Living in France as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen

According to Service-Public, the conditions depend on your status:

• Employees and self-employed people: you must be actually working in France. You can take up any job or self-employed activity, except certain public-sector posts and, under conditions, some regulated professions. You keep worker status during temporary illness or involuntary unemployment.
• Students: you must be enrolled in an approved educational institution, have health insurance and have sufficient resources.
• Retired or inactive people: you need health insurance and sufficient resources. In 2026 the administration cannot demand more than €651.69 a month for a single person without children, or €977.54 for a couple without children, with additional amounts per child.
• Job seekers can stay while genuinely looking for work.

You must also not represent a threat to public order.

You do not need a residence card, but you may request one, for example to make dealings with employers, landlords or banks easier. Service-Public describes cards for workers, students, and retired or inactive people, all free of charge.

• The request is made online on the national platform for foreigners (ANEF).
• For a worker the card is usually valid for five years with a permanent contract; with a fixed-term contract it covers the contract plus six months, up to five years.
• Typical documents are an ID card or passport, a proof of address less than six months old, an employment certificate (or proof of self-employed activity) and a digital photo.

After five years of legal and uninterrupted residence in France, you acquire a right of permanent residence. You then no longer need to prove that you work, study or have sufficient resources. You can request a free permanent residence card, but again it is optional. The right is lost only after an absence of more than two consecutive years; temporary absences of up to six months a year, or up to 12 months for an important reason, do not interrupt residence.

Your spouse or registered partner, children under 21 or dependent, dependent parents and grandparents, and in some cases other dependent relatives can live with you in France. For family members who are not EU, EEA or Swiss citizens, the rules are stricter:

• They must apply for a residence card as family member of an EU citizen within three months of entering France, even if they do not intend to work. Applying late can lead to a regularisation fee.
• The application is made online on ANEF, with proof of the family link, of your own right of residence and of address, and a photo. A digital certificate of application is issued immediately.
• The card is free and valid up to five years, or for your planned stay if shorter. After five years of continuous residence they can obtain a permanent residence card valid ten years.

• If you work in France, you are covered by French health insurance from your first day of activity. Your employer declares your hiring; you then finish registering with your local health insurance fund (CPAM).
• If you are not working, you can usually join the French system after three months of stable residence.
• Students with a valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) can use it for care during their studies; others register on the dedicated student platform with Assurance Maladie.
• If you stay insured in your home country while living in France, an S1 form from your home insurer lets you register with the French system on that basis.

See health insurance in France and social security number in France.

Since the United Kingdom left the EU, British citizens who settled in France after 1 January 2021 are not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and must hold a residence permit like other non-EU nationals; see residence permits in France. Those who settled before the end of 2020 kept specific rights under the Withdrawal Agreement.

Free movement removes the residence procedure, not the rest of your first-month to-do list. You still open a bank account, register for health insurance, arrange home insurance if you rent, file a French tax return once you are tax resident, and, after some time, exchange or keep your driving licence according to EU rules. See your first 30 days in Paris.