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France

The residence routes we hold for France, each requirement as its rule states it, and what a month costs in its cities. This page assesses no one.

This page describes the destination for nobody in particular. Answer a few questions and each requirement is set against your own answers, with a monthly budget for your household. Your answers stay in the address bar of your browser; nothing is stored.

Check this for your household

Country in brief

Pros

  1. Excellent healthcare, infrastructure and schools; Lyon and Bordeaux rank high for quality of life.
  2. EU free movement; a large, wealthy domestic market.
  3. Diverse regions: Atlantic, Mediterranean, mountains, wine country.
  4. Strong public transport, including free urban transport in Montpellier for residents.
  5. Deep business ecosystem; many small and mid-sized firms for sale as owners retire.

Cons

  1. High social charges and complex labour law; employing people is expensive and inflexible.
  2. Administrative culture is formal and slow; French is required.
  3. Housing costs in Bordeaux, Lyon and Montpellier have risen; the rental market protects tenants heavily.
  4. Strikes and social unrest disrupt services more than in the Netherlands.
  5. Taxation of wealth and inheritance is heavy for a household holding assets.

Emigrator’s assessment, 6 October 2026. Where a point names a figure, the sourced data above governs.

Routes we hold for France

What each rule states, as we encoded it from the source. A money threshold that grows with the size of the household is shown for the reference household named under the costs.

EU/EEA free movement (no registration required)

Checked against the law

We read this route’s requirements in the instrument that sets them and checked every rule against it on the date shown below.

· within the limit

RequirementRule saysType
Citizen of an EU or EEA stateHolds at least one of: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakiathe European Union, the EEA EFTA states — 30 countries, as read on 7 September 2026Mandatory
A basis for staying beyond three monthsThis requirement can be met in more than one way:Conditional
Working or self-employed thereMust be Yes—
Comprehensive sickness insuranceMust be Yes—

What the authority states and we cannot test

Quoted in the authority’s own words rather than summarised. No rule of ours tests these.

  • Ils disposent pour eux et pour leurs membres de famille de ressources suffisantes afin de ne pas devenir une charge pour le système d'assistance sociale, ainsi que d'une assurance maladie

    Our translation: They have, for themselves and for their family members, sufficient resources so as not to become a burden on the social assistance system, as well as sickness insurance — Emigrator, machine-assisted and reviewed against the source

    Stated by Légifrance — Code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile, chapitre III (Séjour de plus de trois mois), articles L233-1 et R233-1 à R233-13. Version en vigueur depuis le 1er mai 2021, art. L233-1, 2°

Temporary residence card, "visiteur"

Draft — not checked by us yet

We built these rules from the country’s own sources and have not finished checking them line by line.

Never checked · limit 45 days

RequirementRule saysType
Third-country national (EU/EEA citizens use free movement)Holds none of: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakiathe European Union, the EEA EFTA states — 30 countries, as read on 7 September 2026Mandatory
Enough to live on without working — the net SMIC*At least €1,477.93 per month100% of the French net minimum wage (SMIC) (€1,477.93 per month, effective 1 January 2026) = €1,477.93Mandatory
An undertaking not to work in FranceMust be NoMandatory
Health insurance covering the stayMust be YesMandatory

A month here, for a reference household

Reference household: two adults aged 38 and 37, a one-bedroom home, no children.

Residence fees and health cover are those of EU/EEA free movement (no registration required). The low, middle and high figures are the 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles where a publisher states them; each line says who published it.

illustrative Money figures on this page are illustrative unless the figure names its publisher. The illustrative ones are arranged so the shape is right — a larger flat costs more than a smaller one, and the expensive cities are the expensive ones — and they are accurate in nothing. Do not plan on them.

CityP25P50P75
BordeauxThis total does not include Building or service charge, Statutory levies and licences, Residence permit renewals, Domestic help and Household and leisure baseline, which nobody publishes for this city. It is the sum of what we hold, not of what the household will pay.not published€1,588not published
LyonThis total does not include Building or service charge, Statutory levies and licences, Residence permit renewals, Domestic help and Household and leisure baseline, which nobody publishes for this city. It is the sum of what we hold, not of what the household will pay.not published€1,695not published
MontpellierThis total does not include Building or service charge, Statutory levies and licences, Residence permit renewals, Domestic help and Household and leisure baseline, which nobody publishes for this city. It is the sum of what we hold, not of what the household will pay.not published€1,408not published

Its cities

Bordeaux

Safety
96 / 100measured
Healthcare
92 / 100measured
Air quality
92 / 100measured

7 of 12 months between 10 and 26 °C

  1. Jan1063
  2. Feb1162
  3. Mar1595
  4. Apr18127
  5. May211610
  6. Jun252014
  7. Jul272216
  8. Aug282116
  9. Sept251913
  10. Oct201510
  11. Nov14106
  12. Dec1063

Each cell: average daily high, monthly mean, average daily low, in °C. These are averages of daily values over 2001–2020, not records — the hottest day is higher and is not shown.

Lyon

Safety
96 / 100measured
Healthcare
92 / 100measured
Air quality
77 / 100measured

7 of 12 months between 10 and 26 °C

  1. Jan62-1
  2. Feb83-1
  3. Mar1272
  4. Apr16115
  5. May20159
  6. Jun251913
  7. Jul282215
  8. Aug282115
  9. Sept231711
  10. Oct18128
  11. Nov1173
  12. Dec63-0

Each cell: average daily high, monthly mean, average daily low, in °C. These are averages of daily values over 2001–2020, not records — the hottest day is higher and is not shown.

Montpellier

Safety
96 / 100measured
Healthcare
92 / 100measured
Air quality
82 / 100measured

9 of 12 months between 10 and 26 °C

  1. Jan1174
  2. Feb1274
  3. Mar15106
  4. Apr18139
  5. May221713
  6. Jun272217
  7. Jul302519
  8. Aug292419
  9. Sept252016
  10. Oct211613
  11. Nov15118
  12. Dec1285

Each cell: average daily high, monthly mean, average daily low, in °C. These are averages of daily values over 2001–2020, not records — the hottest day is higher and is not shown.

How this country is governed

World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2024, on a 0–100 scale the Bank publishes itself. They describe the country, not any city in it.

Political stability and absence of violence
62the World Bank governance score for political stability
Rule of law
74the World Bank governance score for rule of law
Control of corruption
73the World Bank governance score for control of corruption

Where this comes from

PublisherLast checked
EUR-Lex — Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. Consolidated version of 16/06/20118 September 2026
Légifrance — Code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile, chapitre III (Séjour de plus de trois mois), articles L233-1 et R233-1 à R233-13. Version en vigueur depuis le 1er mai 202128 September 2026
EFTA Secretariat — Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 158/2007 of 7 December 2007 amending Annex V (Free movement of workers) and Annex VIII (Right of establishment) to the EEA Agreement, incorporating Directive 2004/38/EC. Published at OJ L 124, 8.5.2008, p. 20 and EEA Supplement No 26, 8.5.2008, p. 1728 September 2026
Légifrance — Décret n° 2026-220 du 30 mars 2026 portant revalorisation du montant forfaitaire du revenu de solidarité active (JORF n° 0077 du 31 mars 2026), et code de l'action sociale et des familles, article R262-1 (barème par foyer). TRANSCRIPTION DU PROPRIÉTAIRE, et non une récupération automatique : Légifrance refuse cette machine28 September 2026
service-public.gouv.fr (Direction de l'information légale et administrative) — Montant du RSA. Second énoncé de tier 1 du même barème, récupéré par cette machine et utilisé pour vérifier le calcul plutôt que pour le fonder28 September 2026
Légifrance — Code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile, article L426-209 September 2026
service-public.gouv.fr — Salaire minimum de croissance (SMIC), fiche F23009 September 2026

Provenance

Rule set 1.58.0-2026-10-11 · read on 26 October 2026. Every figure on this page was computed by the engine from versioned rule files. No language model produced any number here, and translation happens only after the calculation.

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This is decision support, not legal advice. Confirm any route with a licensed adviser or the authority before acting.

France: residence routes, requirements and monthly costs — Emigrator