who helped us collect our first honey of the year - another thing we have learnt to do.”

“I don’t think the prefecture has quite understood what we are trying to do: it is not just gîte income, we are setting up a new farm. We have invested over €300,000 now, in the property and everything else we have spent.”

The Prefecture of the Dordogne did not respond to requests to comment.

Have you come to France on an entrepreneur visa? How is working out? Share your feedback via feedback@connexionfrance.com.