Americans and Britons in France: long-stay visas and residency trends 2024

In 2024, Americans were roughly in third-equal place for the most long-stay visas issued by France (6% of those issued) with Chinese people and Algerians; Britons were next (5%).

A total of 16,782 long-stay visas were issued to Americans, the latest Interior Minstry statistics on immigration and citizenship show.

Americans and Britons were also the main beneficiaries of visas classified by immigration authorities as issued for 'miscellaneous' reasons (outside common work or family-related purposes), most of these being 'visitor' visas for people such as retirees and early-retirees or second-home owners coming for part of the year. 

Some 56% of long-stay visas for Britons were under this heading and 33% of those issued to Americans. 

The heading is thus the most common reason for Britons, followed by work (26%). For Americans the most common reason is study (45.9%) and only 13.4% come for work.

In comparison, among long-stay visas for all nationalities, study and work placements (stages) are the top reason, followed by family reasons and work.

Britons and Americans both make the top 10 nationalities for the most 'talent' visas (for certain highly-qualified roles, jobs in 'innovative' companies, people investing substantially in start-up companies, artists and sportspeople etc): 1,204 (5% of all talent visas) for Americans and around 960 for Britons (4%).

Other overall visa trends in 2024 included fewer ordinary ‘employee’ visas, but more for scientists and other highly-qualified people as well as for residents’ family members.

When it comes to first-issue residency cards, Americans were in fifth place, with 13,062, up 5.8%, with the main reason being long-term study. Some 8,896 were issued to Britons, up 4.7% (5,197 Britons renewed a residency card).

While Britons did not feature in the top 10 of nationalities for first-issued cards, the total number of Britons holding a card continues to climb, from 166,314 in 2023 to 169,991 in 2024, not including children or French dual nationals.

Britons are the fifth most numerous foreigners living in France after Algerians, Moroccans, Tunisians and Turks. 

Americans do not make the top 10 in this case - as they hold fewer than 100,000 cards - but their number is expected to increase in future years.

The Interior Ministry notes that Britons did not need residency cards as EU citizens but following 2016's Brexit vote more applied for optional 'EU citizen' cards as a precaution. Thus only 10,000 held a residency card in 2015 but 50,000 in 2020. 

A subsequent large increase was then linked to the requirement for all Britons living in France to apply for Withdrawal Agreement residency cards in 2020-2021. Thus the vast majority of Britons in France are classified as having a card for a 'miscellanous' reason, with WA cards falling under this. 

Britons were also in eighth place for French nationality acquisition with 1,290 in 2024 although numbers have been dropping since a Brexit-linked peak in 2019 when they were in fourth position with 3,557.

The figures are the latest compiled by the Interior Minstry's Direction Générale des Etrangers en France (DGEF), and are now firmed up compared to 'estimated' figures released earlier this year. 

Technically, however they are still 'provisional', with 'definitive' figures available from January 2026.