The complete, no-nonsense guide to making France your home.
Thousands of English speakers move to France every year. Most of them learn the system the hard way. The wrong visa choice costs them a year. A missing document costs them the apartment they wanted. An expired residence permit costs them their right to be there at all. This book is for the ones who would rather get it right the first time.
Written for Americans, Britons, Canadians, Australians, and anyone else arriving from the English-speaking world, Moving to France covers every practical question you will face - from the consular interview to the citizenship ceremony, from the first apartment search to the first French tax return, from the school enrolment to the long, quiet process of becoming, in some real sense, French.
Inside this 220+ page guide, you will find:
Visas and Residency Permits - Visitor, Talent Passport, salaried worker, family, student. Which one is right for you, what it costs, and the documents that make or break your application.
Housing - How to assemble a winning rental dossier, find a guarantor without French family, navigate the lease, and survive the first �tat des lieux.
Banking - Why opening a French bank account is harder than you think, and the three-stage strategy that actually works (especially for Americans facing FATCA).
Healthcare - How the system really works, why you need a mutuelle, and the family doctor who becomes the centre of your medical life.
Schools and Family Life - From cr�che to baccalaur�at, including the international school question and how to keep your home language alive.
Working in France - CDI vs CDD, the 35-hour week, the inbound expatriate tax regime, and the micro-entrepreneur route for self-employed newcomers.
Taxes - Worldwide income, foreign account reporting, the IFI wealth tax, and the tax-efficient structures that protect long-term wealth.
Driving and Transport - Licence exchange rules by country, the points system that genuinely catches you, and when to skip the car altogether.
Becoming French - The ten-year card, naturalisation by decree, naturalisation by marriage, and the cultural arc of belonging.
What makes this guide different:
Anonymised case studies - real situations of British retirees, American couples, Canadian copywriters, Argentine engineers, showing what worked and what didn't.
Action item checklists - at the end of every chapter, so you know exactly what to do next.
French vocabulary glossaries - the administrative words you will hear constantly, with the meaning that the dictionary won't give you.
Honest, conversational tone - written like a knowledgeable friend explaining the system over a long lunch, not like a legal manual.
Updated for 2026 - current SMIC, current visa fees, current tax thresholds, post-Brexit reality.
Perfect for:
Retirees planning their move to Provence. Remote workers considering a year in Lyon. Families relocating for a job in Paris. Spouses of French citizens. Property buyers in the Dordogne. Anyone who has ever stood in a French queue and wondered if there was a better way to do this.
France will reward those who arrive prepared. This book is the preparation.
Take your time. Make a cup of coffee. Turn the page.
