The House of Lords has reviewed evidence about how limiting the 90/180-day rule is for Brits who own property in France.
The evidence was shared by Steven Jolly, the founder of the France Visa Free group, where many Brits share their common struggles about their second homes in the European countrySchengen.News reports.
Mr Jolly and his wife had split their life between France and the UK before 2021, but the post-Brexit rules have made things more difficult, as the Connexion reports. Now, the Lords are working on an enquiry, proposing new rules that the UK and EU should comply with, potentially some that would benefit Brits more than the current rules do.
UK & EU Rules for Second Home Owners Are Not Reciprocal, Brits Believe
Since Brexit, Brits are permitted to stay in the EU for a period of up to 90 days every 180 days. On the other hand, European citizens in the UK can spend longer times in the country – a total of six months.
British second-home owners find these rules limiting, especially those living in France, who have to deal with complex visa procedures in order to maintain this lifestyle between the two countries.
Moreover, spending their time in France alone steals time from travelling elsewhere in the Schengen Arealeaving no place for tourism, family or even business visits.
A weekend visiting a German Christmas market or time seeing Spanish grandchildren all eats into the allowance.
New Bilateral Agreements for EU & UK in Horizon
Now that the House of the Lords have been informed about how Brits with second homes in the EU feel and their struggles, new rules could be on the way.
A UK-EU mobility agreement that allows longer periods of stays in the Schengen zone, or six-month visa waivers, is likely to be proposed.
Britons who lived part-year in the EU pre-Brexit could also have full pre-Brexit rights restored, giving equality with those who had moved permanently, he proposed.
Brexit has had a serious impact on Brits, not just for travel but also other plans related to education, work and purchasing properties.
Recently, the Spanish PM has revealed plans to impose a full-scale tax on non-EU nationals that want to purchase properties in Spainmaking it nearly impossible for Brits to own houses or apartments in this EU country.
We will propose to ban these non-EU foreigners who are not residents, and their relatives, from buying houses in our country, since they only do so to speculate. The West faces a decisive challenge: To not become a society divided into two classes, the rich landlords and poor tenants.
This measure much needed for Spain, which has been dealing with a housing crisis due to overtourism, is not welcomed from non-EU nationals, especially Brits, who are one of the most common nationalities to own property in the country.