How to get a French visa

I have been in love with France since my first trip to Bordeaux in 2010. Friends I met in Thailand showed me around the area and introduced me to French culture. It was my first time in France and I loved the food, wine, and people.

But that love became an obsession as I exited the Paris metro after Bordeaux and entered the Champs Elysées. Light, energy, mystery! There was magic in the air. I’ve known this city my whole life and it just felt like coming home.

Since then, Paris has had a firm hold on my heart. Over the years I have made countless visits, especially exploring France and Paris. I led a tour in the city and lived there for a few months in 2019.

Last August, after another stay, I thought, ‘What if I come back?’

I was feeling a little tired of the NYC dating scene and the rising cost of living and feeling like I was in a creative rut. With the advent of AI and the industry changing for creators like me, I was a little hesitant about what would come next career-wise.

In short, a change was needed.

And Paris seemed like the best place to go.

It was cheaper than NYC, I already had friends there, I’d always wanted to learn French, it would be a great base for exploring Europe, and I could start writing my next book there. There’s nothing like a change of scenery to get creative!

But the problem remained. how do Have you moved to France?

After all, they don’t have a digital nomad visa, and if you visit on a regular Schengen tourist visa, you’re limited to three months.

Well, it turns out that’s actually not the case that stiff. (And I can only speak for Americans, but I suspect the criteria would be similar for Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, and other “developed countries”).

If you want to move to France, you have four main options.

• student visa
• long-term visit visa
• entrepreneur
• talent visa

Getting a student visa is very simple. You must enroll in a full-time university program and demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to support yourself (approximately €600 per month). A friend of mine is currently staying there on this visa, and she is undergoing a nine-month intensive French program to become fluent. You will still need to apply for a visa, but if you enroll in an accredited school, you are more likely to be approved. Another advantage of this visa is that you can work part-time!

However, since this visa is conditional on school attendance, it becomes invalid if you leave or drop out of school. However, once completed, you can change this to a “job seeker” visa, which will allow you to stay in France for up to six more months (or more, depending on the length of the program).

I’ve been considering applying for an entrepreneur visa, but the application process is quite complicated and can take months to get approved. Starting a business in France requires a lot of paperwork. You need to prove that your business is making money, has customers (at least one of whom is French) and can support you full-time (you must earn at least the French minimum wage). They will scrutinize your assets and finances and you will be required to register a business in France and pay French taxes.

Additionally, France offers a talent visa. If you are an expert in your field (with verifiable certifications and accolades), this may be a good visa to apply for. This is especially true if you plan to stay in France for a long time and want to physically work there. But again, you must have a source of income and a plan to do real business in France. Anyone working in the arts, not just an academic, must show how they will contribute to ‘French culture’ in some way.

Although I met the requirements for both visas, I decided not to go through with either because it would have taken a lot of time and I wasn’t sure if France would be my permanent home.

So I went with a long-term visitor visa, officially called a VLS-TS visitor. This allows you to stay in France for up to 12 months and can be renewed in the country. But this comes with many limitations. I cannot physically work here or participate in the French social welfare system.

This is also the visa that many Americans (and most retirees) receive. If you have passive income or retirement savings and just want to live in France, this is a good option. This allows you to set up a bank account and renew it almost indefinitely.

The paperwork for this visa (more on this later) essentially depends on whether you can support yourself. French authorities don’t want you to burden the system.

My biggest question was whether I would be able to “work” on this visa. Many creators and digital nomads are applying for and receiving this visa.

But remember: You cannot work on this visa. How can you work if you can’t work?

Now, let’s talk about ‘work’ from a legal perspective for a moment.

As mentioned earlier, there is no digital nomad visa for working in France. And although the French tax office said in July that remote working is considered taxable, there is no official law on the matter. It’s just their opinion and no progress has been made in codifying that opinion. In fact, my visa doesn’t even show a tax number, so taxation is impossible. Even if I wanted to pay taxes, I couldn’t.

Visa offices will ask you how you will finance your living expenses while in France, and one of the sources of income they accept is “income from work.” I have been very open that my means of support will be income from this blog and my books.

The systems there haven’t really kept up with remote working. It still defines “work” as something physically done that can take away a French person’s job.

So is it possible to go on a walking tour in Paris? no. Could you work at a cafe? no.

But does writing this blog post count as work? In the end, no one pays for it. This is a free resource. Is it important to go to a cafe to write the next great American novel? How about a weekly newsletter with affiliate links (generating income)? Is writing considered work?

There is considerable gray area, so it is best to consult with an attorney. I recommend Daniel Tostado (yes, that’s his real name), one of the largest American-French immigration lawyers in Paris. He runs a huge law firm and regularly meets with government officials to clarify the rules for this. He gave me sound advice.

For this long-term visit visa, the application process is very easy. Go to the French government website, fill out the application form and make an appointment on the TLScontact website with your application number. (France outsources the appointment process to this company, which then sends everything to the French consulate for approval.)

The main things you need to prove are that you have accommodation for 90 days on your application and that you have sufficient income to support yourself. They just want you to not burden the system. I went overboard. Here’s what I brought to the appointment:

• Application form (you must bring a printed copy)
• Appointment confirmation
• Additional passport photo
• Proof of accommodation (this could be an Airbnb, a hotel, or someone else’s home – if the latter, make sure they are the owner!)
• Letter certifying that I will not be working
• A financial summary letter explaining why I am moving there and my sources of income.
• Health insurance that meets French legal requirements (I used Mondassur)
• 3 months bank statements showing term deposits
• Second bank account, tax return, W-2

I didn’t need a second bank account, tax return, or W-2 (not required), but the woman at the appointment said the more proof I had, the better or worse. And another friend who got this visa didn’t bring any more than what was required on the application. But I didn’t want to miss the opportunity!

Upon booking, the staff will double-check your documents, collect your biometric data, collect the fee and then send your passport to the embassy for processing. Officially, it takes up to 15 days to process a visa, but everyone I know seems to get their visas back within a week.

The worst part is that you won’t know if it’s approved until your passport is returned. You can track the progress of your application, but you won’t know the results until your passport is back in your hands. While I was waiting (and anxiously exiting), I looked on Reddit and found that most rejections were due to lack of income or housing-related issues. These seem to be the two most important things in completing your application perfectly.

Once you receive your visa again, you can enter France at any time after your start date. You must register your visa with your state within 90 days of entering the country (a little QR code will be provided with instructions). This allows you to “officially” hold this long-term visa. (It’s more like paperwork.)

Once that’s done, there’s nothing more to do and you can stay in France (and Europe) until your visa expires!

So, if you are considering moving to France, this is your option. But as always, I am not a lawyer and this is not a legal pre-approval. It is important to seek legal advice and professional opinions regarding business and other matters or questions!

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