Moving as an EU / EEA citizen
Building a life in France as an EU / EEA citizen
Bureaucratic on arrival, generous once inside. Here is what that means for you specifically, from the front door to the tax return to the passport, seen through your EU status rather than in the abstract.
Researched from public sources, dated below. Not legal or tax advice.
The verdict
Free movement. No visa, and no clock.
As an EU / EEA citizen you can live and work in France without a visa, and the 90-in-180 Schengen limit does not apply to you. There is no entry hurdle to clear. What still applies: once you spend roughly 183 days a year in France, it can treat you as tax resident, whatever your passport says. Your right to be there is settled; where you are taxed is the real question.
How we stand behind this
- Effective
- 2026
- Last verified
- 2026-07-23
- Source
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: France, Individual residence/taxes
- Confidence
- High confidence
This block carries its source and dates above. Rules change constantly; the verification record is how you judge whether to rely on it, or take it to a professional.
The 15-second snapshot
- You can visit
- Yes, 90 days in Schengen 180
- You can stay long term
- Possibly, 3 routes
- Remote-work routes
- 1 route
- Bring dependants
- Yes
- Open a local bank account
- Yes, with proof of address
- Likely tax resident after
- 183 days
- Citizenship pathway
- Strong, 5 years
The sourced facts
Checked Jul 2026- Entry2026 · High confidence
Schengen 90 days in any 180 for non-EU visitors; France has no dedicated digital-nomad visa, the main long-stay routes are the long-stay visitor visa (VLS-TS visiteur) and the Talent Passport (Passeport Talent)
Expatica: How the French Talent Passport visa works (2026 guide) - Tax residence2026 · High confidence
Resident (Art. 4B CGI) if France is the home/main place of stay (broadly 183+ days), OR the place of main professional activity, OR the centre of economic interests; any one suffices France has no headline inbound flat-tax regime comparable to Beckham/NHR; there is an impatriate exemption (regime des impatries) for qualifying assignees.
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: France, Individual residence/taxes - Citizenship2026-01-01 · High confidence
5 years habitual residence for naturalisation, but from 1 January 2026 applicants must pass French at CEFR B2 (up from B1) plus a new civic knowledge exam Cross-checked with VisaVerge (https://www.visaverge.com/immigration/france-tightens-citizenship-laws-b2-language-and-integration-required-by-2026/). Decree 2025-648 of 15 Jul 2025. Residence-year count unchanged at 5; the tightening is the B2 language bar and civic exam.
Legalist: French Naturalization in 2026, the new conditions (Decree 2025-648) - Income tax2026 · High confidence
Progressive income tax up to a 45% top bracket, plus the exceptional high-income contribution (CEHR) of 3% then 4% on very high incomes
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: France personal income tax
Researched from public sources on the dates shown. Rules change; this is a planning layer, not legal or tax advice, and not a substitute for a professional before you act.
Enter
Getting inEntry is a non-event for you. Your EU / EEA passport is free movement in France: no visa, no stamp, no 90/180 clock. You can arrive and stay.
- Your entry
- Free movement, no visa
- Schengen clock
- Does not apply to you
Stay
Visitor to residentBecause you have free movement, the long-stay-visa question mostly falls away, you register as a resident rather than apply for permission. For the record, other movers here find that possibly, 3 routes.
- Long-term routes
- Possibly, 3 routes
- Bring dependants
- Yes
Earn
Remote income & your company1 remote-work route make foreign or remote income relatively unremarkable in France. Running your own company from here is the sharper question: running your foreign company from France can make key decisions happen there, so France may treat the company as tax-resident (place of effective management) or as having a permanent establishment. That can pull corporate profit into France's net. This is the review that pays for itself. Your full, profile-specific company analysis is in the world designer.
- Remote-work routes
- 1
- Company / PE
- Permanent-establishment / management risk
Keep
Tax residenceHere is the line the category forgets: your visa lets you stay, it does not decide who taxes you, and that is true no matter which passport you hold. In France, tax residence typically turns on roughly 183 days a year, home, main activity or centre of interests can each suffice. As an EU / EEA citizen you may also still have filing ties back home, worth settling before you move.
- Tax-residence threshold
- ~183 days
- As a resident
- Up to ~45% plus social charges
- Also weighs
- Home, main activity or centre of interests can each suffice.
Belong
Residence to citizenshipFor an EU / EEA citizen, citizenship in France is a route of patience: roughly 5 years of qualifying residence, each year usually needing about 183 days present. Whether you can keep your EU citizenship alongside it is a separate question worth checking early.
- Citizenship route
- ~5 years
- Qualifying presence
- ~183 days / year
Live
Banking, cost & familyThe practical scaffolding once the stamps are sorted. Opening a local bank account in France is yes, with proof of address. Bringing family: yes.
- Local banking
- Yes, with proof of address
- Bring dependants
- Yes