Moving to France: Navigating Visas
What our French visa journey looked like — and tips for choosing your own path
Relocating to France is exciting — finding somewhere to live is huge — but visas are one of the most important parts of the puzzle. If you’re planning a long stay, it’s prudent to get your visa decisions right before you commit.
There are so many helpful resources out there (and so many different personal situations!), so please don’t take this as an exhaustive guide. What I’ll share here is a bit of our experience and my thoughts on some of the most commonly asked questions I see from people who are starting to get serious about immigrating.
When we originally made up our minds to stay in Europe, Ralph was very curious about the Golden Visa programs in various countries, particularly Portugal. The program required a large financial investment, seemed relatively complicated, and the rules kept changing. Most people hired immigration attorneys to help, with varying results.
Compared to that, the French visa process is more affordable, straightforward, and stable. Anecdotally, it seems most people handle the process on their own. That’s what we did. And while we’re not the most organized people on the planet, we did our research, gave ourselves time, and took the preparation seriously.
Where to Start
Always begin with the official visa site: France-Visas (france-visas.gouv.fr). That’s where you’ll find the authoritative visa categories, document checklists, and rules.
Other helpful resources include the Welcome to France fact sheets, which break down visa types and requirements in more digestible chunks.
Third-party guides like Foolproof French Visas or the Franceformation programs can help clarify what you need, offer checklists and templates, and reduce the overwhelm (bureaucracy is tough enough).
I’m an overthinker, so I downloaded Foolproof French Visas. It helped us narrow down our options and feel more confident about the process and requirements.
Which Visas Fit for Us?
This is where it started to get real.
From what I’ve seen in France-focused Facebook groups, the majority of English-speaking immigrants are retirees who apply for a Visitor visa, using their passive income to meet the requirement. That was Ralph’s case.
For working-age folks, the path is a bit harder. Getting a job on the French economy isn’t impossible, but it’s rare. Companies have to prove that no EU citizen could do the job, which usually means you’d need to be in a specialized field (medicine, tech, academia). Fluency in French is almost always required, and salaries are generally lower than what many expect from U.S. standards. That’s why so many working-age expats end up creating their own path through freelancing or consulting.
For me, as a self-employed consultant with global clients, the Profession-Libérale visa was the best fit. So when friends dream about moving to France but get stuck on the job question, I often encourage them to experiment with a consulting side hustle while they still have a safety net. It gives you practical experience, a portfolio of clients, and real-world data to support your visa application.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the visas we applied for:
Ralph’s Visa Type: VLS-TS Visiteur
Who It’s For: Non-EU nationals who plan to stay >90 days and do not plan to work in France. Common for retirees or those with passive income.
Permissions / Restrictions: You’ll need to show proof of income (enough to meet French minimum wage, or le SMIC), housing, and health insurance. No work allowed — not freelance, not remote, not “just helping out.”
Valerie’s Visa Type: VLS-TS Profession Libérale
Who It’s For: Freelancers and consultants who want to generate income through international or French clients.
Permissions / Restrictions: Requires a business plan (with approval), proof of clients or intent, and financial projections. Lets you work legally and you pay French taxes and cotisations (contributions to social services like healthcare, unemployment, etc) on your income.
Of course, there are other options — like the Talent Passport visa, entrepreneur visas, student visas, family reunification visas — but these two seem to cover most newcomers’ situations.
Remote Work & France: My Take (and Why I Chose the Safer Path)
Are you a remote worker? You’ll quickly stumble across controversy online about whether or not you can legally work remotely from France. While many countries now offer true “digital nomad” visas, France isn’t one of them.
On my Profession-Libérale visa, I had to register my business in France, demonstrate multiple clients, and pay French taxes and cotisations (social contributions). That’s perfectly acceptable and fully within the rules.
Where it gets murky is with the Visitor visa. This visa usually requires signing an affidavit promising not to work, yet some people still do — either through self-employment or by working for an employer abroad. The rationalization is often: “I’m not working for French clients or a French company, so it’s fine.” I’ve even heard stories of people being explicit about this in their cover letters and still being approved.
The problem? France’s immigration office and tax authorities don’t always align. You might get a visa approved, but later face questions about your tax status or risk having your residency challenged. And beyond the paperwork, there’s a cultural element. France is proud of its strong worker protections, 35-hour work week, and le droit à la déconnexion (the right to unplug). Imagine what would happen if thousands of people imported a “live to work” culture by clocking U.S. hours from French soil — it’s not surprising that this raises eyebrows.
Personally, I decided not to live in that gray zone. I want France to be my forever home, so I chose the stricter interpretation of the rules. For me, that meant structuring my work legally here, paying into the system, and keeping my long-term options open for multi-year visas or even citizenship someday.
(Disclaimer: I’m sharing my personal experience and perspective. Visa and tax regulations change, and everyone’s situation is unique — always double-check with official sources or a qualified advisor before making decisions.)
Getting Documents in Order
You can apply for a long-stay visa no more than 90 days before your arrival in France. Give yourself a goal date (maybe one with a little buffer time!) and work backward from there.
We started our preparation about a year in advance — a blend of house-hunting, paring down our belongings, and organizing paperwork.
I don’t think there’s one “best” way to do this. It’s simply a matter of choice and style. If you’re typically pretty scattered and the thought of putting your packet overwhelms you, take a deep breath. Think back to a time in your life where you had to do something similar. What did you learn about that experience that’s relevant here? Maybe old school folders are your jam, or even one of those accordion-style file organizers. Perhaps you need a friend (or a professional) to help you stay on track. Whatever it takes!
The Profession-Libérale visa requires much more documentation, so I had to put my own oxygen mask on and let Ralph handle his side of things. (I can be a little extra, but only when it matters — and we didn’t need that kind of friction!)
At one point, I started to feel overwhelmed, so I built a spreadsheet with a checklist for each requirement and linked each one directly to the associated document. It gave me a quick visual of progress and an easy way to navigate to each file.
Since we targeted a late August arrival, we planned to schedule our visa appointment in June. Before you can do that, you must complete an online application on the French visa website. This involves creating an account and uploading a few basic items, like your passport and supporting documents. I’d almost missed this step for some reason, and had a panic attack when I thought I’d derailed our timeline. It’s recommended that you do this from 6 months before your departure. You’ll need to print your application form and bring it to your appointment.
We completed our online applications in early May — and all that preparation made it easy! After that, it was time to book our visa appointment online. Luckily, we didn’t run into any issues with availability. Smooth sailing…so far.
Time for the Appointment
From our experience — and what others often report — visa appointments are less intimidating than you might expect. They’re mostly about verifying documents, not grilling you. There were two appointments in our process: one to drop off paperwork, and another to pick up our visas.
It’s worth noting here that we met with a French consular officer and not a TLS contractor. As Americans living overseas, we didn’t have to return to the United States to apply. We could go through the process from Germany, our country of residence. The French Consulate in Frankfurt was a couple of hours away, so we drove up the night before to be relaxed and fresh for our morning appointment. As if we could relax!
Fun fact: in Frankfurt, visa applications are dropped off in the morning and pickups are done in the afternoon. So when people complain about French bureaucracy, remember that sometimes there’s some method to the madness. In this case, batching things actually makes sense.
Ralph was missing one paper (I can’t even remember what it was now!), but the consular officer gave him an email address to send it to, and he received a confirmation once it was received. She gave us back our passports, and we were on our way.
Six days later, Ralph got an email concerning his application. It was rather cryptic, saying only “your visa application has been processed.” Mine came seven days later. Approved? Denied? Who knew?
On pins and needles, we scheduled another appointment online, hoping that this would bring the good news we so desperately wanted…
That day came about a week later. When it was our turn, the consular officer took out two folders labeled with our names — and there were visas inside! It seemed almost anticlimactic. No fanfare, no big announcement — we just handed over our passports and watched as she affixed the visas with big dopey grins on our faces. So much hard work and preparation had gone into this, and the relief was palpable.
Overall, we were blown away by how fast the process was. In both appointments, our consular officer was kind, efficient, and even smiled (which, after three years in Germany, felt like a warm hug). She asked what we liked about France and seemed genuinely happy to welcome us to France.
Walking out with visas in our passports felt monumental. Tucked between the pages was a little piece of paper with a note (in English and French) instructing us to validate the visas online upon our arrival. It was here — the official start of our next chapter.
À bientôt,
Valérie