France's long-stay visitor visa: about €1,478 a month gets you in. Here's the whole process.

The VLS-TS "visiteur" is the visa most American and Canadian retirees use to move to France. You qualify with stable resources — pensions, Social Security, CPP, savings, investments — roughly equal to France's net minimum wage. The catch: you sign a promise not to work in France, and you renew every year.

Who the visitor visa is for

The long-stay visitor visa is for people who can support themselves without working in France: retirees on pensions, US Social Security, CPP/OAS, people living off rental income, dividends, or substantial savings. When you apply, you sign a written commitment not to exercise any professional activity in France. It is not a work visa, and France has no digital-nomad visa — working remotely for a US or Canadian employer while on visitor status is a legal grey zone the rules don't resolve. If you need to work, look at the employee, entrepreneur, or talent routes.

The income requirement, precisely

Here's the honest version: there is no fixed legal threshold. Consulates assess resources case by case. The benchmark they commonly work from is France's net minimum wage (SMIC) — €1,443/month net from January 2026, €1,478/month net from June 2026 — per adult. Consular practice varies between posts, and files at exactly 1× SMIC get more scrutiny than files at 1.5–2×.

*At €1 = $1.14 (1 July 2026). The consulate assesses in euros. Savings can substitute for monthly income — consulates look at the whole picture.

Step by step, from the US or Canada

1. Apply online at France-Visas (france-visas.gouv.fr) no earlier than 3 months before travel. The wizard generates your application and document list.
2. Book an appointment at VFS Global or TLScontact — the centres that handle French visas in the US and Canada. You attend in person for biometrics.
3. Bring the file (list below): proof of resources, accommodation, insurance, and the signed no-work commitment.
4. Pay: €99 visa fee plus the centre's service fee (~€30–60).
5. Wait. Processing is commonly 2–4 weeks once submitted; appointment scarcity is usually the bigger delay.
6. Travel to France with your VLS-TS visa in your passport.
7. Validate the visa online within 3 months of arrival on the ANEF portal (administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr) and pay the €300 tax. Skip this and you are not legally resident — and you'll have trouble at the border and the préfecture.
8. Renew before the year ends: apply at your préfecture (via ANEF) 2 to 4 months before expiry for a 1-year carte de séjour "visiteur".

The document checklist

From France-Visas, plus standard consular additions:

• France-Visas application form and receipt
• Passport issued within 10 years, valid 3+ months beyond your intended stay
• Passport photos to spec
• Proof of resources: pension or Social Security/CPP award letters, bank and investment statements (typically 3–6 months)
• Proof of accommodation in France: deed, lease, or a host's attestation (some posts accept an initial booking plus a plan)
• Private health insurance covering the full stay, including hospitalisation and repatriation
• Signed commitment not to exercise professional activity in France
• Letter explaining your move and means

How long it really takes

Once your file is in, French consular processing is fast by European standards — commonly 2–4 weeks. The chokepoints are earlier and later: getting a VFS/TLScontact appointment in busy months, and assembling proof of accommodation from abroad. End to end, most careful applicants go from "we're applying" to "we've landed and validated" in 2–4 months. That's months faster than Portugal's current pipeline.

After you arrive: the long game

• Month 0–3: validate online, pay €300. Your visa now works as a residence permit for year one.
• Month 3+: apply to join the state health system (PUMa) — see our PUMa guide.
• Every year: renew the visitor card. Same resource bar, still no work.
• Year 5: eligible for the 10-year carte de résident — B1 French and the civic exam required since January 2026 — or go straight for citizenship: 5 years' habitual residence, B2 French, civic exam. The full path →

The tax question you should ask before applying

Live in France most of the year and you become French tax resident. For Americans that's better news than almost anywhere in Europe: under the US–France treaty, your 401(k), IRA, private pensions, and Social Security are taxable only in the US — France makes you declare them, then credits away the French tax. Canadians get a decent treaty too, but face departure tax when they leave Canada, and CPP/OAS/RRIF withholding questions. Investment income is another story (French social levies apply). Get cross-border advice before you trigger residency — start with our Tax & Finance guide.

Visitor visa vs the alternatives

Have a French job offer? That's the salarié route. Starting a business? Entrepreneur/profession libérale. Investing or founding? The talent passport gives a multi-year card from day one. Only visiting for under 6 months a year? Consider keeping Schengen trips under 90/180 instead of taking on French tax residency. Compare the routes →