Moving to France for a tech job involves a handful of offices, each with its own website and acronym. This checklist puts them in a sensible order and links to the official page for each step. It is written for non-EU citizens on a work permit. If you are an EU citizen, skip the permit section; most other steps still apply.
Facts are from Service-Public, impots.gouv.fr and the Banque de France, as checked in September 2026.
Before you leave
- Signed contract with salary, start date and job title.
- Long-stay visa in your passport. For most engineers this is a Talent visa; see our French Tech Visa and Talent permit guide.
- Birth certificate, ideally a full copy that shows your parents’ names. You will need it for social security. Check whether it needs a translation.
- Marriage certificate and children’s birth certificates if your family is coming with you.
- Diplomas and past payslips. Useful for the permit, and landlords often ask for proof of income.
- Temporary accommodation for your first weeks. Finding a long-term rental from abroad is hard.
- Money for the first two months: rent, deposit, agency fees and daily costs before your first French salary arrives.
- Ask your employer what it covers: visa fees, flights, temporary housing, a relocation agency or the impatriate tax regime.
First week: your residence permit
What you do depends on your visa (Service-Public):
- Visa marked “talent” for a contract of 1 year or more: apply for your residence card online within 2 months of arriving.
- Long-stay visa that counts as a residence permit (VLS-TS): validate it online within 3 months of arriving.
Both steps happen on ANEF, the Interior Ministry’s platform for foreign nationals. The Talent residence card costs €350 (€50 stamp duty + €300 tax). Save every confirmation ANEF gives you.
Holders of a Talent card don’t have to sign the Republican Integration Contract (CIR) with OFII, France’s immigration and integration office (Service-Public). Follow any instructions that appear in your ANEF account.
Housing
Know the rules before you sign
- Deposit (dépôt de garantie): at most 1 month’s rent (excluding charges) for an unfurnished flat and 2 months for a furnished one (Service-Public).
- Agency fees: in Paris and other “very tight” housing areas, the tenant’s share is capped at €12.10 per m² for visits, the application file and drafting the lease, plus €3.03 per m² for the move-in inspection, for leases signed from 1 January 2026 (Service-Public).
- Rent control applies in Paris. Our cost of living guide explains how to check a rent.
Short-term option: the bail mobilité
A bail mobilité is a furnished lease of 1 to 10 months for people in specific situations, such as a work transfer or a temporary assignment. It can’t be renewed, and the landlord can’t ask for a deposit (Service-Public). It can be a good bridge while you look for something longer.
Once you have a flat
- Home insurance (assurance habitation): tenants must have insurance that covers at least rental risks (fire, explosion, water damage) and give the certificate to the landlord (Service-Public).
- Electricity, gas and internet in your name.
- Keep your lease and a recent bill. You’ll use them as proof of address (justificatif de domicile) almost everywhere.
Bank account
You need a French bank account (a French IBAN) to get paid smoothly and to pay rent. Many employers and landlords expect one.
- Open an account with a traditional bank or an online bank. Bring your passport, visa or residence permit, proof of address and your contract.
- If a bank refuses you, you have a legal “right to an account” (droit au compte) if you live in France and don’t already have a French deposit account. Send the bank’s refusal letter to the Banque de France, which designates a bank within 1 working day. That bank must open the account within 3 working days of receiving your documents and provide basic services free of charge (Service-Public, Banque de France).
Social security and health
Register with Assurance Maladie
- Register with your local health insurance office (CPAM). You need an identity document or residence permit and a civil status document such as your birth certificate (Service-Public). Your employer’s HR team can usually tell you how it handles this.
- Expect a provisional number first. If your file is complete, you get a waiting number while your permanent social security number is allocated. If some civil status documents are missing, you have 3 months to send them.
- Order your carte Vitale once you have a permanent social security number. It is free, and it lets doctors send claims directly so you are reimbursed faster. An app version has been available across France since November 2025 (Service-Public).
- Create your ameli account on ameli.fr to track reimbursements.
Choose a GP
- Declare a médecin traitant (your regular GP). If you see a doctor you haven’t declared, you are reimbursed less (Service-Public). The doctor can make the declaration online during a visit.
Top-up health insurance (mutuelle)
- Join your employer’s mutuelle. Private employers must offer top-up health cover to all employees and pay at least 50% of the premium (Service-Public). HR will send you the forms. Ask whether your partner and children can join.
Getting to work
- Buy a monthly or annual public transport pass. Your employer must reimburse at least 50% of a public transport or bike-share subscription for your commute. Single tickets are not covered (Service-Public).
- Send the receipt or pass details to HR so the refund appears on your payslip.
Tax
- Check your payslip. Income tax is withheld each month. Until you file a French return, your employer uses a default rate that doesn’t reflect your family situation (Service-Public).
- Ask about the impatriate regime if you were recruited from abroad and weren’t French tax resident in the last 5 years (impots.gouv.fr).
- File your first return the next spring. You declare income from your arrival date to 31 December. If you have no online access yet, you file a paper form 2042 with the tax office for your address (impots.gouv.fr).
Our tax basics guide explains brackets, withholding and the impatriate regime in more detail.
Later in your first year
- Renew or update your permit on ANEF before it expires. Put the expiry date in your calendar.
- Keep a folder of payslips, your lease, tax documents and permit receipts. French admin often asks for the same papers more than once.
- Start French lessons if you haven’t already. Even basic French makes daily admin easier.
Frequently asked questions
What documents should I bring when moving to France?
Bring your signed contract, your passport with the long-stay visa, a full copy of your birth certificate that shows your parents’ names, and your diplomas and past payslips. Add your marriage certificate and children’s birth certificates if your family is coming. Check whether any of them need a translation; social security will ask for the birth certificate.
What can I do if a French bank refuses to open an account?
Use your legal right to an account (droit au compte), which applies if you live in France and don’t already have a French deposit account. Send the bank’s refusal letter to the Banque de France, which designates a bank within 1 working day. That bank must open the account within 3 working days of receiving your documents.
When can I get my carte Vitale?
Once you have a permanent social security number. After you register with your local CPAM, you first get a provisional number if your file is complete, and you have 3 months to send any missing civil status documents. The card is free, and an app version has been available across France since November 2025.
What is a bail mobilité?
A bail mobilité is a furnished lease of 1 to 10 months for people in specific situations, such as a work transfer or a temporary assignment. It can’t be renewed, and the landlord can’t ask for a deposit. That makes it a useful bridge while you look for a longer-term flat.
Do I need to file a tax return in my first year in France?
Yes. Income tax is withheld from your salary each month, but you still file a return the next spring, declaring the income you received from your arrival date to 31 December. If you have no online access yet, you file a paper form 2042 with the tax office for your address.
Related guides and jobs
- Cost of living in Paris for tech workers
- How to get a tech job in France without speaking French
- Companies that sponsor visas in France
- Browse visa sponsorship jobs and jobs you can apply for from abroad
- City pages: Paris, Lyon, Toulouse
This checklist is general information. Procedures change and some depend on your situation. Always follow the official pages linked above.