How to become a motorhome owner in France when you are a foreigner?

=> A proposal for a legal arrangement

It is impossible in France to obtain a registration certificate for a vehicle if you are not domiciled there. Thus, foreign people who wish to buy a motorhome to travel on the European continent systematically encounter this problem.

Thus, the creation of a civil society whose head office is located in France, whose purpose is the purchase of a vehicle in order to lend it free of charge to its partners seems to us to be suitable to achieve this goal.

We will present below the structure of the company as well as the legal procedure.

First of all, we would like to point out that chartered accountants at FBA are able to set up this type of company corresponding to your needs and to offer you solutions for hosting it.

I – Structure of the company

1. 1. The legal nature of the company to be created

A civil society must be created for each foreign person who wishes to acquire a motorhome in order to make it available free of charge to his associates.

This company can be created by contribution in cash with a small capital (100 € for example). It has a minimum of two partners. The financing of the vehicle can be carried out by a bank loan or by contribution in current account.

The vehicles acquired are movable property which is intended to be made available free of charge to the partners of the owner civil society.

1. 2. Civil society activity

The activity must consist of the provision of the motorhome free of charge and granted exclusively for the benefit of its associates. It is very important to strictly define this activity so that the company can never be called a commercial company.

In principle, the free provision of vehicles to associates does not have to be formalized by a written act. However, in order to demonstrate the reality of this situation to the tax authorities, it seems preferable to draw up a loan agreement for use relating to movable property between the civil partnership and its partners, mentioning that this provision is granted to free title.

II – The legal procedure

1. 1. Society creation

We can take care of the entire procedure, however you will need to send us the following documents:

• COMPANY NAME: in our experience, it is better if the company name contains the owner’s surname in the title since this helps at foreign check-points.

• FOR EACH PARTNERS (two minimum):
  • The name (first name and surname) of each partner;
  • The maiden name (first name and surname) of the mother of each partner;
  • The name (first name and surname) of the father of each partner;
  • The home address of each partner.

• MANAGER: it can be either or both partners or any other person you wish to appoint.

• SHARE CAPITAL: the minimum is 50 euros and the maximum is unlimited.

• ADDRESS: you can domicile the company with someone you know living in France or a domiciliation company. We can put you in contact with our partner. The domiciliation company might require additional documents for the domiciliation contract. It is necessary for the company to have a correspondence address that is its registered office in France, the domiciliation contract allows this. Vehicle registration documents will be sent to this address.

It is essential to plan the purchase operation in advance because the procedure for creating the company can last between 8 and 10 weeks to reach its end once all paperwork signed are received.

A copy of each partner’s passport will be systematically requested.

1. 2. End of company

In case of sale of the vehicle, there are three options:

• Transfer of the legal structure to another person;
• Sale of the vehicle accompanied by the closure of the company (this solution being the most expensive);
• To keep the company active for a future purchase.

Don’t hesitate to contact us for any additional questions.