What it costs to relocate to France: the figures that are public

What do relocation agencies charge in France?

We do not know, and we say so plainly. Our research read the websites of 31 French agencies on 6 October 2026 and found no price on any of them. One agency that sells packages and individual services shows no amounts. Prices are given on request, which is why this guide has no table of agency fees. We do not reproduce the wide ranges that some agency blogs publish, because they state no method.

ReloFinder lists 32 agencies with a French office, and 31 of them list home search (France directory, data export of 7 Oct 2026). When agencies on the list publish prices, we will add them with their source and date.

What we can source is the cost framework around a move, from official pages. It tells you what you can be asked to pay, and what you cannot.

What does a tenant pay a letting agency?

When an agency handles the letting of a home, some of its fees are shared between you and the landlord, and the law caps your share. Service-public.fr gives the rule (verified 12 Jan 2026):

• File, visit and lease drafting. Your share cannot exceed half of what the agency bills, and it cannot exceed a cap per m2 of living space: EUR 12.10 in the very tight zone, EUR 10.09 in the tight zone and EUR 8.07 elsewhere. The zone depends on the commune, and the page links an official simulator.
• Move-in inventory. Your share cannot exceed half of the bill and EUR 3.03 per m2.
• Everything else the agency bills for the letting, such as writing and publishing the advert, is the landlord’s.
• Management of the home under a mandate is paid by the landlord.

For a 60 m2 flat in the very tight zone, the cap on your share of the file, visit and lease fees is EUR 726 (60 x 12.10), and half of the agency’s bill if that is lower. The agency must display, in a clear way, the maximum price of each service including VAT and who pays it, in its office, on its window and on its online adverts.

These rules are about fees for the letting of a home. If you hire a provider to search for you, ask what it charges and for what.

What about the deposit and the first rent?

The deposit for an unfurnished home is at most one month of rent excluding charges. For a furnished home it is at most two months, and for a mobility lease there is none (service-public.fr, verified 9 Jun 2026). A mobility lease is a furnished lease of one to ten months for people in training, studies, an apprenticeship, an internship, a civic service, a professional transfer or a temporary assignment (service-public.fr, verified 6 Mar 2026).

For scale, the network of local rent observatories measured a median rent excluding charges of EUR 24.2 per m2 for three-room flats in the city of Paris, in 2024 data (observatories’ report, edition 2026). For a 60 m2 flat, that is about EUR 1,452 a month (60 x 24.2). The deposit is then up to about EUR 1,452 for an unfurnished home and up to about EUR 2,904 for a furnished one. These figures are arithmetic from a median, not quotes.

Is there a way to avoid a guarantor?

The Visale guarantee is free. Action Logement grants it for some homes: you obtain a visa from Action Logement, and the landlord must accept the guarantee deed. If you do not pay or damage the home, Action Logement pays the landlord first and then claims the money from you. Eligibility depends on your age, your status and the rent. In the Paris region, for example, the rent including charges must not exceed EUR 1,940 and must not exceed half of your resources for most tenants, and tenants aged 30 or more who work in the private sector qualify under conditions such as a recent hire or a job offer starting within three months (service-public.fr, verified 23 Jan 2026). The page does not say whether Visale covers people who have just arrived. Check the rules on the Visale site for your case.

What do permits and visas cost?

The visa fee depends on the country where you apply, and the France-Visas portal shows it (service-public.fr, verified 21 Aug 2026). A long-stay visa that doubles as a permit, the VLS-TS, carries a tax at validation, and we did not read the amount. For the talent card for a qualified employee, service-public.fr lists EUR 350 in stamps when the card is granted: EUR 50 in duty and EUR 300 in tax (verified 1 Jun 2026). Other cards cost other amounts, and we did not read them.

What does health cover cost?

Employees who come to work in France are covered by the universal health protection, PUMa, without a waiting period. The 2026 social security funding law plans a financial contribution from some non-working residents, and service-public.fr says the amount awaits a decree (verified 13 May 2026). A private top-up policy is a separate cost that we did not source.

Who pays: you, the landlord or your employer?

For a letting agency’s fees, the split above applies. For a relocation service, it depends on who sends you. If an employer pays, its policy sets what is covered and it may name the provider, so ask HR before you hire anyone. In a private move you pay for what you hire. We found no French figure for how often each case occurs and no published corporate rates.

What should a written quote say?

1. The scope in steps: search, viewings, rental file, lease, inventory, appointments.
2. The price of each step, including VAT, and who pays it.
3. The number of viewings, and the price of more.
4. What the price excludes: expenses, translation, government taxes.
5. What you pay if no home is found.
6. Who the provider’s client is for the home you are viewing.

What we could not source

We found no published price for a relocation, home-search or school-search service in France, no corporate rates, no amount for the VLS-TS tax, no amount for the carte Vitale or for private health cover, and no source for rents outside Paris. We did not check whether other agencies have published prices since 6 October 2026. To compare agencies, read how to choose a relocation agency in Paris, or get matched to request quotes. Our guide to moving to France covers the first 90 days.