Retiring in France: the visa situation
EU citizens: no visa required (freedom of movement)
If you hold citizenship of an EU member state, you generally do not need a visa to retire in France. Under EU freedom of movement you may live here; you can stay up to three months without registering, and for longer stays you register your residence with the local authorities. Confirm the current steps with the official source before you rely on this.
Source: europa.eu, last checked 2026-07-04. The visa route below is for non-EU citizens.
For non-EU citizens
As of our last check, France does not offer a dedicated retirement or passive-income visa. Retirees who settle there typically use other residence routes, so plan on more paperwork than in countries with a purpose-built visa.
France has no dedicated retirement visa. The retiree path is the VLS-TS visiteur long-stay visitor visa: you must prove sufficient resources (pension, savings), hold private health insurance covering France for the full stay, and sign a formal commitment not to engage in any professional activity in France. The visa acts as a residence permit for up to one year and must be validated online within three months of arrival; it is renewable. Note this is the French national visa route, separate from EU freedom of movement, which is what applies to non-EU citizens such as US and UK retirees.
Verified against citizenremote.com, last checked 2026-07-03.
The verified fields
Long-Stay Visitor Visa (VLS-TS visiteur), the visa de long sejour valant titre de sejour, visitor category
Applicants must show stable resources of at least around 1,400 euros net per month for an individual (roughly the French minimum wage, SMIC), or approximately 2,100 euros net per month for a couple.
France has no dedicated retirement visa. The retiree path is the VLS-TS visiteur long-stay visitor visa: you must prove sufficient resources (pension, savings), hold private health insurance covering France for the full stay, and sign a formal commitment not to engage in any professional activity in France. The visa acts as a residence permit for up to one year and must be validated online within three months of arrival; it is renewable. Note this is the French national visa route, separate from EU freedom of movement, which is what applies to non-EU citizens such as US and UK retirees.
Before you act on this
Visa rules, income thresholds and processing practice change, sometimes with little notice. This page reflects what we could verify on the dates shown, nothing more. Always confirm the current requirements with the official immigration authority or a licensed immigration adviser before making plans, and treat the linked source as the authority, not us.
See how France scores overall
The visa is one of six axes. RetireScore 68/100, ranked 29 of 40 countries on the default weights.