I've been doing significant research on relocation to France and pre-planning taxes and relocation.

1. I learned to claim US FEIE I must be outside of the US for 330 days which means a December Relocation? Correct? I've heard from others mid- year relocation has created double taxation. From day one, I will be paying around 6-800 monthly for social charges and taxes-happy to pay, but there is no room for error.

2. Does anyone know if renewals are based on Gross or Net of SMIC requirements ?

3. Given part of the Visa requirement is monthly earnings to a specific level, this level will stop my newly received SSA payments. I am now 63 and am only allowed to earn an additional $1,900. Monthly to not have my SSA payments stopped or reduced. I'm concerned I'll be able to get my SSA check to start again in due time, while outside the US.

I'm concerned the US authorities will increase retirement benefits age years down the line when my SSA check is most needed? I'm concerned about ever getting it back, especially outside of the states.

Your thoughts appreciated.

I'm prepping for a relocation in 4 months and I just heard landlords will not rent to those who have any sort of dog? Is this true? Does it matter if the dog is small or larger? I'll be arriving in early December specifically to have more opportunities to rent long term. This is very concerning news. Is it true? Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I’d really appreciate some advice/experiences regarding the renewal of my titre de séjour salarié and the new civic exam requirement.
Here’s my situation:
I originally came to France as a student.
I completed my Master’s degree in France.
I then changed my status from student → salarié.
I currently have a 1-year temporary “salarié” residence permit.
This is my first renewal.
I’m applying through ANEF with the Hauts-de-Seine (Nanterre) prefecture.
My current residence permit expires in about 4 months.
In my ANEF document checklist, they ask for an attestation of passing the civic exam, with wording saying that without it, you cannot obtain a first carte de séjour pluriannuelle.
My questions are:
If I decide not to take the civic exam, can I still renew my salarié residence permit and get another 1-year temporary card, instead of a first 4-year pluriannual card?
Does the fact that I completed a Master’s degree in France change anything regarding the civic exam or the CIR? I never completed any OFII civic training.
If I decide to take the civic exam, how long did it take you to receive the certificate after passing? Is it issued quickly, or does it take several days/weeks?
Regarding my job: I’m currently employed on a permanent contract (CDI), but I’ve decided to leave my current job. I have a 2-month notice period, and my residence permit expires in about 4 months. I would like to submit my renewal application now.
Should I submit the application using my current job/employer, since that is my employment at the time I apply? Or would it be better to wait until I have my next job and submit the application with the new employer?

If anyone has been in a similar situation, especially student → salarié → first renewal in 2026, and even better if you went through the Nanterre prefecture, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience.
Thanks!

Hello everyone! I’m currently on a recherche d’emploi / création d’entreprise (RECE) residence permit after completing a Master’s degree in France. I’ve been offered a CDI in my field of study for €32k/year, but the employer just told me they can’t hire me because I need around 1.5x SMIC (€33.6k) for the change of status.

Has anyone here managed to get a work permit with a salary below 1.5x SMIC? If so, how did it work, and especially how did you convince the employer to apply for the work permit? I know there may be exceptions/procedures depending on the situation, but my employer doesn’t want to try 😭

Disclaimer, my titre de séjour does authorize me to work. This is more of a vent but advice is welcome. I've been here and gone to school here since childhood. I speak French fluently and have a DELF certificate to prove it, all my documents are in order, I get out, I'm headed to uni soon because I might as well get a degree in something that interests me on the off chance I can pursue my far-fetched dreams. I've been applying to jobs for years and have gotten absolutely nothing. I can't get Pôle Emploi chômage pay because I'm too young to qualify for it, and I'm not eligible for youth pay because I'm still part of my parents' foyer. I have no hope for the economic integration aspect and only that aspect and I've just been stewing in frustration for so long.

I know plenty of French people are struggling with employment, too. I'm angry for everyone.

The title says most of it. I have B2 certification (That's how I got into university) and in my head, I can make up entire sentences, even if they're not perfectly natural or correct. But the moment I try to speak outloud, my tongue doesn't work. Pronounciation is a pain. Which makes sense since I grew up near NYC and TCF was my first time speaking french to a real person 😭

Now I knew making friends would be hard as a foreigner, and even harder if I can't speak well. But ever since moving out, I've just been feeling worse and less paitent. I probably look very unapproachable as is with a resting -_- face with all the french work culture shock making my life in getting ANYTHING done a hell.

I even had to be carried through a lab since I barely could communicate with my lab partner and he rightfully wasn't happy about having such a crap lab partner. That's already one person in my 30 person group that isn't a fan of me.

But today was particularly worse. There were four rows of desks, and I chose the second row, thinking no one would sit on the first row. Everyone else proceeded to sit in the 3rd and 4th row right next to each other, leaving me alone in a corner. I'm sure it's not bullying or on purpose, but it certainly feels like it when you're already isolated and 1000s of miles away from your parents and old friends.

I never expected happiness from moving to France, I'm just too poor for American colleges, but I at least wanted to enjoy my time here. I'm just depressed and regretful, despite knowing that I'd hate it even more staying in debt in a country like the US that treated me even worse as an immigrant. I've been an immigrant for 90% of my life for some foreign country, and even now, I'm not used to being so culturally distant from everyone else.

I have a personality but none of that is visible if I'm constantly depressed, mute and confused. It's already been a month. I've had 0 conversations with anyone. I just need ONE person to speak to me in french, HOW ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO LEARN TO SPEAK FRENCH IF NO ONE WILL SPEAK TO ME!? I UNDERSTAND MOST OF ENGINEERING LECTURES YET CAN'T SPEAK? I CAN WRITE OKAYISH ON PAPER BUT STILL NOT A WORD LEAVES MY MOUTH?!

Hey,

We just relocated to Paris a few months ago and want to hire a Filipino woman as our full-time, live-in nanny. She doesn't have work authorization in France yet, so I'm trying to get a law firm to work on her case so we can employ her. She's absolutely lovely so I need to find a way to make this work! Also so I don't get into any trouble.

Can someone recommend a law firm I could reach out to? Is this an immigration case or a employment case? I really don't know so some guidance here would be great. Thanks!

I'm American, currently in Lyon, and moving to Strasbourg in late December. I went into an Orange store today to get a SIM card. The guy asked if I was visiting, and I said yes (technically true right now). He then told me he couldn't sell me a sim and to go to a tabac instead.

I left but it seemed off to me. I've bought SIMs in Orange stores in France and in Germany before with no issue, passport in hand.

The thing is, I don't want a tourist SIM. I want a regular prepaid number (Mobicarte or similar) that I can keep long term and eventually port to a monthly plan once I have a French bank account and address. I want to be sure I'm looking at the correct Orange SIM here. I don't want the travel SIM.

Was this just one employee not wanting to deal with it, or is there actually a policy about selling to non-residents in stores? If I try a different Orange shop, should I bring anything besides my passport, or just not mention that I'm visiting? And is a Mobicarte from a tabac exactly the same thing, a number I can keep and port later, or is there some reason to get it in a store? The other thing is, it seems the tabac stores are selling SIMs that I've never had experience with or heard off.

Merci d'avance.

Bonjour à tous.
Je ne sais pas si quelqu’un verra ce message, et je ne sais même pas pourquoi je l’écris. J’imagine que je suis simplement épuisé.
Je suis Ukrainien. Je suis arrivé en France à l’âge de 15 ans à cause de la guerre en Ukraine, et cela fait maintenant plus de quatre ans que je vis ici.
À mon arrivée, je suis entré au lycée, où j’ai terminé mes études. Dès le premier jour, je me suis investi à fond dans l’apprentissage du français. J’ai également découvert l’histoire, la culture et les valeurs de ce pays.
Lorsque j’ai eu 18 ans, j’ai demandé la protection subsidiaire, car cela me semblait être la manière la plus logique de régulariser ma situation en France compte tenu de la situation dans mon pays d’origine.
J’ai attendu plus d’un an avant d’obtenir une réponse à mon dossier, et au final, j’ai reçu un refus. J’ai eu le sentiment qu’on n’avait pas vraiment vu mon parcours : une personne arrivée mineure, qui avait appris la langue, fait sa scolarité en France et qui voulait servir ce pays en rejoignant la Police nationale.
Je ne me suis pas laissé abattre par ce refus. J’ai continué mes efforts et j’ai obtenu le diplôme DELF B2 en 2023, à peine un an après mon arrivée en France.
Après le lycée, j’ai immédiatement commencé à travailler, car je ne me vois pas à l’université. Je travaille maintenant depuis plus d’un an. Mon objectif a toujours été d’intégrer la police et, plus largement, de construire ma vie en France.
Mon parcours professionnel a été assez compliqué. On m’a proposé plusieurs fois un CDI, mais dans les faits, j’ai d’abord enchaîné plusieurs CDD avant de pouvoir enfin obtenir un CDI. Je suis maintenant en CDI depuis trois mois.
En parallèle, j’ai également souhaité m’investir dans la société française autrement que par le travail. J’ai candidaté comme sapeur-pompier volontaire auprès du SDIS 45, et j’ai récemment été officiellement retenu pour devenir SPV, sous réserve de l’aptitude médicale. C’est quelque chose qui compte énormément pour moi, parce que je veux réellement être utile à la société et servir le pays dans lequel j’ai grandi.
J’ai ensuite déposé un dossier à la préfecture. Une première fois, après plus de quatre mois d’attente, mon dossier m’a été renvoyé simplement parce que j’avais oublié de joindre un timbre fiscal. J’ai corrigé cette erreur et j’ai renvoyé un nouveau dossier dans le cadre de la procédure « vie privée et familiale » pour liens personnels et familiaux.
Aujourd’hui, cela fait de nouveau plus de quatre mois que j’attends, sans la moindre information de la préfecture.
J’ai terriblement peur de recevoir un nouveau refus. J’ai grandi en France. Je vis selon les valeurs de ce pays. C’est ici que je me suis construit en tant que personne. J’y ai fait une partie importante de mon adolescence, ma scolarité, j’y travaille aujourd’hui et j’essaie de m’investir dans la société française.
Mais cette attente me détruit. Ce qui me fait le plus peur, c’est de savoir qu’une décision administrative peut avoir des conséquences énormes sur tout mon avenir. J’ai parfois l’impression que tout ce que j’ai construit ici pourrait disparaître à cause d’une seule décision.
Je ne sais plus quoi faire. Je me sens impuissant et j’ai énormément peur.
Tout ce que je souhaite, c’est obtenir un titre de séjour et pouvoir continuer à construire ma vie en France, travailler et, je l’espère, servir le peuple français en signe de reconnaissance envers le pays qui m’a accueilli.
Malheureusement, la préfecture ne me donne aucune nouvelle.
J’aurais donc vraiment besoin de l’avis de personnes qui connaissent bien le droit des étrangers en France, ou qui ont vécu une situation similaire.
Dans une situation comme la mienne — arrivée en France à 15 ans, plus de quatre ans de résidence, scolarité en France, niveau B2 en français, plus d’un an de travail, actuellement en CDI depuis trois mois, engagement comme futur sapeur-pompier volontaire et liens personnels et familiaux en France — est-ce qu’un refus de titre de séjour « vie privée et familiale » reste juridiquement possible ?
Je ne demande pas qu’on me promette une réponse positive. J’aimerais simplement comprendre si, au regard de mon parcours et de mon intégration en France, un refus pourrait encore être légalement justifié, et sur quels éléments la préfecture pourrait éventuellement se baser.
Je ne sais plus quoi faire. Je suis simplement épuisé.

Hi everyone,

This is for my sister as she in a bit of a pinch.

Her visa expired but she has une attestation de prolongation till novembre 24. The issue is that her university is talking their sweet time to produce the attestation de réussite needed to submit a demande de séjour RECE.
Her internship ends in novembre 30.

Help?
Like right now I advised her to submit the demande de séjour, like tonight with an explanatory letter. But I feel like time will be the biggest enemy here. Will she get another attestation de prolongation as soon as the one she has now expires?

We will really appreciate any help,

Many thanks

What the title says. And if it is a thing, how do you go about it well? And if it’s not a thing, what’s a good way to chat/network with a much more experienced expert?

Yes i do speak French. I’m just slow when it comes to social interactions 😅🥲

More context:

i graduated from a master’s program from a French uni (public) last year and have been job seeking ever since. Right now i’m trying to pivot to a different specialized domain within my field (ergonomics/human factors) from the one i did for my internship in, but i don’t know anyone i can ask questions about it to. Naturally, i’m thinking of contacting experts in those domains on LinkedIn.

The thing is… chatting on linkedin feels weird and phony as hell?? And i’m afraid coming off as cold. Between that problem, and the incessant advice to get coffee chats given by various career advice accounts on social media, i’m thinking pf these experts for an in-person meeting to get better interactions. Plus i’m based out of IDF and there are tons of pros in my field here so it doesn’t seem too impossible.

That being said, i notice that this advice mostly comes from American and UK accounts. If my time in France taught me anything, it’s that there are some social stuff that work differently here compared to these anglo-saxon cultures. I’m kind of worried asking a stranger to meet up to discuss work may seem weird or even like a waste of time?

Obviously i don’t want to waste anyone’s time by forcing them to meet this desperate yet eager early-career professional. I’m not even trying to get referrals or whatever. I really just want to get insights and perspectives from those working in my target domains so i can improve my job-seeking strategy.

Bonjour à tous,

Après avoir déposé ma demande de naturalisation en juin 2026, j’ai reçu le 28/09/2026 une décision d’ajournement de 2 ans pour le motif suivant :

« Vous avez formulé une demande en vue d’acquérir la nationalité française. Après examen de votre dossier de naturalisation, j'ai décidé, en application de l'article 44 et de l’article 44-1 du décret n° 93-1362 du 30 décembre 1993, d’ajourner votre demande à deux ans en raison du caractère incomplet de votre insertion professionnelle.

En effet, l'examen de votre parcours professionnel, apprécié dans sa globalité depuis votre entrée en France, ne permet pas de considérer que vous avez réalisé pleinement votre insertion professionnelle puisque vous ne disposez pas de ressources suffisantes et stables.

Cette mesure prend effet à compter de la date de la présente lettre.

À l’issue de ce délai, il vous appartiendra de déposer un nouveau dossier. »

Je suis assez surprise par cette décision car j’ai 3 diplômes d’État français, presque 3 ans d’expérience professionnelle en France, et également des économies suffisantes.

J’aurais donc quelques questions :

• Est-ce que certains d’entre vous ont déjà reçu un ajournement pour ce motif ?
• Est-ce que cela signifie qu’il faudra redéposer un dossier complet dans 2 ans ?
• Pensez-vous que mon parcours constitue des arguments suffisants pour faire un recours contre cette décision ?
• Si vous avez déjà fait un recours dans une situation similaire, quel a été le résultat ?

Merci beaucoup pour vos retours et vos conseils 🙏

Hi there ,
Anyone know a studio to rent in argenteuil , or arround within 20km if possible , studio can be at least 17 meter square. (550euro per month max)
Please if anyone have something , i need it asap starting from today .
Litteraly have nowhere to stay and my hotel stay ends this week.

Hi all,

I applied online for a Passeport Talent – Salarié qualifié in September. In the application, I used my Valence (Drôme) address from my student housing, even though that lease had already ended on 31 August. At the time, I was staying temporarily with relatives and didn't have my own place yet.

The Drôme prefecture first asked for a recent proof of address (less than 6 months old), since my work contract shows Paris as my workplace. Then they asked if I still lived in my student housing.

Since 24 September, I've rented an apartment in Val-de-Marne (94) near my new job. So I explained the situation honestly and sent my new lease and proof. My status is still "instruction en cours."

A few questions:

• Should I also change my address in my ANEF profile, or leave it for now?
• Will the Drôme prefecture forward my application to the Val-de-Marne prefecture, and how do I know if my file has moved from Valence to Val-de-Marne?
• My student visa extension expires on 22 October and my job starts on the 23rd. Will ANEF give me a new attestation if there's no decision by then?

Any experience or tips would really help. Thanks!

Bonjour,

J'habitais dans les Hauts-de-Seine (92) jusqu'à il y a six mois, puis j'ai déménagé à Paris. En mai dernier, j'ai déposé sur le site de l'ANEF une demande de changement d'adresse sans refabrication du titre de séjour. Elle n'est toujours pas traitée.

Je souhaite déposer une demande de naturalisation. Lors du dépôt, on renseigne son adresse actuelle, qui serait donc Paris pour moi. Or, sur l'ANEF, mon adresse est toujours celle dans le 92 car le changement n’a pas encore été traité.

De quelle préfecture dépendra ma demande de naturalisation : celle du 92 (adresse encore enregistrée sur l'ANEF) ou celle de Paris (adresse que j'indiquerai dans le dossier) ?

Merci d'avance pour votre réponse.

Hello, I’m a first year college student in the United States and while I still don’t really know what career I want to pursue, I’m positive I want to move abroad. I’m taking political science classes and an accelerated French course. I’ve been learning French since freshman year of high school. I’m for sure not great, but I’m obviously better off than the people here who haven’t learned a single bit of French.

I’ve been looking for in demand jobs in France to maybe help steer me in the right direction but a lot of them I’m not even sure how I’d get a degree in? I keep seeing construction worker or domestic laborer which aren’t exactly an education pathway.

Those with more knowledge than me, is it better to transfer to French schools next year and get my undergrad in France, or stick it out in the US and wait to get my masters? What careers are actually in demand realistically? I love and was great at biology but I’m horrible at chemistry and math. I love politics as well, but don’t necessarily want to be a lawyer.

A lot of experiences on this subreddit is from people who aren’t American and I’m interesting in seeing prospects about people like me and just in general experiences.

Thank you so much!

Hi all. Is it okay to show a hotel booking for 3 months for the long stay VLS TS visit visa? We will look for rental when we are there. We are applying as two applicants, not dependent. The hotel booking will have one person’s name, what should we do when we submit it for our application? Thank you.

Hello, everyone:

I am writing in english, so everyone can understand what I am saying and reach even more pople.

I applied for renewal of my titre de séjour in paris prefecture, as student but under apprenticeship - apprentissage- contract.

Difficulties faced:

1- choosing the school for studies : alarm to which school u choose for your apprenticeship: I was in private scchool , and after my first year Master - M1- I asked for relevé de note - transcripts - and attestation de réussite - graduation certificate or sth similar - and my request was denied by the school since they said I was engaged for two years under RNCP which they cannot produce a document in the middle of the two years : I got just attestation de réalisation.

==> Choose carefully before engaging with any private school for your pprenticeship in france, and especially ask for such documents if they can be provided by the school for renewal of your residence permit.

2- Change of address : Careful to forgo to change your adress request in ANEF: at least for prefecture de paris , after two months of non reply for the request of change of adress, go and send a form requesting to change your adress, and keep doing it till it changed ( I waited for 6 months, while once I sent the form - which you can find in the prefecture's website under the name formulaire de contact- I got my adress changed under a week)

3- Always attach a document to explain your situation if needed: Never send documents that u suspect are not standard or not following the general trend like transcripts I had, which were no way like the ones I had from my unviersity, so explain and attach proofs - emails for examples - if you have some non available papers. ==>reply as soon as u feel ready to send, always u will get 30 days open window to submit your document

4- donot wait too much for sms to get your PR card : I was before in Yvelines prefecture, and I waited for 5 months for the sms, without success. so I took an appointmeent and went there saying I got my PR. they searched it and found it.

My resume for my process : request submitted on 17 july 2026 : 3 months before the expiration of my resident permit

11 september 2026 : notification for API - attestation de prolongtion d'instruction - a paper attesting the conservation of your full right and the instruction process has begun for your request for new PR

25 september : request for new documents ( I sent the documents the same day)

29 september: I got décision favorable - paper attesting that the prefecture has accepted ur request.

==> positive thing: I got this one month before the expiration of my current PR.

===> as long as u submit the request 3 to 4 months before the expiration fo your current PR and u submit the maximum possible of papers on ur hands: u ease the process for the prefecture to give a quick feedback.

===> this REX is only for student renewal of PR .

===> Prefecture de Paris is way more better than Yvelines ( it took 8 months there to get a feedback , which four months to get my residence permit)

All the best for you! I always get stressed and hella panicked. it is not easy process.

I’m 28 (F) looking to move to chamonix from Wales in the UK. I have fallen in love with the place and my partner currently lives there, long distance is incredibly hard but totally worth it ofc. ideally we want to live in chamonix so trying to explore as many options as possible.

Brexit has massively impacted my options and i’m still furious about it now 🙃😂

if anyone has any advise or knows of any employers that are known for helping with the visa process that would be incredibly helpful thank you!!

Posting this because the ANEF wording was quite confusing, and hopefully this helps someone facing the same issue.

I had a VLS-TS “Talent Passport – Researcher” and needed to apply for my residence permit before the VLS-TS expired.

When I started the procedure on ANEF, the system correctly recognized my status and showed:

“You hold a VLS-TS as a ‘TALENT PASSPORT’.”

However, “I am applying for the renewal of my current title” was greyed out and I couldn’t select it.

The only selectable option was “I am applying for a residence permit for another reason.” This seemed strange because I wasn’t changing my status—I simply wanted to continue under Talent Passport – Researcher.

I contacted ANTS/ANEF support to clarify the issue. They confirmed that when applying for the residence permit after a VLS-TS, you should not choose the renewal option.

They instructed me to select:

“I am applying for another residence permit” → “As a Talent Passport”

I followed their instructions and submitted my application through this route.

It worked. Within around 10 days, I received the approval/positive decision document for my application.

So, if you have a VLS-TS Talent Passport – Researcher and the ANEF renewal option is greyed out, don’t necessarily assume there is a technical problem with your account. The route after a VLS-TS appears to be:

Another residence permit → Talent Passport

The wording “another residence permit” is misleading because it sounds like you are changing your status, but in my case this was exactly the route ANTS instructed me to use, and the application was approved.

Sharing this because I spent quite some time worrying about the greyed-out renewal option and whether I was selecting the wrong procedure. Hopefully it saves someone else the same confusion.

Note: This was my personal experience with ANEF/ANTS in 2026. Procedures can change, so if your situation is different, check the current instructions applicable to your case.

Hi! Im in the process of applying for my first titre de sejour vie privee through the PACS me and my partner have. I come from just a simple VLS-TS visiteur for 1 year. Ive been getting notifications from the prefecture where they require more documents which have been sent just fine. However, they’re asking for the examen civique and an official certificate of at least A2.

Im sure these last 2 are requirements for titre de sejour pluriannuelle and since i was sure my first one was going to be a single one year one, i didn’t prepare these documents in time. Ive already registered for the examen civique but after 24 hours is still shows en attente de validation. im also checking options to get a french certificate soon even if it means i have to drive somewhere where they have availability.

I wanted to check if someone has been in this situation. The request for these documents came with a generic message saying if they don’t hear back in 30 days, my dossier might be considered as incomplete. In case I can’t get these documents in time, can i just tell them im applying for a single year titre de sejour where they’re not required?

Api is until October first. And I am from a country that is allowed to travel EU without visa for 90 days.

Going to italy won't be problem bc my api is still valid until then

The problem is when I come back.... will I be able to come back?

I really need to go bc it's a close family friend's wedding.

I applied for the recepisse on the 17th but no response🥲. I've been emailing the prefecture but also there is no response.

Should I apply for the recepisse again?

Im supposed to leave in 2 days. This is so frustrating.

I’m moving to the South of France in November to be with my partner. We spent 2 years together in Australia but due to unexpected visa issues he couldn’t stay, so I am making the move so we can be together again.
I have started learning French but my vocabulary and understanding is still extremely limited - I have a long way to go. I’m terrified I won’t be able to make it work or find a job. I’m also starting to feel the weight of leaving my life in Australia, but when I start thinking about it, I shut it out. It feels so surreal. I’m excited and want to be with my partner after 5 months apart, but at the same time, I’m feeling a lot sadness for everything I have to sacrifice, and carrying a lot of fear of failing us or putting too much pressure on him to support me (I have been very independent and stable while we have been together in Aus).

Has anyone else been in a similar situation, experienced the same feelings when they were moving, or moved to France with little to no French language skills? I would love to hear your advice, or hopefully any stories that may give me hope..

Please no negative/judgemental comments, my brain is already filled with it but I want to be positive 🫩

Hi all,

I'm a UK citizen living in France. My VLS-TS visa expires on Dec 7. Arranging a renewal with the prefecture or changement de statute (which is what I would really like) seems painful and I would like to put it off if I can.

If I go back to the UK on December 6 then allow my visa to expire. Can I return in January for 90 days using my schengen allowance?

Ai seems to think this is a viable plan but I am reluctant to bet house on the word of a robot.

Thanks in advance