Reader Question: Are non-EU spouses of French citizens exempt from the 90 day rule?

It's a common misconception that the 90-day rule doesn't apply if you're travelling with a French (or other EU) national. In fact, however, this is not the case, even if you are married to your French travel companion. 

When travelling into the European Union, the rules are quite clear when it comes to short-stays by third-country nationals.

Essentially, the 90-day rule stipulates that non-EU citizens of certain countries - including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - can stay in the Schengen zone for up to 90 days out of every 180 without requiring a visa.

This is the case regardless of whether you are travelling with an EU citizen, or whether you are married to or in a civil partnership with a French citizen.

Spouse rules

Being married or pacsé (in a civil partnership) to a French person can be pretty useful in immigration terms, but it doesn't mean that the 90-day rule doesn't apply.

Spouses and family members of EU citizens can qualify for residency once they arrive in France, which will allow them to stay longer than the initial 90 days. However, this must be expressly requested from French authorities once you arrive - it's not an automatic over-ride of the 90-day rule. It also means that you formally request residency in France, with all that implies (particularly in relation to taxes).

READ MORE: Reader question: How seriously does France enforce the 90-day rule?

The carte de séjour for a family member, who is defined by the French government as a spouse, civil partner, child under the age of 21 (of EU national or their spouse/partner), or mother or father of the European citizen or his/her spouse or partner, will have the label "membre de famille d'un Européen" (family member of a European). 

It is free to request, and you can do so with your local prefecture. You will need to show a valid ID or passport, proof of address, three passport-size photos, and proof of the family relationship. For spouses, this would mean a marriage certificate, and for children this would mean a birth certificate.

Non-EU spouses who hold a French residency card are free to spend more than 90 days out of every 180 in France - in exactly the same way as carte de séjour holders who are not married to French nationals.

Being married to an EU national also means you can get a spouse visa - but this must be applied for in your home country, ahead of travel. 

Nationals of countries such as India - who do not benefit from the 90-day rule - must obtain a short-stay Schengen visa for visits to France of 90 days or less.

If you do not obtain the short-stay visa prior to travel, and you are able to board your flight, then you may still be able to get an on-the-spot entry visa if you can prove your family relationship to the EU national (ie with a marriage certificate). This is not advisable, however. It is best to do so prior to travel.

The standard processing time is about 15 days for family members looking to enter the Schengen area, and when applying, you should specify that your relationship to the EU national (otherwise an incorrect visa could be issued).

You can learn about what to do in this situation on the Europa.EU site.

Confusion

There has never been an exemption to the 90-day rule for the spouses of French (or other EU) nationals, but it seems that this misconception is stubbornly enduring.

Expat Facebook groups are full of questions on it, while The Local regularly receives questions such as 'I've visited France three times this year with my French wife and spent 80 days here, obviously these don't count towards my 90-day limit, but the next time I travel I will be travelling alone, so how many days can I spend in France?'

(To be clear, the answer is a maximum of 10, because those 80 days you already spent here do count, regardless of who you were travelling with). 

It's possible the confusion comes from the fact that during the Covid-19 pandemic, spouses of French nationals were given special exemptions to enter the country despite borders being closed to non-EU nationals.

Others have found the language that "core family members have the right to travel together" to be misleading, but you should keep in mind that this is first aimed at family members who are nationals of different EU countries.

When it comes to third-country nationals, the European Union rules dictate that "during their first three months in your host country, your family members who are not EU nationals cannot be required to apply for a residence card confirming their right to live there - although in some countries they may have to report their presence upon arrival.

"After three months in your host country, your non-EU family members must register their residence with the relevant authorities (often the town hall or local police station)". 

Bear in mind, this is geared towards people who want to become resident in France - not frequent travellers such as second-home owners.

Often cited is EU directive 2004/38/ec article 6, which concerns EU family members.

However this directive states that: "European Union citizens shall have the right of residence on the territory of another Member State for a period of up to three months without any conditions or any formalities other than the requirement to hold a valid identity card or passport. These provisions shall also apply to family members in possession of a valid passport who are not nationals of a Member State, accompanying or joining the Union citizen."

But all this says is that you can stay within the EU for three months - the same as the allowance under the 90-day rule. If you want to stay longer, you need to register for residency as described above.

As previously noted, residency is for people who move to an EU country, not for frequent visitors. 

It's true that your passport may not be stamped upon entry to France if you are travelling with a French national - but this doesn't mean that you can stay longer than 90 days, your official immigration status will always trump the passport stamp. Likewise, some airports allow non-EU spouses to join the EU passport queue, but this does not constitute an exemption to the 90-day rule.