I fell in love with France the first time I visited Bordeaux back in 2010. Friends from a trip in Thailand showed me around, introduced me to the food and the wine, and somehow managed to make an entire country feel like home before I had even seen half of it.
Then came Paris. Stepping out of that metro station onto the Champs Elysees — the lights, the energy, the sheer weight of history in every direction — something shifted inside me. It was as though I had always known that city and was finally coming back to it.
Paris has not let go since. Over the years, I kept returning, spending months at a time exploring neighborhoods I could never quite map in my head. In 2019, I even lived there for a few months.
Last August, after another trip, it hit me: what if I moved back?
I was feeling worn down by the pace of everyday life at home, creatively stuck, and honestly not sure what came next. Sam understood — he always does — and we started talking about what a change of scenery might do for both of us.
France made sense. It is cheaper than most American cities I could name, I already had friends there, I have wanted to learn French forever, and it would be the perfect base for exploring the rest of Europe. Plus, writing from a cafe in Paris has always felt like one of those things you picture yourself doing someday.
But how exactly do you move to France?
The four visa options
France does not have a digital nomad visa, and the standard Schengen tourist visa caps you at three months. So if you want to stay longer, there are four main paths:
- Student visa
- Long-term visitor visa (VLS-TS visiteur)
- Entrepreneur visa
- Talent visa
The student visa is the most straightforward. You enroll in a full-time program at an accredited school and show you have enough funds to support yourself — around 600 Euros per month. A friend of mine is on this right now, doing a nine-month intensive French course. The nice part: you can work part-time on it. The catch? If you leave the program, the visa gets voided. After finishing, though, you can switch to a job-seeker visa for up to six more months.
I considered the entrepreneur visa but found the process daunting. You have to set up your business in France, show it makes money with at least one French client, and prove it supports you at minimum wage level or above. The authorities scrutinize your finances closely, and you need to register the business and pay French taxes. All of that takes months.
Then there is the talent visa, aimed at people who are recognized experts in their field — think academics or artists with verifiable credentials. You would need to show how your work contributes to French culture and demonstrate a source of income. It is solid for someone planning a long-term stay where they physically work.
Both the entrepreneur and talent visas sounded thorough, which is another word for time-consuming. Since I was not sure France would be my forever home, I did not want to lock myself into that kind of process.
The path I chose: VLS-TS visiteur
I went with the long-term visitor visa — officially called the VLS-TS visiteur. It lets you stay in France for up to 12 months and can be renewed from within the country, pretty much indefinitely. A lot of Americans (and most retirees) use this one.
The trade-offs are real: I cannot physically work here, and I am not part of the French social welfare system. But it does allow me to open a bank account, and if you have passive income or savings, it is a perfectly viable way to live in France long-term.
Can you work remotely on this visa?
This was my biggest question. The French government has not built a system that catches up with remote work yet. They define “work” as something you do physically — the kind of job that could take a position away from a French person.
Could I run walking tours in Paris? No. Could I work at a cafe? No. But does writing this blog count as work? What about a weekly newsletter with affiliate links?
The gray area is considerable. The French tax office said last July that remote work is considered taxable, but there are no official laws codifying that — it is their opinion and nothing has moved on the legal front since. My visa does not even come with a tax number, so technically I could not pay taxes even if I wanted to.
When the visa office asks how you will support yourself, “income from work” is one accepted source. I was completely open that my income comes from this blog and my writing projects. It worked out fine.
The best thing to do is talk to a lawyer. I recommend Daniel Tostado — yes, that is his real name — one of the largest American-French immigration firms in Paris. He meets regularly with government officials to clarify exactly these kinds of rules and gave me solid advice.
The application process
Getting this visa turned out simpler than I expected. Here is how it works:
- Fill out your application on the French government website.
- Take the application number to TLScontact and book an appointment (France outsources appointments to them).
- Show up with your documents. They check everything, take biometrics, collect fees, and send your passport to the embassy.
The main things you need to prove are that you have accommodation for at least 90 days and enough income to support yourself. The authorities just want to make sure you will not become a burden on their system.
What I brought to my appointment
I tend to over-prepare, so here is what I took with me:
- A printed copy of the application
- Appointment confirmation
- Extra passport photos
- Proof of accommodation (Airbnb, hotel, or a friend’s home — if it is someone else’s place, they need to own it)
- A letter stating I would not work in France
- A financial summary explaining why I am moving and where my income comes from
- Health insurance meeting French requirements (I used Mondassur)
- Three months of bank statements showing regular deposits
- A second bank account, my tax returns, and my W-2
The second bank account, tax returns, and W-2 were not required, but the woman at the appointment said more proof never hurts. Another friend of mine managed with only what the form asked for. I just did not want to take any chances.
Waiting for approval
Officially, processing takes up to 15 days. In practice, everyone I know got their passport back within a week.
The hardest part is the waiting itself — you do not know whether you are approved until your passport is returned. I found myself scrolling through Reddit threads, and most denials came down to two things: insufficient income proof or accommodation issues. Get those right and you are in good shape.
Once you have your visa
You can enter France any time after the start date printed on it. After arrival, you have 90 days to register your visa with the state — they include a QR code with instructions when you get your passport back. It is mostly paperwork from there.
Once that registration is done, there is nothing else to do. You stay in France (and can travel through Europe) until your visa expires.
A note on all of this
If you are thinking about moving to France, these options should give you a starting point. But I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice — always seek counsel from an immigration professional for your specific situation.
Have you ever considered living abroad on a long-term visitor visa? Or does the paperwork alone make you want to book a three-week trip instead? I would love to hear what you think in the comments.
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