France: residency, citizenship, tax and living

France offers multiple pathways for obtaining a residence permit. Depending on your circumstances, you can apply as an entrepreneur or self-employed person, worker, retiree, or an investor or business founder. In some cases, you need to apply for a visa first.

No. France doesn’t have a standard golden visa program. Instead, the country uses its Talent Card program to grant multi-year residence permits to investors, qualified employees, medical professionals, and people of national or international renown, among others.

It takes five years of residence in France to become eligible for citizenship by naturalisation. When applying for French citizenship, you will have to pass a civic exam and provide proof of at least B2-level proficiency in the French language. In special cases, such as if you rendered important services to France, you might be eligible to apply for citizenship after two years of residence.

France taxes non-residents only on income derived from French sources. This can include salaries, pensions and retirement benefits, rental income from properties in France, and capital gains. Double taxation of the same income can be avoided if the country where worldwide tax is due and France have a tax treaty.