Moving to France: Checklist for relocation

If you’re wondering how to move to France, use this moving to France checklist for tips and a list of requirements.

Yordan

7 minute read

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Updated on 18 Dec 2024

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Moving

If you've made the decision to move to France, there're a few things you need to know before making the big move.

To help you out, we've put together a relocation checklist of everything you need to know about moving to France. So keep reading to find out about:

• What you need to know before moving to France
• The things you've to arrange to move to France
• How to get settled after you’ve arrived in France

Moving abroad takes a lot of preparation to reduce any friction during the relocation process. A relocation checklist will help you keep track of all the things you need to do before the moving day, as well as when you're settling into your new home.

The things you’ll need to sort out are:

1. Get up to speed with life in France
2. Decide where you want to live
3. Plan your budget
4. Check the requirements for moving to France
5. Find accommodation in France
6. Wrap up your life abroad and book your tickets to France
7. Validate your residence permit
8. Get your personal tax identification number (SPI)
9. Get health insurance and consider additional coverage
10. Open a French bank account
11. Obtain a local SIM card
12. Substitute your driver’s license (optional)
13. Sort out your pet’s relocation to France (optional)

The culture

To understand the French people and their laws and customs, you need to understand the 3 pillars of French society:

Liberty – All French citizens are guaranteed the fundamental freedoms of thought, belief, expression, assembly, and marriage.

Equality – All French citizens have the same rights and duties in all areas, regardless of their gender, origin, religion, opinions, or sexual orientation.

Fraternity – The French republic guarantees solidarity, contributes to social cohesion, and watches over the greater interest.

The language

France's official language is French. Considering English proficiency in France is one of the lowest is Western Europe, you'll need to brush up on your French skills to reduce any language barrier.

Bonjour (hello), merci (thank you) and au revoir (goodbye) are essential phrases to learn.

Knowing basic French will not only help you integrate into French society faster but also increase your chances of landing a job or negotiating a better salary.

The weather

The average temperature in France ranges from 10-25 degrees Celsius. Depending on the region you’re in, it can get colder or hotter. In general, the weather is milder in the south of France and cooler in the north.

There're 4 distinct seasons in France:

• Winter usually lasts from December to February, with temperatures often dipping below freezing.
• Spring typically lasts from March to May and the average temperature reaches around 15 degrees Celsius.
• Summer lasts from June to August and temperatures often reach 30 degrees Celsius or higher.
• Autumn, lasting from September to November, is on average 10-15 degrees Celsius.

The political system of the French Republic

Since the terms of your life in France, including the taxation system and access to healthcare, depend on French politicians, having a basic understanding of the French political system is recommended.

In short, France is a presidential democracy, which means that the nation votes for politicians to represent them in government. The political system of the French Republic is based on the principle of separation of powers, whereby the executive, legislative, and judicial branches are all independent of each other.

Which city you’ll be moving to will most likely be dictated by where you’ll be working or studying in France.

If that’s not the case for you, however, you should research the best cities in France to live in and plan your place of work or study around your city of choice.

Here’s a rundown of what you can expect across the 4 best cities in France:

• Move to Paris to get the most varied job opportunities and if you enjoy the hustle and bustle of big cities. Explore the other pros and cons of moving to Paris before making a decision.
• Move to Lyon for a small-town experience with many work opportunities.
• Move to Marseille for good weather and affordable cost of living
• Move to Nice if you’re looking to settle in a small and lively city in the south of France.

Planning your budget is an important step before moving to France as this will help you determine how much you need to live comfortably.

The cost of living in France varies depending on the city you move to. In general, the average cost of living in France is €800 – €900 per month excluding rent. In comparison to the country average, the cost of living in Paris is slightly higher — at least €950 per month excluding rent.

One of the most important aspects of moving to France is understanding the legal requirements that you've to meet to legally enter and reside in France.

Unless you’re an EEA citizen (European Economic Area), you’ll need a visa to enter France. There’re many different visas that you can apply for as a non-EAA citizen, so it’s important to know which one fits your situation.

• Schengen short-stay visa, for stays of up to 90 days
• Student visa: depending on your length of stay, you can apply for one of the 4 student visas.
• Work visa: depending on your profession, you’ll have to apply for the right type of French work visa.
• Family visa: for non-EEA citizens who want to join their family abroad.

If you’re going to study in France, you’ll need to show your acceptance letter from a university. Similarly, if you’re moving for a job, you’ll need to show that your French employee has applied for a work permit on your behalf.

It’s important to start your application processes early so you can apply for your visa at least 3 months before your expected arrival in France. Estimate a 6–5 month timeline.

Finding the ideal accommodation from abroad is not an easy feat. But it’s necessary to start your search in time to avoid any stress once you’ve arrived in France. To make this task easier for you, the main things you should consider when choosing your accommodation are:

• The location of the rental
• Whether or not you’ll be sharing it with someone
• The public transport connections in the area
• The monthly rent

To give you an impression, you should be prepared to pay an average of anywhere from €600 to €1,300 in rent per month, depending on if you’re sharing the house and if utility bills are included or not.

Naturally, the bigger the city, the higher the rental prices. For instance, as per HousingAnywhere’s Rent Index, you can expect to pay the following rental prices:

Make sure that you’re aware of your rights as a tenant in France before signing any type of agreement.

Starting a few months before your departure to France, you’ll have to take care of the following:

• Cancel all local subscriptions, e.g. gym membership.
• Terminate your rental contract.
• Buy tickets for your trip to France.
• Arrange a moving service (if necessary).
• Translate, legalise, and apostille important documents, such as birth and marriage certificates.

Once you’ve arrived in France, you may need to validate your residence permit if you hold a VLS-TS long-stay visa.

You’ll have to do this within 3 months if you’ve got a VLS-TS sticker or within 2 months if you’ve got a VLS-TS with an obligation to apply for a residence permit.

The exceptions to this rule include those who are on a working holiday, minor students and holders of the temporary VLS-TS.

The French tax ID number, also known as TIN, simplification des procedures d’Imposition (SPI) or numéro de fiscal, is a 13-letter code that is used by the French government to calculate your taxes. Even if you don’t have to pay tax, it’s better to register for the SPI number as you can claim benefits.

Thanks to the digitalized process, you’ll be able to acquire your French tax ID in a couple of easy steps.

France’s healthcare system itself is a reason to move to France — the universal public healthcare system (PUMA) is accessible to everyone who is a legal resident in the country for more than 3 consecutive months.

To apply for your public health insurance in France, you’ll have to either become part of the social security system or register at a Primary Health Insurance Fund (Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie/ CPAM) location near you.

Once you’ve completed the formalities, the PUMA system will cover from 70% to 100% of your medical expenses.

Additional coverage through private health insurance

As great as the public healthcare system is in France, it also has its flaws. For instance, your public health insurance covers the healthcare costs up until the state-mandated tariffs. Since certain specialists charge a surplus amount for their services, you end up paying around 30% of the healthcare cost in some situations.

In such cases, having a private health insurance policy will help you cover 100% of the costs you incur.

Although opening a bank account in France isn’t mandatory, it’s strongly recommended. Having a French bank account will mean you can pay bills easily, get your salary on time, and make transactions or cash withdrawals with little to no additional charges.

Getting a local SIM card will save you a lot of money, especially if you’re not from the EU.

There’re 4 mobile network operators to choose from in France:

• Orange
• SFR
• Bouygues Telecom
• Free

Orange is the most popular mobile operator in France due to their high network quality.

If you intend on driving in France, you’ll be required to exchange your original driver’s license with a French one either after it expires or immediately after your arrival in France.

You can use this tool from the French government to find out what process applies to you.

If you’re planning to relocate to France along with your pet, you’ll have to make sure that you meet all of the requirements that the French government has put in place.

To give you an overview, your pet has to have:

• A microchip
• A pet passport
• A health certificate indicating a recent rabies vaccine

Now that you know how to move to France, it’s time to start ticking off items from this checklist and make your way to this diverse and beautiful country. Bonne chance!

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