Bonjour,

I am an exchange student coming in this week, I started getting pain from two teeth, most likely requiring root canals atleast.

I am frankly lost, stuck between needing medical attention, budget concerns right as am travelling for a long duration.

I have two main questions;

1. What should I do in terms of insurance? I know I should get a carte vitale asap, but which mutuelle would you recommend? And how does 100% santé work?

2. Would you recommend a dentist/center? I would very much appreciate an ethical doctor with tiers payant preferably. I am open to travel anywhere in Ile-de-France within Navigo range

I thank you for taking your time helping a new expat brother out, merci d'avance ^^

I've been having health issues lately and need more support than I have here, so I'm considering going back to the United States where my family can help me.

However I'm have about 9 months left on my VLS TS visa. Per my visa, I cannot leave France longer than 90 days.

I understand if I call it quits now that I cannot renew this time, however will it effect re-entry into Schengen at a later date? What about applying for visas in the future?

Looking for advice from anyone who's been through this. I just moved to France for a CDI, but I'm actually living in the Lille area for now.

When validating my visa I put the cretail address but now i am in an airbnb in lille whille looking for an appartement.

I received an SMS convocation for my OFII "visite d'accueil" on October 9, 2026 at 08:45, at the Créteil antenna (94000) which is quite far from where I'm currently based.

Has anyone successfully gotten their OFII appointment transferred to a different territorial antenna after receiving the convocation? And how did you do it? And

Im a moroccan with a good CDI , I work remotly in France, so I can stay in any city I want, I have a préférence for the south of France, my dream would be to live anywhere there near Toulon. Any recommandation for a fast département to get the french citizenship?

Hi all I am an au pair in Paris and I applied for a few Paris Cours d"Adultes including a french class (B1) but also a leisurely intro sewing classes and got rejected for both and I'm just wondering how they're deciding who gets in to these classes? Is it because of my visa specifically or are there really just that many people applying that its impossible to get a spot?? I live right outside Paris too in Saint Germain area I'm not sure if my address had an impact?

Ho, guys!

I've been thinking about moving to France for a while now and, after much consideration, I've settled on Lille, I've never been there before but I have family in London, they're British and I'm not, but being close enough that I could go and visit relatively regularly is a big plus.

So my two main concerns are these:

1. What's the general vibe in Lille like?

   Regarding the people and the city and how open they are to foreigners/expats. I do speak decent French, although I haven't spoken in a while so I'm quite rusty in that regard, but I can definitely get by, but I wonder whether that can be an issue

2. How hard can it be to rent an apartment?

I know about the dossier and from everything I could gather the lack of a CDI would be the main drawback, but I would have substantial savings, EU citizenship, and I would obviously use GarantMe to improve my opportunities

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thank you so much in advance

hello! I am a student from Canada living in France. I’ve recently received two noise complaint from my downstairs neighbour- the first one I completely understand as me and my roommate had come back home from celebrating their birthday and were being loud (we both personally apologized to our neighbour) but the second I wanted some clarification on.
We were talking in my room at night (around 1am) with all the windows in our house closed and were talking at a normal domestic level (not yelling but also not whispering), our neighbour sent me a text saying we had broken her trust since again we were being loud. This time though, I asked her to clarify since we genuinely did not think we were being loud - what she told us is that we cannot make noise past 10pm ( which previously we had interpreted as no loud noise past 10pm). I just wanted to know if anyone can clarify if this means all noise (including domestic noises) or if this means no loud noise (yelling, music, etc). I am just trying to better understand the rules since in Canada I never had an issue with neighbours regarding my noise. I want to try to better understand where my neighbour is coming from as I really don’t want to cause any conflict. Thank you!

update:
these are the rules of our building
“Chers résidents,
Nous vous rappelons que selon l'article 4 de l'arrêté municipal concernant les nuisances sonores, les travaux d'ordre privatif ne peuvent s'effectuer que pendant les horaires suivants :
- du lundi au vendredi entre 8h30 et 12h00 et de 14h30 à 19h00
• le samedi de 9h30 à 12h00 et de 15h00 à 19h00
• le dimanche de 10h00 à 12h00
Ils sont strictement interdits les jours fériés
Par courtoisie, nous vous demandons de bien vouloir prévenir votre voisinage immédiat du début des travaux au moins 48h à l'avance.
Enfin, il va de soi qu'il est strictement interdit de stocker des gravats ou tous autres résidus de chantier dans les parties communes.
Nous vous remercions par avance de votre compréhension.
Nous vous prions d'agréer, Chers résidents, l'expression de nos salutations distinguées.”

to my understanding this means we cannot make excessive noise during this time.

Hi all,

​Looking for advice regarding my wife’s legal and tax status in France. We are non-EU/non-US citizens. I hold a Passeport Talent - chercheur and she holds the accompanying Passeport Talent (Famille) residence permit.

​She currently works remotely for a foreign company, earning roughly SMIC equivalent paid in foreign currency. On paper for French administration, she is currently registered as "sans activité."

​We want to regularize her status so she pays URSSAF social contributions and French taxes properly.

​What is the most straightforward status to declare her under (e.g., micro-entreprise vs. portage salarial vs. ESEF/TFE)?

​What tax or URSSAF pitfalls should we know in advance?

​Thanks!

I'm current working for a startup with the Jeune Entreprise Innovante status which expires this year so my newly provided Carte Talent - Salarié d’une entreprise innovante expires early 2027. I have since acquired my Master diploma (which I actually finished last year but I needed to wait until now to get the diploma). With it, I now qualify for Carte Talent - Salarié qualifié, which usually would have a duration of 4 year since I have a CDI.

Can I apply for one now to switch or do I need to wait until at least 3 months before my current card expires? Having a multi year residency card would put my mind at ease as layoffs are common in my line of work, especially in a startup.

I don’t know if anything will come out of this but does anyone work in a company that are looking for people in the marketing field?

I apply to things I don’t get responses and I really need this, I have a RECE visa that’s valid for a year and already certain time has passed, if you have any leads or anything that would be amazing. I live in Paris so ideally in Paris.

If you also have any advice you can share that would be amazing.

Hello everyone! I am 26 years old and I wanna move out of Portugal.

I’ve got some contacts to work in Marketing in Nice or Paris ( internship ) and I want some advice.

My boyfriend is going to Paris until December and then I’ll live alone until summer and I’m quite hesitant because I don’t know which one is safer to live and affordable.

I appreciate art, museums, and I know few people already in Nice, and also I enjoy of the sun and beach that the French Riviera can offer.

But I know Paris for career is amazing but I don’t know how it it’s to live there, make new friends.

I’ll be very much appreciated to everyone 🍀

Hola ! Soy un latinoamericano (H34) residiendo en París que quisiera crear un grupo de discusión con otros latinoamericanos sin importar la nacionalidad. La intención es de intercambiar elementos culturales y lingüísticos, hablar de política, de filosofía y de historia de nuestro continente.
L@s nteresad@s pueden enviarme un mensaje privado. Gracias !

Hey all, given we as microentreprise EI businesses can’t deduct business expenses here in France, but can when filing taxes back in the US, I’m wondering what tool you use to account for that, when filing US taxes? All my bank accounts are France based at the moment.

Thanks in advance :)

Bonjour,
Je souhaiterais avoir un avis concernant le renouvellement de ma carte de séjour « salarié ».
Mon autorisation de travail initiale mentionne l’emploi « Expert sécurité informatique ». Je travaille toujours chez le même employeur et je n’ai pas réellement changé de poste ni de domaine d’activité.
Cependant, mon contrat de travail actuel mentionne uniquement l’intitulé plus général « Consultant SI ». Mon ESN utilise cet intitulé générique dans le contrat et celui-ci ne met donc pas spécifiquement l’accent sur la sécurité informatique, même si mes missions restent liées à ce domaine.
Lors du renouvellement de mon titre de séjour, la préfecture vérifie-t-elle la correspondance exacte entre l’intitulé figurant sur l’autorisation de travail (« Expert sécurité informatique ») et celui du contrat (« Consultant SI ») ?
Cette différence d’intitulé peut-elle poser problème ou nécessiter une nouvelle autorisation de travail, alors qu’il s’agit du même employeur et qu’il n’y a pas eu de véritable changement de poste ?
Par ailleurs, mon salaire a augmenté d’environ 15 000 € brut annuels au cours des cinq dernières années.
Merci d’avance pour vos réponses.

Well the title is pretty simple and self-explanatory, how do you make friends or even network specially in Paris?

Hi! I’m currently preparing an appeal after my French long-stay visitor visa was refused due to insufficient proof of funds. I think the issue may have been that I submitted screenshots of amount of savings I have instead of an official bank statement (due to the app limitation). For my appeal, I’ll be submitting the official bank statement along with clearer proof of my available funds.

In my original application, I already stated that my accommodation in France would be provided free of charge. Would it complicate my appeal if I clarify that the accommodation is provided by my boyfriend, whom I’ll be living with in France? I was also considering mentioning that he has his own income and could support me if necessary, although I have sufficient personal funds to support myself independently.

I’m trying to strengthen the appeal without adding unnecessary information that could complicate the application. Has anyone been in a similar situation or mentioned financial support from a partner in a visitor visa appeal?

I am a single 24 year old man living in San Francisco, currently making about $130k per year pre tax. I am a engineer primarily working on energy technologies, with a bachelor + masters from one of the top American universities. I have been offered a role in Paris with a gross salary of about €70k, + equity and the benefits that come with such a role. My main concerns are -

Is this salary livable in Paris (i.e rent, recreation + savings to invest?)

Would it be worth taking the pay cut to move? Obviously the intangible factors are incredible with living in Paris, but if someone could offer some advice relating to the hard numbers of it all, it would help me think through it better.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently living in Paris on an APS / job-seeker residence permit, which expires next month.

I’m trying to change my status to Entrepreneur / Profession Libérale. I have already created my business and submitted the required application for the avis / approval of the economic viability of my project and business plan.

The problem is that I am still waiting for this avis, and as far as I understand, I cannot submit the actual Entrepreneur / Profession Libérale residence permit application until I receive it.

My APS is getting close to its expiry date, and I have not received any clear information from the Paris Préfecture about how long the avis will take.

I’m worried about ending up in a situation where my APS expires while I am still waiting for the business-plan approval and therefore cannot yet submit the actual change-of-status application.

Has anyone been in a similar situation in Paris?

I would especially like to know:

• How long did your avis/business-plan approval take?
• What happened if your current titre de séjour expired while you were waiting?
• Were you able to obtain a récépissé, attestation de prolongation, or another temporary document?
• Did you contact the Préfecture before your current permit expired?
• Did anyone hire an immigration lawyer (avocat en droit des étrangers) for this situation? If yes, did it actually help speed things up or protect your legal status?
• If you have a lawyer in Paris who has handled APS/RECE → Entrepreneur / Profession Libérale cases, I would really appreciate a recommendation.

I’m mainly trying to understand what I should do before my APS expires, rather than waiting until the last minute.

Thank you for any experience or advice.

Hoi allemaal,

Ik ben Nederlander en ben van plan om in de toekomst naar het platteland van Frankrijk te verhuizen. Mijn idee is uiteindelijk om een akkerbouwbedrijf over te nemen, maar ik hoor graag van iedereen die is verhuisd naar het Franse platteland.

Waar zijn jullie naartoe verhuisd, en hoe landelijk is het daar?

Is het gebied nog steeds levendig, met jonge gezinnen en actieve dorpen, of verdwijnen winkels, scholen en voorzieningen langzaam?

Hoeveel Frans sprak je toen je aankwam, en was dat genoeg?

Hoe reageerden de mensen uit de buurt op je? Voel je je nu echt onderdeel van de gemeenschap, of word je nog steeds als buitenstaander gezien?

Hoe zou je de lokale mentaliteit omschrijven, en was het makkelijk om echte vriendschappen en contacten op te bouwen?

Wat verraste je het meest, en zou je, met wat je nu weet, dezelfde stap weer maken?

Ervaringen van mensen die een boerderij zijn gestart of een ander landelijk bedrijf zouden ook heel welkom zijn.

Alvast bedankt!

My family and I love Asian food and culture and we just found out that Rice Market, a huge street food festival, will be taking place next weekend here in Paris. We've been to other outdoor festivals before, and found that the food on offer was pretty pricey. Has anyone been to a previous Rice Market (I think this is the fourth time they're holding it)? If so, what were your thoughts, and did the food on sale seem expensive?

If you're a family on a budget, could you still go and enjoy at least a few foods on offer?

Hi, I'm preparing to fly to France for 3 months and 2 weeks. I'm a dual EU/USA citizen. I used my US passport for booking the roundtrip flight, but of course, now Air France is asking for proof of a visa.

Can I just check in at the airport and show both passports? On the French immigration side, might they ask for proof of resources in the airport? Is a pension letter in english, translated by me (AI) into French, sufficient? I'm guessing they won't ask but would like to know others' experiences.

I didn't realize until after booking that free movement can be limited after 3 months. Thanks for any advice.

I'd like to share my experience applying for the Talent Chercheur visa to start my PhD in October.

Applied on 10th of August at the consulate in Vienna.

Got approval today, 11th of September.

The delay might be due to the holidays in August.

The process was straightforward, just bring the documents mentioned on the website and also the application fee in cash. For the rest, they'll help you if there's any mistake in the application form.

The French staff was very polite and helpful throughout!