At a glance
France's long-stay visitor route lets people who are not EU, EEA, or Swiss citizens live there for more than three months without working. You need enough money to support yourself, such as savings, a pension, investment or rental income, or reliable family support.
- Financial support
- At least €1,477.93 net per month for one person under the June 2026 guidance
- Work
- No professional activity during the stay
- Home and insurance
- Suitable housing and medical insurance for the stay
Summary
This is a renewable visitor residence route for retirees and other financially self-supporting people who want to live in France without working. Applicants must show sufficient resources, accommodation, medical coverage, and agreement not to undertake professional activity during the stay.
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Confirm the no-work basis is workable Prepare a realistic stay budget without employment, freelancing, or daily business activity.
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Document resources, housing, and insurance Connect the funding sources and any support undertaking to the proposed stay.
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Apply and follow the visa’s arrival required steps Use the France-Visas checklist and the required validation or residence instructions.
The visitor route should not be treated as permission for remote employment or operating a foreign business from France.
Eligibility
EEA means the EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
The main requirements are:
- No professional activity. The applicant signs a commitment not to undertake professional activity in France during the stay. Someone who needs to work should use an employee, self-employment, Talent, or other work-authorized route.
- Sufficient and stable resources. Current Service-Public guidance, verified in June 2026, uses €1,477.93 net per month for one person as the minimum reference. This amount is based on the net minimum wage and can change.
- Acceptable evidence of support. Pensions, investment or property income, savings, bank funds, or support from a solvent family member may be considered. Authorities assess the evidence as a whole, including its reliability and availability throughout the stay.
- Housing in France. The applicant must show suitable housing or a credible arrangement. Housing costs matter: an applicant with free or already-owned housing may be assessed differently from someone whose rent will consume much of the stated income.
- Medical coverage. The applicant must document medical insurance covering the stay as required by the visa checklist. Do not assume that future access to the French health system removes the need for initial coverage.
- The normal immigration file. This generally includes a valid passport, identity and birth, marriage, and other family documents, the signed no-work commitment, financial records, housing evidence, insurance, photographs, and any country-specific records generated by France-Visas.
A prefecture reviewing a renewal can ask for current proof that the holder still has resources, housing, medical coverage, and no professional activity. Bank balances should be explained clearly rather than presented as a one-day snapshot.
EU/EEA and Swiss citizens use free-movement rules instead. Algerian citizens are covered by a separate bilateral framework and should follow the France-Visas instructions for their nationality.
More about this route
The applicant must formally agree not to work, show adequate resources, provide housing evidence, and have medical coverage for the stay. For someone applying from abroad, the usual first document is a long-stay visitor visa that also acts as a residence permit (VLS-TS). It is normally valid for up to one year and must be validated after arrival.
This is a residence route, not an extended tourist stay with informal permission to work online. Anyone planning remote employment, freelancing, business management, or other paid professional activity should not assume that the visitor status covers it.
What This Route Allows
An approved holder may live in France as a financially self-supporting visitor for the visa or card's validity, generally up to one year at first. A VLS-TS must normally be validated online within three months after entry. The visitor status may be renewed when the person continues to meet the no-work, resources, housing, insurance, and residence requirements.
Visitor status can be relevant to the separate five-year long-term EU resident route because it is one of the statuses listed in current French guidance. That does not make long-term residence automatic. The later application has additional rules on continuous qualifying residence, absences, stable resources, health insurance, B1 French, and the civic exam, with current age-based exceptions.
What This Route Is Not
This route is not:
- authorization to take a French job;
- a digital-nomad visa;
- clear permission to work remotely for a foreign employer or operate a foreign business from France;
- an entrepreneur or freelance residence permit;
- a short-stay Schengen tourist visa;
- guaranteed renewal merely because the first visa was approved; or
- automatic permanent residence, citizenship, or family sponsorship.
The official wording is broader than “no French clients”: it requires a commitment not to undertake professional activity. A remote worker should obtain case-specific advice or choose a work-authorized route rather than relying on an informal interpretation.
Next Steps
- Decide honestly whether the stay can be funded without employment, freelancing, or day-to-day business activity.
- Build a month-by-month budget for housing, health insurance, food, tax, travel, and emergencies. Do not use the published minimum as a complete cost-of-living estimate.
- Assemble clear resource evidence: pension statements, investment or property-income records, bank history, and any support undertaking with the supporter’s financial proof.
- Secure and document suitable French housing and medical insurance that matches the France-Visas checklist.
- Run the official France-Visas assistant for the applicant's nationality, country of residence, and proposed stay. Use the document list it produces.
- After arrival, validate the VLS-TS online within three months and retain proof.
- Apply for renewal before expiry using the current prefecture or online procedure. Keep updated bank, income, housing, insurance, and tax records.
- If plans change and work becomes necessary, check whether a change of status is legally available before beginning the activity.
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