Moving to France as a retiree / early-retiree

Non-EU citizens wanting to move to France as pensioners or early-retirees (known as inactifs [as they do not work] in French) will usually come on a so-called ‘visitor’ visa.

This is unless they can move under alternative rules such as based on family relationships with people already living in France.

When asked during the visa application for the reason for their stay they should select ‘visitor’ (the ‘family or private settlement’ option is for people with family links in France).

Once they have been in France for almost a year they can apply to stay on with a ‘visitor’ carte de séjour.

Despite the name, this card can be renewed annually although there are renewed formalities and a €225 fee each time.

However this is with the proviso that the holder still meets the requirements for the card, essentially having regular income and healthcare arrangements.

It is important to note that the holder will not be able to do any form of work in France or at least not until such a time as they can apply for a ‘resident’s card’ after a minimum of five years here or unless they can succeed in changing their status to allow work, which is not possible in the short-term.

The holder must pledge during the application process that they will not carry out any work.

To work in France you must usually renew this card at least four times.

It should then be possible to apply for a 10-year carte de résident once you have proof of five years of legal, stable residency in France.

Visa expert Alexandre Gillioen of Gillioen Avocats in Lyon said you should not apply for this until you have proof of a full five years in France, but, legally, you are not obliged to wait to do so until expiry of your fifth ‘visitor’ card. 

He added that it can sometimes be harder to obtain the resident’s card as a foreign retiree who has been on ‘visitor’ cards as opposed to an employed person whose income is from France.

We note however, that people have successfully done so in the past and French immigration law merely states that you should have income that is ‘stable, regular and sufficient to your needs’.

In the worst-case scenario, you could always continue renewing one-year cards for the time being, and apply again later for the resident’s card.

There have also been past reports of some prefectures issuing 10-year ‘resident’ cards to those who have held ‘visitor’ cards (after they have been in France for five years) that state the holder cannot work.

We note that this is not specified in official French sources, which in fact state that this card allows the holder to work and that those who have held ‘visitor’ cards are among those entitled to apply for the card.

In brief, if coming on a ‘visitor’ card it is best to make sure you can manage without income from work for the foreseeable future.

This includes not getting a part-time job, starting a small business for top-up income or carrying out regular buying and selling on the internet.

Rental income is a possibility. This is because in France renting is generally seen as a form of ‘investment’ income rather than income from ‘work’.

However, the rules in this area are complex and it would be advisable to take professional advice on this if it is an important part of your plans.

This is especially so if you plan to offer services as opposed to simply renting out unfurnished accommodation and/or if rental income would be your main source of income and would generate more than €23,000/year and would therefore fall under ‘professional’ renting rules.

Non-EU citizens who retire to France are not eligible for France’s pension top-up benefit, Aspa.

Third-country citizens usually have to have lived in France for ten years on a visa/residency card allowing work in order to be able to claim this.

Note: there is a card called a retraité (retiree) card, but it only relates to foreign retirees with a French pension, who previously lived in France with one of the forms of carte de résident (resident’s card), and who have now moved abroad.

It allows them to come back to France for stays of up to a year at a time without a visa.