Preparing for Moving to France

 

There is a wealth of valuable information online which you can access by googling "Moving to France". And for finer, legal points you can ask your nearest French Embassy or Consulate. - Francophiles News

It is also crucial that you explore visa, residency, and visa requirements. These depend upon your nationality, the causes for, and intended time period of your stay, and in some cases your financial means. If you are an EU or Swiss citizen, entry requirements for you and your loved ones could not be more straightforward. You simply need a valid identity card or passport. So do not forget to renew these if they are as a result of expire in the future. As a possible EU citizen you have the right to both salaried and non-salaried work, with the exception of some Civil Service posts, or professions subject to certain regulations (i.e. doctors, lawyers). 

If you are a non-EU national, visa and residency requirements are more complex. For starters you will have to apply for whether long or short stay visa just before setting off. This is achieved your nearest French Consulate or Embassy.

If you plan to do paid work you will have to obtain temporary work authorization beforehand. They will provide you with detailed information from the documents you will need to produce, the task to follow and any more information you may require. If you plan to stay over the 90-day duration of your short stay visa, you will must obtain a carte de séjour at the Préfecture of your place of residence.

If you are a UK national you could be taking your home-bought and registered, right-hand drive car with you, so you will need to make sure your insurance covers driving in France. After a bit it might be a good idea to sign up for car insurance with a French-based company. If you envisage staying greater than 183 days you've just one single month to subscribe your automobile within the French system. Because administratively quite complex, the most effective solution could be to produce arrangements to sell it in England, after which buy whether completely new or used, left-hand drive car in France.

Depending on your nationality, you will also have to look into the validity of your foreign-issued driving licence.  In the event you hold an EU-member state driving licence you are not now needed to exchange your licence for any French one - if you can choose to do so. For non-EU nationals the relationship is, once more, more complicated, and depends on whether there is a reciprocal agreement involving the country and France. Whatever the case, you will belong to one of many two following categories: either you will have to exchange your non-French driving licence to get a French one inside a period including 3 to 12 months, or else you won't be capable of exchange it whatsoever - whereby you will need to take a complete French test of driving ability and in all likelihood a clinical.

Apart from your driving licence, don't forget important documents such as your birth and marriage license, diplomas, professional qualifications, etc. Be aware that official procedures such as applying for a driving licence or a carte de séjour require you to definitely have these translated into French. This should be performed by an officially-certified translator. In order to save time you might consider having one of these done before you decide to trigger. Also bear in mind that you might be required to supply evidence of your earnings so that you won't become a burden about the French social benefit system. This will go ahead and take form of bank-account statements and/or salary pay slips. So that you have to review your accounts as well as notify your banks of one's future relocation. You could also consider opening online international bank accounts, since these help you to transfer and manage funds between countries.

It's important too that you address insurance issues. Whatever kind of insurance you have, you will certainly require the same in France. Among these, the main requirement is health insurance. Be aware that if you have resided for longer than 90 days French law requires one to have health cover. Being an EU national you're entitled to cover by the Sécurité Sociale, the general public health system, but you'll need to register using the CPAM (Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie). Do this at the earliest opportunity. There should be a business office in close proximity to in which you plan to reside. They'll tell you what direction to go, and all the documents you have to provide. Among other things you'll have to prove your income, as the future contributions depends about it. And before you go, don't forget to acquire your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which allows you to get state health care abroad at a lower cost, or sometimes free. It's going to cover any treatment you may need before you're issued using a Carte Vitale, your French health card. It also covers you for pre-existing medical conditions as well as for routine maternity care, as long as you're not planning to France specifically to provide birth. If you are not an EU national you will need to take out private health insurance using one of the numerous international companies who provide this kind of cover.

Last but not least, do not rely on rusty school Frenglish. You will certainly require a survival level when you when you won't be capable of depend on your English to get you by. So why do not you enroll for many French lessons at this time? And to enhance your knowledge of the spoken language you can tune into French radio. Indeed, I almost forgot. Do not forget to cancel your newspaper and magazine subscriptions, to make arrangements to make sure all mail will be given to your French address. - Francophiles News