Moving to and managing money in France

Nationals of some countries can enter more easily than they can settle or work. Employment, family, study and other routes each ask for different evidence.

Days in France, a home, and where your family lives can all bear on tax residence. Keep a diary from the start, not at the end of the year.

Opening an account is usually easier once you have a local address and a tax number. Non-residents can sometimes bank in France, with stricter checks.

Tell banks you already use if France becomes your home. Some accounts and tax wrappers in another country do not continue unchanged.

Residents are generally taxed on worldwide income. Non-residents are taxed on French-source income, which can include rent from a French property. Social charges can apply alongside income tax.

France has taxed real-estate wealth in recent years. Thresholds and what counts towards them change. Confirm the current scope before you buy, rather than after.

A purchase runs through a notary, who handles the formal transfer. You should still have your own adviser check title, planning and the contract before you pay more than a reservation.

Budget for taxes and fees on top of the price. They differ for older homes and new-builds, and they are not a rounding error.

Becoming resident can change how funds, shares and assurance-vie style contracts are taxed. Ask each provider whether a French address is acceptable.

Keep valuations on the date your residence changes. They are useful when someone later asks what you owned when you arrived.

Access to the health system depends on your status and on contributions. Private or international cover is often used while that access is being established, and some residence routes expect it.

A French home needs its own buildings and contents policy, matched to whether you live there or lend it out.

Employment, a sole-trader registration and a French company are different paths. Invoicing foreign clients from France does not, by itself, keep the activity outside French tax and social charges.

Where the company is managed from matters if you want another country to accept the structure.

Euro transfers inside Europe avoid one conversion. Savings held in sterling or dollars still need a priced exchange if the purchase or the living costs are in euros.

Notaries and banks expect completion funds to be traceable. Agree the route before the week of completion.