The idea was to cross over from Dover to Calais, France, and then spend the summer months exploring France, Belgium, Holland and possibly back to France. With no need to rush, we would take our time and stop anywhere that suits us, take our time to explore and enjoy the adventure and the long summers.
Now Brexit meant we had 90 days (3 months) to travel and then we would need to leave the boat somewhere for 180 days (6 months) and return later to continue. That, however, leaves us returning in winter. A lot of the canals are closed for winter, never mind the miserable winter weather and this was NOT part of our plan. So we would need to return the following summer, a year later, and do 90 days again. The thought was soul destroying and not what we wanted to do at all.
So after some online searching, I was so pleased to discover that France would allow long stay holiday visas, if you met an extensive list of conditions. I also discovered that some of the boating communities had applied for and been granted these long stay visas, despite not having a fixed address while in France. I was so grateful to find that there was a lot of guidance and advice on line, so I settled in to start the process. I will forever be grateful to The Cruising Association for their comprehensive YouTube tutorial and advice.
It was long…… there were two on line application “forms” per person. One is the application on the French Visa site and the other is on the TLS contact site (a government organisation site). They both comprise a number of pages and much of the information required is repeated but they don’t appear to be linked so you need to fill them both in.
The supporting documentation required is another story…. Click here for that list
We also needed to do a trip into central London, for an interview at the French consulate and needed to go through a booking application for that appointment.
I took my time, a lot of breaks and breathing exercises and finally got the applications completed, paid for and appointments booked in London.
Now being back in London, if only for the morning and the appointment was such an interesting experience. We have been living on the boat for so long now that we had clearly acclimatised to a slow pace and minimal social interaction. We were not prepared for crowded train stations and busy streets with impatient people rushing to get somewhere.
We got to the consulate early and joined the queue and were seen without much wait. We were required to show all the supporting documentation and a short discussion on our plans. Then it was back on the train, back to the boat and our quiet life. We would have to wait now for a few weeks to hear back – they may have some more questions, deny the application or grant us visas.
