Information, support, and advice - what's the difference?

On this page we explain:

• the difference between giving information and support on citizens' rights, and giving specific personal advice;
• why we do the former but not the latter; and
• what to look for (and look out for) when you're seeking help on your rights elsewhere.

The issues that we cover on this website and on our Facebook page are effectively legal issues as they derive from legislation - from EU law and from France's own immigration and social security law.
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This means that we have to be careful about the way in which we provide information, and especially in how we answer your questions, as although the France Rights team has a wealth of experience in citizens' rights in France, we are not immigration lawyers.

Our role is to explain your rights and the law from which they derive in general terms, pointing you towards information that is relevant for you and helping you to understand what it says.

What we can't do is apply that law to your specific situation or make recommendations about what course of action you should take. Only a lawyer qualified in immigration can do that.

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Information and support: what we do

​Anyone who is knowledgeable about an area of law can provide information and general support. This is what we do here at France Rights.

It means that

• we can provide information resources such as this website and our news update blog which put complicated stuff into simpler language;
• ​we can help you understand, for example, what legal residence means and what the different categories of residence card are;
• we can point you towards particular bits of information that fit your circumstances and help you find your way around and understand it; 
• we can point you towards relevant parts of the legislation and help you understand what the words mean;
• we can help you understand the procedures involved in applying for a residence card, for example, what the application process is and how to compile your dossier;
• we can explain how applications are dealt with and decided;
• we can give you options about different ways you could proceed, for example if your application for a residence card is refused.

Advice: what we can't do

Giving specific personal advice on ​things that derive from legislation is equivalent to practising as a lawyer, and should only be done by those with appropriate qualifications and with professional liability insurance. 

We can't give specific personal advice at France Rights, though we will give you general support and information as we describe above. 

An example of the difference

Someone asks a question in a France Rights Q&A session about whether they would qualify as legally resident as a non-economically active person with a specific (and low) income.

Someone giving you personal advice might say that based on their understanding of the law you should apply as you would qualify.

Someone giving you information and support would explain what the requirements are to be legally resident for those who are not economically active, provide you with information and links to either legislation or official French government web pages, and explain how the application process works and how the applications are decided. No 'shoulds' or 'should nots' would be involved!

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Seeking advice

Under a constitutive system the consequences of wrong or incomplete advice can be serious - with your future rights at stake we strongly suggest that you take care if you are seeking personal advice and (especially if your circumstances are complex) that you don't rely on enthusiastic amateurs.

If you are seeking, or considering seeking, personal advice (either paid or unpaid, and whether privately, in a social media page or group, or verbally) particularly on residence issues, for your own protection we recommend that you check out whether the person or organisation giving that advice is qualified to do so and has appropriate professional liability insurance.

For complex situations you might like to contact an avocat specialising in immigration law. There are many links out there on Google - this site will give you some of them along with an idea of the costs involved: https://www.conseil-juridique.net/droit-etrangers/immigration/avocats-13-417-0-0-0.htm