‘The pandemic and Brexit ruined our move’

In search of cheaper property, a rural lifestyle and to live near friends, Nick Dalby, 60, from Doncaster, had planned to move to central France with his partner last year. But the pandemic and Brexit made it impossible.

Mr Dalby, who retired last year, had a property secured in a village near Limoges. But that fell through when they were unable to make it there due to border restrictions during lockdown. This also meant they failed to secure residency before the Brexit deadline on Dec 31, 2020.

“We had it all planned and we should have moved by now. It’s much harder since January, as freedom of movement to the European Union is gone and it feels like moving anywhere else in the world,” he said.

All his plans are on ice and he is no longer sure it will be possible at all. “We need to be confident there won’t be any more changes to the rules before we move,” he said. “We’ve seen how the Government modified the way the state pension is calculated for people who lived in the Commonwealth recently, so that worries us.”