Hello All,

Wandering if anyone could help with a querie, any advice much appreciated...

My Situation

I am an Australian Citizen, currently living in Australia and my Grandmother was born in the UK. I wish to move to France and seek work with the aim of becoming a citizen of France after four years.

My Querie

Is it possible to live and work in France with the UK ancestory clearance?

Thanks!!

Robin

... is to ask at the French Embassy in your country.

And good luck!

Pete

As this might help others, i have collected the replies i received to my querie and pasted them below, oh and there's another querie below this info too...

- Are you able to get UK citizenship with a British grandmother? If so, you can claim British citizenship and live anywhere in the EU. This of course won't help you get French citizenship, but having any EU citizenship makes life so much easier in Europe.

Best of luck

- You cannot get British citizenship simply on the basis of having a UK-born grandparent. You really need a British parent or to be born in UK (before 1.1.1983) to a parent who was settled here (on or after 1.1.1983). To apply for citizenship via naturalisation, you'll need four years continuous residence in UK plus indefinite leave to remain, a hefty fee (£150) and a waiting period of up to a year until your case is considered. Once you become a British citizen, you can live and work pretty anywhere in Western Europe.

Unfortunately your ancestry visa confers no special right in France and you will be treated just like any other Australian citizen. You'll need a visa and work permit to live and work there, and under present employment situation it's very tough to get sponsorship for a permit.

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Fellow traveller helping each other on the road

- If you hold an AV, you will be able to secure an ILR which will lead to naturalization.
Although naturalization is never automatic, it is extremely rare that an AV holder is denied ILR and later on British citizenship. Naturalization in France is a true nightmare, unless you marry a French citizen. There is a slick shortcut if your grandma was born in Northern Ireland. If this is the case, you can claim Irish citizenship through registration. An Irish passport is as good as a British or a French passport.

- Thanks for your reply Venona,

Was wandering if you could let me know what ILR is?

Thanks,

Robin.

- ILR: Indefinite Leave to Remain = A Permanent Resident of the UK ( British Greencard). One loses his ILR if he stay outside the UK for more then two years. An AV holder can always renew his status in the UK. The reason: one of his parents is a British citizen (not always though; if your grandma is your Mom's mother, your mother is not eligible for British citizenship if she was born to a UK born mother before 1961. If she was born to a UK born mom after 1961 she can now register as a British citizen and still hold her Australian citizenship since the Australian citizenship Act had been amended; however, she can't pass the citizenship to you as she is consider a British citizenship by descent). If you want to hold the Maroon Booklet, you ought to live in England for six years. The France immigration regulation are extremely complex, and naturalization is a true nigtmare unless you marry a French national.
Best of luck!

- Thanks again :)

What if my Dad, whose mum was born in England, claimed British Citizenship (whilst remaining in Australia)?Would i then also be able to claim British Citizenship, because my father was both a British and Australian citizen?And then could i live and work anywhere in the EU?

AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DON"T LET MY DREAMS DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sob,sob,weep,weep..........

my dear friend:
you must understand that the europeans have a very different mentality to those downunder: To change one's nationality is unheard of, really or at least extremely odd. true sportsmen may do it so they can play in the eurpoean leagues so argentanian soccer players often claim italian or spanish nationality through grandparents and earn a lot for doing it. I myself have lived in both france & spain speak the lingos without accents and enjoy the sensation of being as if i were a native. but to change my nationality? no way!! I am an englishman and jolly-ho! that's that.many australians live in france teaching english & i'm sure that if you were to do so you could learn the lingo and enjoy.
Beware if you did opt to convert yourself its a one way ticket. you are obliged to relinquish your existing nationality in order to become a frenchman. isnt it better just to play at being french? watch a few flicks. you'll soon get the image.

I am an American, and moved to the south of France in May of 2000 with my kids and husband.

Neither of us has a work permit or EU passport.


This year I researched it and learned how to be self-employed in France. It involves about 19 pages of application - all in French, but other than that is fairly easy.

I have written many articles on the subject, so if you have any questions, just email me or check my site at http://www.france-property-and-life.com/.

Liesa Blond
www.France-Property-and-Life.com

Hi Liesa,

I was wondering how you are able to live and work in France without a work permit? Also, would it be possible for you to provide more information of being self-employed in France? I have looked on your website but cannot find this info.

Thank you!