Moving to France: the step-by-step guide for newcomers

Can I move to France, and what do I need first?

Your passport decides the route. Citizens of an EEA country are not obliged to hold a residence permit to stay in France more than three months, though they can ask for one. Citizens of other countries must hold a long-stay visa or a residence permit (service-public.fr, verified 8 Jul 2026).

France is a large destination. INSEE, the statistics office, counts 7.97 million immigrants, 11.6% of the population, and 6.3 million foreign nationals, 9.1%, in provisional figures for 2025. It warns that figures before 2024 are not directly comparable, because the census collection changed (INSEE, 4 Jun 2026).

Before you book a removal, which usually comes last, answer three questions. Which route are you on? Do you have a home or a lease for the first month? Do you know who covers your health costs while the paperwork runs?

What do EU and EEA citizens do?

Less than everyone else. You do not need a residence permit, and you may request one if you want proof of status. You still need a home, a bank account and health cover. If you take a job, ask HR what it handles for you.

Family members who are not EEA citizens themselves are treated differently. Service-public.fr says they must hold their own card: a card as a family member of a Union citizen, a permanent-residence card, or a card for all professional activities. If you move with a non-EU partner or child, check their card before you travel, and ask the prefecture of your future address how to apply.

Which visa and permit routes exist for non-EU citizens?

A long-stay visa, called type D, lets you enter and stay for more than three months, up to one year. The French consulate grants it, and the application runs through the France-Visas portal. It is issued most often for study, work or family reasons (service-public.fr, verified 21 Aug 2026). Two kinds matter for newcomers.

• VLS-TS, a visa that doubles as a residence permit. It is valid for 4 to 12 months and replaces a first card at the prefecture. You must validate it online within three months of arrival and pay a tax. It covers, among others, students, employees on permanent contracts, spouses of French citizens and holders of the talent card.
• A visa with the note “carte de séjour à solliciter dans les 2 mois”. It lets you enter, and you then ask the prefecture for a card within two months. It is used, among others, for self-employed workers, seconded employees, retirees and family members.

The talent passport is a multi-year card for skilled workers. One of its routes, for a qualified employee with a contract of more than three months, asks for gross annual pay of at least EUR 39,582, and the card is issued after a request on the state’s online portal for residence permits, ANEF (service-public.fr, verified 1 Jun 2026). Many other cards exist, and we do not cover them here. Which one fits you, and what a file needs, is for the prefecture, the consulate or a lawyer.

For some first permits, the immigration office OFII prepares an integration contract. It brings language and civic training, and a civic exam is compulsory since 1 January 2026 for people who want a resident card or a multi-year card (service-public.fr, verified 26 Jun 2026).

What if I am British or American?

Neither is an EEA country, so a person who arrives now follows the non-EU route above. The Withdrawal Agreement protects British citizens who settled in France before 31 December 2020, who keep the rights of EU citizens, and it also covers their family members under conditions that service-public.fr lists (service-public.fr, verified 30 Oct 2025). Irish citizens are EU citizens.

Which city should I choose?

Most newcomers look first at Paris, where ReloFinder lists 15 agencies with an office. Lyon has 6, and Marseille and Toulouse 4 each (France directory, data export of 7 Oct 2026). The count shows where agencies work, not where you should live. Rents and the rental file are the same national rules, and Paris adds its own reference rents. We found no source we could compare for other cities’ rents, so this guide gives Paris figures only.

What does the first month look like?

1. Before you leave. Non-EU citizens: the visa file through France-Visas. EU citizens: nothing to apply for.
2. Week 1. A home, even a short let. Read how to find an apartment in Paris.
3. Weeks 1 to 4. Proof of address, which the residence card file asks for. A lease, a utility bill or an attestation from your host can serve (service-public.fr).
4. Within three months. If you hold a VLS-TS, validate it online and pay the tax.
5. Within two months. If your visa carries the “carte de séjour à solliciter” note, request the card at the prefecture.
6. Health. Open your rights with the health insurance office, the CPAM, as soon as you can show your status.
7. Within the first year. Exchange a non-European driving licence, if you drive.

Our settling-in guide for France takes each step in turn, and says which ones only you can do.

How does health cover work?

France covers people who live or work in the country in a stable and regular way through the universal health protection, PUMa. Employees who come to work in France are affiliated without a waiting period once the request is accepted. A person who does not work waits three months after arrival, and needs a residence document if they are not an EEA citizen (service-public.fr, 13 May 2026, and for newcomers, 2 Apr 2024). The 2026 social security funding law also plans a financial contribution from some non-working residents, and the amount awaits a decree. We did not find an official waiting time for the carte Vitale, the health insurance card, so we give none.

What do rents look like?

Paris stands out. The network of local rent observatories, which includes the Paris observatory OLAP, reported median rents excluding charges, from 2024 data, of EUR 24.2 per m2 for three-room flats in the city of Paris and EUR 15.9 per m2 in the rest of the agglomeration (observatories’ report, edition 2026). The report says the Paris agglomeration combines very high rents with very strong pressure on access to housing.

Rent in Paris is also capped. For leases signed or renewed between July 2019 and 24 November 2026, the base rent cannot exceed a published maximum reference rent for the flat’s category, with limited room for a rent supplement (service-public.fr, verified 1 Jul 2026). The deposit is capped too: one month of rent excluding charges for an unfurnished home and two months for a furnished one (service-public.fr, verified 9 Jun 2026). The home-search guide covers the rental file, the guarantee for tenants without French references and the lease types.

What about children and school?

For a child over three, service-public.fr says you must enrol the child within eight days of a change of address. You first register the child at the town hall of your new home with identity documents and proof of address, and the town hall issues a certificate that names the school. You then enrol at the school with that certificate, a document on the child’s identity and family link, and proof of compulsory vaccinations (service-public.fr, 23 Sep 2025). The page describes a move within France. Ask the town hall how it applies to a child arriving from abroad.

What does moving to France cost?

The agency fee is one line, and we found no published agency price in France. The rest is the deposit, the first rent, the card and tax, insurance and the move. Our cost guide shows what is public.

Where does a relocation agency help?

ReloFinder lists 32 agencies with a French office, 15 of them in Paris. Of the 32, 31 list home search, 28 list settling-in help, 21 list immigration support and 15 list school search (France directory, data export of 7 Oct 2026). Those are the services agencies say they offer, not a promise for your case.

An agency earns its fee on three jobs: a home search in a tight market when you cannot visit often, a package of appointments, and school search for a family. If your employer sends you, ask HR first whether it has a policy or a provider. To compare, read how to choose a relocation agency in Paris, then get matched. Your request goes to one agency, or to up to three if you ask to compare. See also the France hub.

What we could not source

We did not find an official waiting time for the carte Vitale or for a prefecture appointment, so we give none. We did not read the rules on bank accounts, mobile contracts or school admissions for children arriving from abroad. The talent passport has several routes, and we described one. Check the prefecture, the consulate and, for permits, a lawyer.