Visas and cutting ties

Visas and residency cards: who needs to apply for these?

Visas and/or residency cards are required for Americans staying in France for more than a short-term visit or holiday which can be for no more than three months maximum.

Having one of these exempts you from EU rules limiting you to no more than 90 days in any 180-day period in France and the EU’s wider EU Schengen area. All of France’s immediate land neighbors belong to this (or are microstates within it).

This includes exemption from the EU’s Entry/Exit System digital borders procedures and the forthcoming ETIAS authorization-to-enter scheme. 

A visa is also, in most cases, the only way in which to come to France to work or study if you are not an EU citizen. That is, unless you plan to come for no more than three months for a short course of study or to work in certain exempt fields, such as providing a service in someone’s home or taking part in sports, cultural or scientific events. 

A visa is a sticker put in your passport which shows that the holder has the right to come and go over the French border and to stay on French territory. 

A residency card, needed to settle long term, is a plastic card confirming a right to stay in France for a given period and for set reasons, such as work or leisure, depending on the type of card.

Once issued, visas allow the holder to come and go and stay on the territory during the stated validity period. 

Applications from most countries should usually be begun via this website.

Types of visas

It is important to bear in mind the kind of visa you will need, as they vary depending on your situation and plans. 

Once in France it may be possible to change your status, but it can be complex and time-consuming.

For example, the visa de long séjour temporaire is for a ‘temporary long-stay’ and is usually issued for four to six months. 

It is not renewable or exchangeable for a residency card so is most suited to people wanting an extended stay in France – such as at a second home – without fully moving over on a settled basis. To obtain one, when filling in a visa application you would select that the length of planned stay is ‘between three and six months’.

Most people moving over to settle will, instead, be issued with a one-year visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour (VLS-TS). These must be ‘validated’ on a website within the first three months of moving (a fee is payable, usually €200) and they are then seen as ‘equivalent to a residency card’. 

They can be renewed by applying for a physical residency card four to two months before expiry. 

For many kinds of cards, this application is now online, though in some cases it has to be done in person at the prefecture – the office of the national state within a French department or region. In all cases you will be required to visit the prefecture to collect the card.

A VLS-TS can be issued for different purposes such as for students coming for courses at universities, people with a work offer from a French firm for a permanent or fixed-duration job and people coming for self-employed work. 

Retirees/early-retirees who will not be working usually obtain a visiteur (visitor) visa, which, despite its name, is a catch-all for those without another reason for coming such as work or family links and is often issued to people intending to settle long term.

Another visa of interest to some Americans is the talent card, suited to certain investors, highly-qualified people in sought-after sectors, people working for ‘innovative’ companies, researchers, those starting companies with a capital investment, and high-profile scientists, artists, writers and sportspeople.

The visitor, employee and self-employed visas

For a ‘visitor’ visa you need to provide a written promise not to carry out any work in France; also a letter explaining your plans. You will also need proof of sufficient funds, roughly equal to the French minimum wage. 

This is currently €1,443/month per person, however, reportedly couples are not usually required to have exactly twice the sum and home ownership can also help in borderline cases (substantial savings can also help). Incomes such as pensions and investments are acceptable, as is certain kinds of income from renting out property. 

In the latter case, however, take care if it involves furnished rental, especially for holiday letting where services are provided – which may be seen as a commercial activity especially if done on a regular basis – or if income from furnished rental is more than €23,000 (in this case you may meet criteria for being a ‘professional furnished accommodation landlord’). 

Essentially, you should avoid any scenarios where setting up a business and paying business social charges will come into play. The safest bet may be long-term unfurnished rental to someone to use as their home. 

Note that the promise ‘not to carry out any work in France’ is generally interpreted strictly, so it is usually not possible to work remotely for a US employer while on this visa for example. 

If you are applying for an employee VLS-TS, when applying select ‘business’ and then ‘recruitment or posting workers’ for the correct information on this type of visa. You will need to show a job offer and that your future employer has obtained a work permit for you (autorisation de travail).

To support your bid to come to France to work for them, a firm has to give evidence that you have particular skills and that it could not readily find someone who already has the right to live and work in France to do the job. 

If coming to do self-employed work on a VLS-TS, select the option of ‘business’ and either ‘entrepreneur’ or ‘liberal profession’ when applying. 

The latter is for the traditional professions and certain other services; entrepreneur is mostly for commerce or trades. To set up a new business, you must demonstrate relevant knowledge and experience and the economic viability of your project – ie. that it will generate at least an income equivalent to the French minimum wage.

In some cases, it is necessary to obtain an assessment of the viability of your plans in the region where you want to work (see here and demander une autorisation de travail).

If you want to work in a regulated profession, check that your qualifications are recognised in France. If they are not, you need to find out if you can take a course to update your rights to do this job in France.

Note that regardless of visa status, working remotely as an employee of a US business is complex in France, as the US employer should agree to pay French social charges and respect certain French working laws. The income should also be declarable and taxable in France. However, working for foreign clients for your own self-employment business is certainly possible and does not present these complications. 

Talent visa and coming for study

The ‘talent’ visa is aimed, for example, at certain highly-qualified workers, people in especially ‘innovative’ sectors, celebrities in various fields, investors in French companies etc. It offers several benefits.

Your employer can take you on without having to obtain a work permit and send it to you. They are also exempt from having to pre-advertise your job locally. 

Immediate family may accompany, or join, the holder and benefit from special conditions. They can have a visa/multiyear residency card called talent – famille which includes the right to work.

People wanting to come to France for study of more than three months need a student visa (fee €50). If accepted on a course for longer than a year, this will usually be a VLS-TS. 

The place to start for information is here. 

Other than standard French courses, options include ‘dual’ or ‘joint’ programs with US institutions, or US institutions’ ‘study abroad’ programs in France. 

Search for courses at the Campus France site or at Etudes en France. 

For standard French courses, see here. Institutions labelled ‘Bienvenue en France’ are said to be especially welcoming to international students. If you want a course taught in English, there is also a specific search feature.

Applications for French university places for non-EU foreign students begin in October via the ‘Etudes en France’ process for applicants from the US. You must have pre-registered with a French educational establishment before applying for a visa and (with a few exceptions) you will need to show funding to support yourself in France of at least €615/month.