Brit expats in France forced to take French lessons and could lose visa if they fail test

Expat Dordogne

An expat spoke of learning French

PEXELS
Sarra Gray

By Sarra Gray


Published: 22/09/2023

- 05:01

Updated: 11/10/2023

- 15:29

Britons who have moved to France must pass a French speaking test

Moving to a new country is exciting, full of new experiences, people and, often, a new language.

Dordogne is a popular destination for Britons looking to move to France.


However, there are a lot of stipulations for moving to a new country.

One expat explained that, since Brexit, those hoping to live in the country need to be able to speak a decent level of French.

Nicola spoke about learning the language in the ARTE.tv documentary 'Little Britain in the Dordogne'.

She said: "Because we arrived after Brexit, you have to be able to speak A1 level French in order to keep your visa.

"So if you've got a working visa, you have to take a test."

She explained French lessons will be offered for those who fail, but doing these can often put people out.

"If you fail the test... they give you between 200 and 600 hours of free French lessons," Nicola continued.

"But they can be anywhere and they can be at any time."

She explained this can mean commuting hours to take lessons.

Another couple explained they moved in 2015, but felt they would not qualify to move now due to not speaking enough French.

Dordogne

Expats can lose their visa if they fail the test

PEXELS

The area is a popular spot for those who want to move to France.

But some locals in the area were not impressed amid claims Britons turned Dordogne into Little Britain.

Some had even started calling it "Dordognshire" as if it were a county in England.

This comes as an expat shares his experience after moving to the Netherlands.

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