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Checklist

Moving to France from the US: the checklist

Everything an American moving to France has to do, in the order you meet it, from choosing a visa to your first renewal. Each step links to the guide that explains it, with the official sources it rests on.

1 ·

Plan

Could we really do this, and how?
  1. Work out which long-stay visa fits why you are going: living without working, a job, a business, study or family. Long-Stay Visa Overview →
  2. Check the income or savings your route asks for before you plan anything else. How Much Money You Need for a French Long-Stay Visa →
  3. Keeping a remote job? Know there is no nomad visa, and settle the visa, tax and social-charge questions separately. There Is No Digital Nomad Visa →
  4. Learn whether your visa will be a VLS-TS or a “carte de séjour à solliciter”, because it decides your first months. VLS-TS or Carte de Séjour à Solliciter? →
  5. Read how France decides tax residency, and what that means for your US filing. French Tax Residency Rules →
  6. Know how the Schengen 90-day limit applies to trips before your visa, and what a long-stay visa changes. The 90/180 Rule Once You Hold a French Long-Stay Visa →
2 ·

Prepare

What do they need from us, and in what order?
  1. Build your timeline backwards from your move date: the slow documents first. When to Start Each Document →
  2. Order certified birth and marriage certificates, get them apostilled, and request the FBI check. Apostilles and the FBI Check for a French Visa →
  3. Assemble the file for your route: visitor, salaried work, Talent Passport, student, profession libérale or family. The Long-Stay Visitor Visa →
  4. Hired in France? Your employer obtains the work authorization first. The Salaried Work Visa →
  5. Check the Talent Passport thresholds if you are a higher earner, founder or researcher. The Talent Passport →
  6. Students: complete Études en France with Campus France before the visa. The French Student Visa, Step by Step →
  7. Starting a business or working freelance: prepare the viability file for the profession libérale route. The Entrepreneur / Profession Libérale Visa →
  8. Joining a spouse or family: choose the right family route. Joining a Spouse or Family in France →
3 ·

Housing

Where will you live, and on what terms?
  1. Renting? Put together the rental file landlords ask for, and plan for a guarantor. Renting a Home in France as a Newcomer →
  2. Buying? Learn the stages of a purchase and budget for the fees on top of the price. Buying Property in France →
  3. Borrowing? Check what French lenders ask of American buyers. Getting a French Mortgage as an American →
  4. Know what the notaire does for you, and what it does not. The Role of the Notaire →
4 ·

Apply

Get the appointment, submit, wait.
  1. Create your France-Visas application, book the TLScontact appointment, and bring the complete file. The TLScontact Appointment for a French Long-Stay Visa →
5 ·

Move

Get us, the dog and the furniture there.
  1. Bringing a dog or cat? Start the microchip, rabies vaccination and health certificate in time. Bringing Your Dog or Cat from the US to France →
6 ·

Arrive

What must happen before the clock runs out?
  1. Validate a VLS-TS on ANEF within three months of your entry stamp; start as soon as you have an address. Validating Your Visa After Arrival →
  2. Set up electricity, internet and a French phone number, in the order that works without a French bank account. Your First Weeks in France: Phone, Utilities and Internet →
  3. Open a French bank account, and know what to do if a bank refuses you. Opening a French Bank Account →
  4. Understand how French health cover fits together: PUMa, the Carte Vitale and a mutuelle. French Healthcare Overview →
  5. Apply for your Carte Vitale once you are resident. Applying for a Carte Vitale →
  6. Choose a mutuelle to cover what the base rate does not. The Mutuelle: Top-Up Health Insurance in France →
  7. Children? Register them for school at the mairie. Enrolling Your Children in School in France →
  8. Exchange your US driver’s license in your first year if your state is on the list. Exchanging a US Driver’s License for a French One →
7 ·

Settle & renew

Stay legal, pay the right taxes, put down roots.
  1. Request your residence permit renewal on ANEF between 120 and 60 days before it expires. Renewing Your Residence Permit After the VLS-TS Year →
  2. File your first French income tax return, and end your US state tax residency. Your First French Income Tax Return After Moving from the US →
  3. Learn which country taxes which income under the US–France treaty. The US–France Tax Treaty: Who Taxes What →
  4. Retired? See how Social Security, IRAs and pensions are taxed once you live in France. US Retirement Income When You Live in France →
  5. Report your French accounts to the US: FBAR and FATCA. FBAR and FATCA for Your French Bank Accounts →

Deadlines after you land, worked out for your own dates: the visa deadline calculator. Information from official sources, not legal or tax advice.