Visa
Retirement visa in France
France has no visa named for retirement: people living on their own means, pensions included, use the long-stay "visiteur" visa and card, which allow a stay of more than 3 months but no work. The resources test is about €17,700 a year for one person; to be safe, have more than €18,000 a year.
- Official names
- Carte de séjour temporaire "visiteur" (visitor residence card); Visa de long séjour temporaire "visiteur" (temporary long-stay visa, 3 to 12 months)
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Who it’s for
- The "visiteur" card is for non-EU nationals who want to stay in France for more than 3 months without working. You may not work in any capacity: not as an employee, trader, self-employed person, craftsperson or in a liberal profession.
- Service-Public's list of long-stay visa types has no category named for retirement. It lists retirees among those who get a visa marked "carte de séjour à solliciter dans les 2 mois suivant l'arrivée", and separately a temporary long-stay visa of 3 to 12 months for a "visiteur" living on their own means, with no work and no social benefits.
- Pension statements are accepted as proof of resources, and resources can also be property income or come from a family member or a solvent guarantor.
- The card is not for citizens of EU, EEA or Swiss countries, who are directed to a separate card for retired or inactive people. Algerians cannot get it but can ask for a one-year certificat de résidence "visiteur".
- The same card is used by parents of children legally living in France, by unmarried partners in a PACS with less than a year of shared life, and by religious ministers carrying out their duties.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Money tests
- The card asks for resources for the whole stay: about €17,700 a year for one person (about €1,500 a month net). To be safe, have more than €18,000 a year, or more than €1,500 a month.
- The figure follows the minimum wage (Smic), which changes at least once a year, so check the amount for the year you apply. Housing conditions are also looked at.
- Family allowances (child benefits) do not count as resources. If a third party supports you, the file adds their proof of resources, a financial support statement and their ID.
- Health insurance covering the whole stay is a separate requirement from the resources test.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Documents
- The prefecture asks for your long-stay visa or valid residence permit, a full birth certificate with recent entries, proof of nationality, proof of address dated within 6 months, an e-photo code and a signed commitment to respect the principles of the Republic.
- Proof of resources can be bank statements, pension statements or guarantees. You also give a health insurance certificate covering the stay and a handwritten sworn statement that you will not work in France.
- The OFII medical certificate and proof that you paid the residence permit tax and stamp duty are handed over when you collect the card. If you are married and from a country that allows polygamy, a sworn declaration of non-polygamy is added.
- Without work, you can join the public health scheme (PUMa) after 3 months and must then live in France at least 6 months a year. A 2026 law adds a contribution for some members without work, awaiting a decree.
- Your passport must be valid at least 3 months beyond the end of the visa, have at least 2 blank pages and have been issued less than 10 years ago. The France-Visas assistant sets the full list for your situation.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Timing
- You apply for the long-stay visa at the French consular authority in your country of residence, through France-Visas. Service-Public says to apply no more than 3 months before you leave.
- The card is requested online through the ANEF platform, and you collect it at the prefecture or sub-prefecture of your home address.
- Renewal is filed online between 4 months and 2 months before your visa, VLS-TS or permit expires.
- If the prefecture does not answer within 4 months, that counts as an implicit refusal, and you then have 2 months to appeal. After a visa refusal, the appeal to the visa review commission (CRRV) must be filed within 30 days.
- A visa that serves as a residence permit (VLS-TS) must be validated online within 3 months of arrival, with a tax on top of the visa fee.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Fees
- The first card costs €350: a €300 tax plus €50 stamp duty, paid in tax stamps online or at a tobacconist.
- Renewal costs €250 in tax stamps. Filing late, without force majeure or a valid visa, adds a €180 regularisation fee.
- The long-stay visa application fee is €99 at the full rate, paid when you apply.
- Validating a VLS-TS means paying a tax on top of the visa fee; the Service-Public pages we opened do not show the amount.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service), France-Visas (official French visa portal). Checked 16 October 2026.
How long it lasts and renewal
- The card is valid for 1 year at most and is renewable.
- The temporary long-stay visa for a "visiteur" covers more than 3 months to 12 months.
- A multi-year card cannot be issued on the "visitor" mention, so the card is renewed one year at a time.
- Renewal can be refused for the same reasons as the first card, including not complying with an order to leave French territory, false documents or serious offences.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026.
Path to permanent residence
- Years on a visitor, salaried, freelance or talent card count towards the five continuous years needed for the EU long-term resident card, which lasts 10 years.
- That card also asks for resources, health cover and integration. Absences of up to 6 months in a row, 10 in total, are allowed.
Sources: Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 15 October 2026.
Tax
- France treats you as tax resident if any one test is met: your home or main place of stay is in France, you work there other than incidentally, or your main economic interests are there. More than six months in a year generally counts as a main place of stay.
- For 2025 income, the scale per share is 0% up to €11,600, 11% to €29,579, 30% from €29,580, 41% from €84,578 and 45% above €181,917. Shares depend on your household.
- Members of the public health scheme with little work income and large capital income may owe the cotisation subsidiaire maladie, at up to 6.5% above a threshold.
- If the tax office has not written to you, you can ask your local tax office (SIP) for access with your civil status, a postal address and a copy of an ID. Online filing is compulsory if your home has internet; returns for 2026 income open in April 2027.
Sources: BOFiP-Impôts (official French tax doctrine), Service-Public.fr (French government information service), impots.gouv.fr (French tax authority), Urssaf (French social contributions collector). Checked 15 October 2026.
Your passport
If you hold a US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand passport
What differs for each passport, from the same sources. A line that says there is no difference means the sources we read name none.
United States passport
- US citizens can stay up to 90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area without a visa, and a 1949 agreement gives 90 more days in mainland France, taken after the first 90. A stay of more than 3 months without work needs the long-stay visa.
- The French embassy in the United States says you can submit a visa application up to six months before departure, while Service-Public says no more than 3 months; check which applies when you book.
- US citizens abroad generally file US returns on worldwide income. Foreign accounts totalling more than $10,000 at any point in the year are reportable on an FBAR, and under the US–France treaty the US can tax its citizens as if the treaty did not exist, with listed exceptions.
Sources: Embassy of France in the United States, Service-Public.fr (French government information service), Internal Revenue Service, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Checked 16 October 2026.
Canada passport
- Canadians can stay up to 90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area without a visa; we found no French page giving Canadians extra days. A long-stay visa application is filed up to six months before departure according to the French embassy in Canada, and appointment waits vary by location and time of year.
- CPP can be paid outside Canada. OAS can be paid abroad if you were a citizen or legal resident the day before you left and lived in Canada for at least 20 years after age 18; GIS and Allowance are not payable abroad beyond six months.
- A Canada–France social security agreement has been in force since 2017. Canada's CRA treats you as a factual resident if you keep a home or other main ties in Canada, and on leaving you are treated as having sold most property at fair market value.
Sources: Government of Canada (travel.gc.ca), Embassy of France in Canada, Canada Revenue Agency. Checked 16 October 2026.
Australia passport
- Australians can stay up to 90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area without a visa. The Consulate General of France in Sydney lists visa applications among its tasks and works mostly by appointment.
- The Age Pension can generally stay payable overseas for more than 26 weeks, but a person living outside Australia long term is paid a proportional rate based on their years of working-life residence in Australia, divided by 420 months.
- France is not on Australia's list of social security agreement countries, and a 2023 French government answer said negotiations had not produced one. As a citizen you cannot take your super out on leaving.
Sources: Smartraveller (Australian Government, DFAT), Embassy of France in Australia, Services Australia, Assemblée nationale (French National Assembly), Australian Taxation Office. Checked 16 October 2026.
New Zealand passport
- New Zealanders can stay up to 180 days without a visa: 90 under the Schengen rules, then 90 more in mainland France under an agreement applied since 1947. The French stay must come after the Schengen one, and you tell the border officer when you enter France.
- For countries with no social security agreement, NZ Super may be payable in full depending on how many months you lived in New Zealand between ages 20 and 65, and overseas pensions do not reduce it. The page does not mention France, and France is not on New Zealand's list of agreement countries.
- The tax agreement signed in 1979 decides residence by permanent home, then closer ties, if both countries count you as resident.
Sources: Embassy of France in New Zealand, Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand), Inland Revenue (New Zealand). Checked 16 October 2026.
Other visas
Other visas in France.
The country
More on France.
Questions about Retirement visa in France.
Does France have a retirement visa for people living on a pension?
No visa in Service-Public's list is named for retirement. People living on their own means, pensions included, use the "visiteur" long-stay visa and card, which allow more than 3 months in France but no work. The card lasts 1 year at most and is renewable.
How much money does France's visitor card ask retirees to show?
For one person the test is about €17,700 a year (about €1,500 a month net), following the minimum wage. To be safe, have more than €18,000 a year. Pension statements count as proof; family allowances do not, and the figure changes with the Smic.
What does France's visitor card cost a retiree?
The first card costs €350 (€300 tax plus €50 stamp duty) and renewal €250, paid in tax stamps. The long-stay visa application fee is €99 at the full rate. Filing a renewal late adds a €180 regularisation fee.
Can a retiree on France's visitor card take any paid work, even remote?
No. The card bars work in any capacity, whether as an employee, trader, self-employed person, craftsperson or in a liberal profession, and you sign a handwritten statement that you will not work. We found no official page on remote work for a foreign employer, so ask the consulate.
Which years in France count towards the EU long-term resident card for retirees?
Years on a visitor, salaried, freelance or talent card count towards the five continuous years needed. The card lasts 10 years and also asks for resources, health cover and integration. Absences of up to 6 months in a row, 10 in total, are allowed.
When does a retired person in France become tax resident?
France counts you as tax resident if any one test is met: your home or main place of stay is there, you work there other than incidentally, or your main economic interests are there. More than six months in a year generally counts as a main place of stay.
Sources
Official sources we used.
Government and official pages only, each with the date we checked it.
- Gradual implementation of the Entry/Exit System (EES): US citizens and the bilateral agreement, Embassy of France in the United States. Checked 15 October 2026.
- Carte de séjour "visiteur" (visitor residence card), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 1 June 2026; resources of €1,477.93 net a month or €17,735.19 a year for one person.
- Applying for a visa, Embassy of France in the United States. Checked 16 October 2026. Updated 9 March 2026; the page does not list the long-stay fee or documents.
- Long-stay visa (more than 3 months to 1 year), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 9 October 2026.
- US citizens abroad: filing requirements, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Checked 10 October 2026.
- US–France income tax treaty (1994), text, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Travel advice and advisories: France (entry and exit requirements), Government of Canada (travel.gc.ca). Checked 10 October 2026.
- Demander un visa pour la France (applying for a visa), Embassy of France in Canada. Checked 16 October 2026. Updated 6 March 2026.
- Lived or living outside Canada: do you qualify for CPP and OAS, Government of Canada. Checked 16 October 2026. Page dated 8 October 2026.
- Canada–France social security agreement, Government of Canada. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Leaving Canada (emigrants), Canada Revenue Agency. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Dispositions of property when you leave Canada, Canada Revenue Agency. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Travelling to Europe and the Schengen Area (archived copy), Smartraveller (Australian Government, DFAT), Internet Archive copy of 6 September 2026. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Consulate General of France in Sydney, Embassy of France in Australia. Checked 16 October 2026. Updated 25 August 2026; lists visa applications among its tasks and says most procedures are by appointment.
- Australian pensions paid outside Australia: the proportional rate (061-02010020), Services Australia, Operational Blueprint (staff procedures). Checked 16 October 2026. Undated staff procedure; general rule only.
- International social security agreements with countries in Europe (archived copy), Services Australia, Internet Archive copy of 4 October 2026. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Written question 6186: no France–Australia social security agreement, Assemblée nationale (French National Assembly), answer of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Departing Australia superannuation payment (archived copy), Australian Taxation Office, Internet Archive copy of 8 October 2025. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Séjour prolongé en Europe: rules for New Zealand citizens, Embassy of France in New Zealand. Checked 16 October 2026. Published 27 January 2026, updated 29 April 2026; the page does not explain how to apply for a long-stay visa.
- Living overseas if you get NZ Super or Veteran's Pension, Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand). Checked 16 October 2026. Page updated 24 June 2026; the page does not mention France.
- Social security agreements, Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand). Checked 10 October 2026.
- New Zealand–France tax treaty, Inland Revenue (New Zealand), Tax Policy. Checked 10 October 2026.
- Minimum wage (Smic): amounts, Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 15 October 2026. Gross monthly Smic €1,867.02 as read in the earlier check.
- Universal health protection (PUMa), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 10 October 2026. Page verified 13 May 2026; notes a new contribution for some PUMa members awaiting a decree.
- Validate a VLS-TS and pay the tax (online procedure), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 31 July 2026; the page does not show the tax amount.
- Visa fees (long-stay visa, full and reduced rates), France-Visas (official French visa portal), Internet Archive copy of 5 October 2025. Checked 16 October 2026. Archived copy. Long-stay visa 99 euros at the full rate; the foreign spouse of a French national is free of charge.
- Multi-year residence card (carte de séjour pluriannuelle), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 16 October 2026. Page verified 1 May 2026; machine-translated, the French version governs.
- Carte de résident de longue durée-UE (étranger en France depuis 5 ans), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 15 October 2026.
- Income tax: taxable persons and tax domicile (BOI-IR-CHAMP-10), BOFiP-Impôts (official French tax doctrine). Checked 10 October 2026.
- Income tax scale (barème) for 2025 income, Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 15 October 2026.
- How your tax band and rate are worked out, impots.gouv.fr (French tax authority). Checked 10 October 2026.
- PUMa members: the cotisation subsidiaire maladie (CSM), Urssaf (French social contributions collector). Checked 10 October 2026. Thresholds shown for 2025.
- Income tax: first return (getting access with a tax number), Service-Public.fr (French government information service). Checked 10 October 2026. Page verified 5 June 2026; written mainly for young adults, but describes how someone without a letter from the tax office gets access.