By - →EU, EEA and Swiss citizens enjoy freedom of movement in France: no visa, no residence card, just a valid ID;
- →Non-EU citizens need a long-stay visa (VLS-TS or VLST), then apply for a carte de séjour on the ANEF online portal;
- →UK citizens follow the non-EU rules since Brexit, except those who arrived before 31 December 2020 and are protected by the Withdrawal Agreement;
- →First admin priorities on arrival: register with sécurité sociale (PUMa), open a bank account, and get a French phone number.
Explore the settling-in guide
Ten detailed pages cover every angle of arriving in France as an expat — by status, by country of origin and by life stage. Pick the one that matches your situation.
Visa Requirements
Long-stay visa types (VLS-TS, VLST, Talent Passport), how to apply and which one fits your project.
Read guide →Becoming a French Resident
Residence cards, the path to permanent residence and the rules for naturalisation.
Read guide →Cost of Living in France
Average prices for housing, food, transport and taxes, with the gap to other expat hubs.
Read guide →Moving from the UK
Post-Brexit rules, Withdrawal Agreement, the WARP card and what changed for British arrivals.
Read guide →Moving from the USA
Visa pathways for Americans, FATCA tax obligations, shipping and the totalisation agreement.
Read guide →Moving from Canada
Bilateral social-security agreement, Working Holiday Visa and the routes Canadians use most.
Read guide →Moving from Australia
Working Holiday Visa for under-35s, longer-stay options and what to expect on arrival.
Read guide →Retiring in France
S1 form for EU/UK pensioners, healthcare access, the visitor visa route and best regions.
Read guide →Voting Rights for Expats
Local and European elections for EU citizens, registering on the electoral roll, dual citizens.
Read guide →Lost or Stolen Property
Emergency procedures, embassy contacts and the right reflexes to block cards and replace papers.
Read guide →The first weeks: priority admin checklist
French administration rewards a clear order of operations. Skip a step and the next one stalls — for example, you cannot register with the sécurité sociale without proof of address, and you cannot prove your address without a utility contract or a rental lease. The chronological list below works for most expats.
Secure accommodation
Even temporary (a furnished sublet or a long-stay Airbnb gives you a usable address).
Open a French bank account
With your passport, your visa and proof of address.
Set up utilities
In your name — see our guide to setting up utilities in France for electricity, gas, water and broadband.
Get a French mobile number
Which every administration uses for two-factor authentication.
Validate your VLS-TS
On the ANEF portal within three months of arrival (non-EU citizens with a long-stay visa).
Register with sécurité sociale
Via the PUMa scheme after three months of stable residence.
Declare your tax status
At impots.gouv.fr — you become a French tax resident the day after you arrive if France is your main home.
Convert your driving licence
If it is non-EU (mandatory within one year for most non-European licences).
Two of those steps overlap with our English-speaking helplines guide and the banking in France hub, which list the providers that handle non-French paperwork most easily.
The ANEF online portal
Until 2020, getting a residence card meant queuing at the préfecture, sometimes more than once for the same file. Since then, the French Ministry of the Interior has gradually moved every immigration procedure online to a single portal: the Administration Numérique des Étrangers en France, or ANEF, accessible at administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr. The rollout was completed in 2022 and the platform is now the default channel for almost every type of file.
What you can do on ANEF
A single account, secured by FranceConnect or by an email and password, lets you handle the entire lifecycle of your residence in France without setting foot in a préfecture in most cases:
- ✓Validate your long-stay visa within three months of arrival — the legacy OFII step, now fully digital;
- ✓Apply for a first carte de séjour when your visa expires, in any of its categories (employee, student, family, talent, visitor);
- ✓Renew an existing residence card up to four months before the expiry date;
- ✓Request a duplicate in case of loss, theft or damage;
- ✓Track the progress of your file in real time, upload missing documents and download the final decision.
How to create an ANEF account
Two routes are accepted. The first uses FranceConnect, the government's single-sign-on system, which links to your ameli, impots.gouv.fr or La Poste identité numérique account. The second is a standalone email and password, available to anyone with a foreign nationality and a French address.
ANEF interfaces are in French only — keep a translator tab open if your French is not yet fluent, and double-check the document list before uploading, because rejected files restart the queue.
EU vs non-EU: the rules that actually differ
The single biggest variable in your French admin life is whether you hold the citizenship of an EU/EEA country or Switzerland. The two regimes have the same end-game (legal residence, work rights, family rights), but the path to get there is very different.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens
Freedom of movement under EU law applies to citizens of the 27 EU states, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway (EEA) and Switzerland. Practically, this means:
- ✓No visa is required, regardless of how long you stay;
- ✓No residence card is needed — your national ID or passport is enough proof of legal stay;
- ✓The right to work is automatic from day one, without a permit;
- ✓Family members from outside the EU can join you under simplified rules and receive a multi-year residence card.
Non-EU citizens
Anyone outside that list (including UK, US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, South African or Indian citizens) follows the third-country regime:
- →A long-stay visa is required for any stay over 90 days in 180;
- →A carte de séjour must follow once the visa expires;
- →The right to work depends on the visa category — visitor visas explicitly forbid it;
- →Family reunification is possible but slower, and conditional on income and housing thresholds.
Long-stay visa types at a glance
France issues several long-stay visas (visa de long séjour, or VLS) depending on the purpose of your stay. The two most common categories are the VLS-TS, which doubles as a residence permit for one year, and the VLST, a temporary visa with no automatic renewal.
| Visa | Duration | Who it's for | Indicative cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| VLS-TS | 12 months, renewable on a carte de séjour | Salaried workers, students, partners and visitors with stable income | €99 + €200 OFII tax on validation |
| VLST | 3 to 12 months, not renewable in France | Short missions, seasonal workers, language students | €99 |
| Talent Passport | Up to 4 years, renewable | Researchers, qualified employees over 2× the SMIC, entrepreneurs, artists | €99 + €225 issuance fee |
| Student visa | Length of academic year, renewable | Higher-education students enrolled in a French institution | €50 |
| Working Holiday Visa | 12 months, not renewable | 18-30 (or 35) year olds from Australia, Canada, NZ, Argentina, Japan and 9 more | €99 |
Official fees: France-Visas and service-public.fr. Indicative, updated for 2026.
Costs and conditions are indicative — France updates fees yearly and adjusts thresholds for the Talent Passport based on the SMIC. The full eligibility rules and the application steps are detailed on our visa requirements page.
The pathway to permanent residence and citizenship
Beyond the first one-year card, French residence becomes progressively more secure. Each stage trades extra paperwork for a longer renewal cycle and broader rights.
| Years in France | Card or status | Key rights |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | VLS-TS validated on ANEF | Live, work (depending on category), access healthcare |
| Years 2-4 | Multi-year carte de séjour pluriannuelle (1-4 years) | Same rights, fewer renewals, easier banking and rentals |
| After 5 years | Carte de résident (10 years) | Stable status, free movement in/out of France, full work rights |
| After 10 years | Carte de résident permanent | Indefinite duration, no renewal, almost identical to citizenship except voting |
| After 5 years (4 if married) | French nationality (naturalisation) | Vote, run for office, EU citizenship, French passport |
Naturalisation by decree
The standard route, open to anyone with at least five years of regular residence in France. The file is reviewed by a sub-prefecture and decided by the Ministry of the Interior. Three substantive criteria sit on top of the duration test: documented integration, French language at level B1 minimum (DELF, TCF or equivalent), and basic knowledge of French history, culture and society, tested during a citizenship interview (criteria detailed on service-public.fr).
Naturalisation by marriage
Open to spouses of French citizens after 4 years of marriage if you have lived in France throughout, or 5 years if you spent more than three years abroad during the marriage. The same B1 language test applies. Civil partnerships (PACS) do not give access to this fast track — only formal marriage does.
UK citizens after Brexit
Brexit redrew the map for British expats. Two distinct regimes now coexist, and which one applies to you depends on a single date: 31 December 2020, the end of the transition period.
- →Already in France before that date: protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, with a dedicated WARP residence card (Withdrawal Agreement Residence Permit) and rights very close to those of EU citizens;
- →Arriving after 1 January 2021: same rules as any other non-EU citizen — long-stay visa, then carte de séjour issued via ANEF, with the same fees and conditions as American or Australian arrivals.
The full details, including how to apply for a WARP card retroactively if you missed the original deadline, are covered on our moving from the UK guide.
Bilateral agreements that simplify expat life
France has signed dozens of bilateral conventions covering social security, taxation and recognition of qualifications. They rarely make the headlines, but they save expats real money — typically by avoiding double contributions or double taxation.
- ✓Social security totalisation agreements with the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Switzerland and most EU/EEA countries — your contribution years count across borders for pension purposes;
- ✓Tax treaties with over 120 countries to prevent double taxation on income, dividends and inheritance;
- ✓Driving-licence agreements that let you swap a foreign licence for a French one without retaking the test (most US states, all of Canada, the UK, Switzerland, Australia, etc.);
- ✓S1 form for UK and EU pensioners who keep their home-country health cover paid by their pension while living in France.
The exact list of agreements depends on your nationality and is detailed on each country page:
Country guides
The French administration accounts to create
Most French public services are now online, and each one has its own portal. Creating the right accounts in the right order saves hours of phone calls down the line.
- →FranceConnect — the government single-sign-on, links every other portal in this list;
- →ANEF (administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr) — visa validation, residence cards, renewals;
- →ameli.fr — your sécurité sociale account, Carte Vitale tracking, reimbursements;
- →impots.gouv.fr — annual tax return, monthly direct debit, declaring address changes;
- →service-public.fr — official source of truth for every administrative procedure, in English on most pages;
- →ANTS (ants.gouv.fr) — driving licences, vehicle registration, ID-document tracking;
- →your mairie — local town hall, for the electoral roll, civil status documents and many family-related procedures.
A useful shortcut: link FranceConnect to ameli or impots.gouv.fr first, then use it to sign in everywhere else. The login flow is identical across every government website, and you only manage one set of credentials.
After the admin: the next steps
Once your visa is validated, your residence card on its way and your social security number in hand, two areas tend to come next on every expat's list:
- →Setting up the home — electricity, gas, water and broadband contracts, all covered in our utilities in France guide;
- →Banking — opening a French current account and understanding the cheque-and-IBAN culture, on our banking in France hub.
For everyday phone support in English, our directory of English-speaking helplines lists the customer-service numbers that answer in English across banks, energy, telecoms and public services.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do EU, EEA or Swiss citizens need a visa to settle in France? Read more Close
No. They enjoy freedom of movement: no visa and no residence card are required, a valid national ID or passport is enough proof of legal stay, and the right to work is automatic from day one without a permit.
How long can a non-EU citizen stay in France without a long-stay visa? Read more Close
Up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Any stay longer than that requires a long-stay visa (VLS-TS or VLST), followed by a carte de séjour once the visa expires.
Do I have to validate my long-stay visa? Read more Close
Yes. A VLS-TS must be validated on the ANEF portal within three months of arrival, with the residence tax paid at the same time. Without validation it is not a valid residence permit.
How long does it take to become a French citizen? Read more Close
You can apply for naturalisation after five years of regular residence (four if married to a French citizen), with a B1 French language level and a citizenship interview. A carte de résident valid for 10 years is available after five years.
Do UK citizens still have EU rights after Brexit? Read more Close
Only those who arrived before 31 December 2020, protected by the Withdrawal Agreement and its WARP card. Anyone arriving from 1 January 2021 follows the standard non-EU rules: a long-stay visa, then a carte de séjour via ANEF.
What is the ANEF portal? Read more Close
The Administration Numérique des Étrangers en France — the Ministry of the Interior's single online portal for every immigration procedure: validating a visa, applying for or renewing a carte de séjour, requesting a duplicate, and tracking your file in real time.