Some of you might recall our " Lupin Exodus " diaries from late 04-early 05 when, right after the reelection of the Butcher of Crawford, the Lupins decided that enough was enough and moved from LA to Southern France.
More recently, last June to August, I chronicled in a series of diaries how Bob, the 70-year-old husband of Irene, Mrs. Lupin's 83-year-old mom, passed away from liver cancer -- and some of the truly awful experiences generated by the healthcare system.
Irene, now alone, shaken by her husband's loss and her clashes with the system, bravely decided to expatriate herself and come and live with us, proving that even at age 83, one can embark on new adventures.
This is diary #1 in a series that will chronicle her move.
More below fold...
Unlike us, who both had dual US-EU citizenships, Irene is a US citizen, and therefore the first step is to obtain a long-term visa (tourist visas are only good for 90 days), which must be applied for at the nearest French consulate.
Eventually, after she resides in France for a while, this will be converted into a full resident permit, but we're not there yet.
What you need for a long-term visa is the following:
- a basic application form in triplicate with passport photos. Note that it helps to have a French address of record & respondents; in Irene's case, our address and us, since we're her family; but some local friends/family are obviously required.
- a copy of your financial situation; this visa does not authorize you to work in France, so they want to know how you will support yourself. If you're retiring, that would include SS benefits, pensions, investment portfolio; it could be what your US business will be paying you as dividends, partnership income, royalties; your French sponsors might have to add their financial support to your income; they seem satisfied with reasonable amounts; e.g.: proving you'll be receiving about $30K a year might be enough.
- they want you to have special expat health insurance in an amount of no less than 37,000 euros with a evacuation/rapatriation clause; I recommend the Diplomat International plan (www.globalunderwriters.com) which seems to fit the bill; in any event after 3 months of legal residence you can join the French healthcare system; it will cost you 8% of a sum equal to your taxable income (bottom line of first page of your 1040) less 7800 euros. (e.g. your taxable is $20,000, roughly 14,000 euros, minus 8,000 euros = 6,000 euros; 8% of that is about 500 euros; that will be your annual cost) - you'll need your tax return and a birth certificate.
- a letter from your county's police that you have not committed crimes in your area (they don't seem to care if you committed crimes elsewhere :-))
- finally when your dossier is ready, you've got to get an appointment at the Consulate where they interview you, check you out, ask questions about why you want to move etc. It helps to speak some French and/or demonstrate the willingness to learn; it also helps to hate Bush and, apparently, Sarkozy too, now.
With our help, Irene has successfully navigated all this; our local Depute (Congressman) was kind enough to help her secure an early interview and we returned to LA to drive her to and help her for the interview.
Her file will be sent to the French equivalent of the State Dpt next week and now we wait; we should have an answer within 2 months, in time for the holidays; hopefully the Depute's support will help, too.
In the meantime, we are going to start setting up a cozy apartment in a nearby house, three houses down from ours, for her to live.
To be continued...