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I am going to start up an auto-entrepreneur business in ºÚÁÏÍø×îÐÂÈë¿Ú through the Pôle Emploi initiative, having registered 1/3/10 as unemployed but not due any chomage as I only became unemployed at beginning of October 2009. I had a business in the UK which I had to walk away from losing all my capital investment. I do own a house outright, here in ºÚÁÏÍø×îÐÂÈë¿Ú, but do not have any savings or income. I have wanted to live here since being a teenager and I intend to remain in ºÚÁÏÍø×îÐÂÈë¿Ú as have no family connections that would ever make me return to the UK.

Pôle Emploi are helping me put together my dossier, business plan etc. and I am hoping that I will be eligible for ACCRE by requesting RSA (although at the rate everything has been going, I will have been unemployed for the statutory six months by the time this all happens). I have my SS and Carte Vitale and have filled in the various forms at the CAF for RSA. On several occasions I have asked people if it is true that I need a Carte de Séjour. Each person I have asked has said that it is not necessary as I am an EU citizen.

I have just received a Demande de Pièces letter from the CAF with overture de votre droit RSA  asking for la copie lisible recto-verso de votre titre de séjour en cours de validité. I can’t remember if I asked the CAF at my initial interview (although I do remember that it was fairly traumatic and they said that I might not have the right to stay in ºÚÁÏÍø×îÐÂÈë¿Ú – so I guess that was probably the clue).

Looking at it would look like I do need one. Does this mean I’m going to have to go through all of this again, wait another … months before I can get some financial help, or worse, be told I am not welcome in ºÚÁÏÍø×îÐÂÈë¿Ú?