employment visa

french flag

How to Renew the Passeport Talent

Posted by

8

Bonjour tout le monde! I’m excited to share with you a brief guide to the beloved (read dreaded) passeport talent renewal process for first timers. I’m new around here, so I’ll share a bit of backstory.

Initially, my passeport talent was approved for 12 months; this time frame is different for everyone. Some people receive two to four years their first time; it’s mainly dependent on what subcategory you fall into and your work experience.

My renewable visa was approved for 18 months, which is less than I had hoped, but reasonable as they wanted to give me more time to grow my business.

When your renewal application is being processed, several factors are taken into consideration, not only how much income was earned and if it met the minimum 70% of the French minimum wage. But also, what type of work did you do? For example, if you are a musician and the majority of your declared work was as a barista, then that income might not count towards your renewal. Your visa will clearly stipulate what kind of work you’re allowed to do. If it states you can only receive income as a musical performer, then you’d be hindering yourself by accepting work as a barista.

My particular visa was passeport talent artistique et culturelle. As a producer, I could do photography, video, writing, and consulting as long as it fell within the scope of a production entertainment agency. I drafted a business plan explaining the breadth of what I could accomplish in France along with a track record of what I had already done in the US. I made this intentionally because I wanted to have more options on how to earn an income. As a producer, I knew I could get the projects done, but I needed the flexibility to show that on paper.

When the time for renewal came, I provided proof of all my work and it was successful. So, let’s dive in, step by step, into how I obtained the renewal for myself and my husband.

Step 1: Know Your Timeline! 

You are eligible to apply for your visa renewal up to four months before its expiration BUT NO LESS THAN two months before its expiration. Confusing? Welcome to France!

If you submit your renewal application within 60 days of its expiration, you are now in a penalty period and will be charged a late fee for the now late processing of your application. Ask me how I know…

So, familiarize yourself and understand your active dates so that you aren’t paying extra fees and so that you give yourself enough time to collect and produce all your documents appropriately. 

Step 2: Read the Directions and Then Double It

Review the application rules thoroughly, but use it as a guide, not a bible. In my experience, the more proof provided, the more perceived readiness your dossier has. When applying for my first visa, I submitted a business plan, but this was not requested in the application. During my appointment with the consulate, they reviewed it and asked for an additional copy, which I gleefully provided; thankful for the tedious research I had done beforehand, making copies of everything. When renewing, you want to show how well you did during your first season in France; sometimes that is difficult to do as an artist or performer, or in a non-traditional career. But nothing is impossible! 

I know, how dare I bring that attitude around here, but it’s true. I provided printed screenshots of Instagram DM’s with potential and locked clients, reaching out asking for services and availability. I included written letters explaining my work and expertise and hyperlinked to videos produced, photoshoots, etc, so that if my documents were reviewed on a computer, the agent could click the hyperlink and view my work. Did they do this? Who knows! But I wanted to ensure that if there was a way to prove myself, they could see it in every medium.

Additional documents in my dossier were letters from former, current, and future clients. This was important because it showcases that I made a footprint in Paris and garnered interest in my work.

When reviewing the application guidelines, you’ll see that they simply request proof of work, which could have been sufficient with a copy of an invoice and a bank statement showing payment received.

My intention was to provide as much as possible from the beginning to reduce requests for additional paperwork. Essentially, if you deem it relevant to your work or portfolio, make a copy and send it in. You have everything to gain.

Step 3: Don’t Worry About the Trees

Since you’re renewing your visa, you should already know this, but here is your reminder. The French LOVE paperwork, now is not the time to conserve and submit only what’s necessary. Ensure that you make at least one copy of every document you are submitting and print everything in a simple font, one-sided, and in the correct size. For example, when you submit a photocopy of your carte de séjour, it must not be thumbprint size, nor should it be two pages wide. Keep it looking clean, smart, and orderly. Ideally the true size, or half page, usually is a good rule of thumb for image copies.

Step 4: Print the RIGHT Photo

How naïve I was in the early years. I assumed the metro photo booths provided passport photos exclusively. Now we all know that you have several options alongside the fun vertical keepsake.

When selecting the required passport-sized photos for your application, ensure that you select the option for visa renewal for foreigners. I had to redo this because I got too confident and subsequently lost 10 euros’ worth of metro rides to the photobooth.

Step 5: Submit Certified Mail

When you’ve finally collected all your documents and are standing in the never-ending La Poste line, know that everything should be sent via certified mail. This is your French life at stake! Keep a track of it and rest easy at night knowing that if something gets lost, it’s not on you, and you have a copy.

Step 6: Be Patient, All Good Things Come to Those Who Wait!

Is this the hardest part? Maybe you’ll hear back in one month; maybe in 4, maybe your current visa will expire, and they’ll give you an extension while they review your case, and you’ll be floating in a nervous limbo. This is when you laugh and eat your croissant and take a deep breath. Tout va bien, it’s all good!  You’ll know when you know, and hopefully, that beloved email notifying you of a new message in your account will be the light to illuminate your next chapter. The one where you get to stay and keep living where you want to be.

Photo by Amin Zabardast on Unsplash

Did you enjoy this article? TAIP is 100% reader-supported through tipping. If you want to leave us a tip of any amount it would be highly appreciated.  These tips help support our efforts to keep TAIP an ad-free environment. Just like at a cafe, the tips are split evenly among the team.

people waving french flags outside the louvre

Can I Move to France Without a Job?

Posted by

2

With so many articles on visas, which one to choose, how to apply, how to renew, etc., we often get asked: but, can I move to France without a job?

The short answer is, no, you don’t need a job to move to France, but you do need to prove you can support yourself.

Good news for those who dream of moving here but assume that without a job offer, it’s impossible. While some visas do require employers’ sponsorship, there are many other paths for those without traditional employment.

Even more good news for retirees, freelancers, or someone with independent income.

Let’s dive into the key things to consider when moving to France without a job offer.

Do You Need a Job to Move to France?

Now that you know you don’t, it’s important to note that you must show the French authorities that you have some sort of financial stability before even stepping foot across the border. It makes sense: it may be a socialist country, but les français want reassurance that you won’t become a strain on the state when living here.

In fact, France’s immigration prioritizes financial stability more and more, whether through savings, passive income, or self-employment. If you can meet the financial and legal requirements, you can move to France without an employer sponsoring your stay.

Now, of course, some visa categories (such as employer-sponsored ones) do require a job offer. However, there are several other options available for those willing to plan ahead.

Visa Options for Moving to France Without a Job

1. Visitor Visa (Visa de Long Séjour – Visiteur)

Best for: Retirees, remote workers, individuals with passive income.

Requirements:

Key Consideration: This visa does not allow you to work in France, so you must have enough savings or remote income from outside the country. Contrary to popular belief, as an American, you can work remotely for a US employer while in France on the visitor visa 🙂

2. Profession Libérale Visa (Self-Employed Visa)

Best for: Freelancers, consultants, and business owners.

Requirements:

  • A detailed business plan demonstrating financial viability.
  • Proof of professional activity (e.g., contracts, invoices, website, portfolio).
  • Registration with URSSAF (the French social security system for self-employed workers).

Key Consideration: You must show that your business can generate enough income to support yourself over time, especially if you hope to renew and eventually apply for naturalization.

3. Student Visa

Best for: Those looking to study in France while exploring long-term residency options, those without access to a large amount of financial support and who are willing to go back to school, or folks who simply want to learn French in France.

Requirements:

Key Perk: This visa allows part-time work as well (up to 964 hours per year, around 20 hours per week), making it easier to support yourself while living in France.

4. Talent Passport (Passeport Talent)

Best for: Entrepreneurs, artists, researchers, and highly skilled professionals.

Requirements:

  • Proof of expertise or a recognized contribution in your field.
  • Financial stability and a viable business or research project.

Key Consideration: This visa is more selective — perhaps one of the most selective — but if you can land it, it offers one of the stronger paths to long-term residency and eventually citizenship.

How to Support Yourself in France Without a Job

While the cost of living in France is much lower than in the US, if you plan to move here without employment you’ll still need a reliable source of income — yes, in order to get your visa, but also to find a place to live and support yourself throughout your stay. You can’t forget about all of the travel and exploring you’ll want to do when you get here too.

If you plan to move to France without employment, here are some options that come to mind as well as the visas to go with them:

  • Savings: Many who aren’t too fussed about obtaining nationality one day choose the visitor visa, and a chunky savings account is the easiest way to prove financial means. Be prepared to share bank statements at your visa application appointment if you do go this route.
  • Freelancing or remote work: Consider finding a remote job in the US that is willing to allow you to live in France. Then, have your employer write a letter indicating you will not be working with French clients. Or, apply for the profession libérale visa if you’d prefer to have French and European clients.
  • Start a business: One of the more expensive and complicated ways to move to France. That said, if you have an entrepreneurial mindset you could come up with a plan to build a business in France and come over under the passeport talent.
  • Part-time work: Remember that student visa holders can work up to 20 hours per week, which can help supplement savings or support from family.

Whatever direction you choose, planning ahead is key. Again, you will be required to prove your financial situation at your visa interview, but beyond that, you want to be able to enjoy your séjour en France without having to stress about cash.

And if you need help coming up with a plan, please get in touch!

Photo by Alice Triquet on Unsplash

Did you enjoy this article? TAIP is 100% reader-supported through tipping. If you want to leave us a tip of any amount it would be highly appreciated. These tips help support our efforts to keep TAIP an ad-free environment. Just as at a cafe, the tips are split evenly among the team.

Mailbag: No, You Can’t Do That

Posted by

0

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost two years since our last mailbag, a series in which I answer questions that don’t necessarily make sense as an article, but provide useful information. Funnily enough, the last mailbag also had a two-year interval. Sometimes you have to wait for the mail to pile up, I guess.

“I’d like to travel around France for a year to decide where to live”

This was brought up in our Facebook group and I had to chuckle at the hopeful naiveté of the poster. This task would be something difficult to pull off even in the United States. Where are you going to get your mail? Where will you file taxes? Where will you bank? How will you get around if you don’t own a car? If you don’t have a French driver’s license, how will you insure your car? Those questions are valid in your home country should you decide to nomad around. Why would they not be relevant in France?

So, let’s be clear, while you might be able to find some crazy way to pull this off, it’s not something I would recommend. For those who are new to France, a prolonged stay at a single location, with plenty of vacations peppered in, is going to help you assimilate to France that much faster. Your language skills will have a chance to bloom in familiar surroundings with potential friends and neighbors and you’ll start to understand the rhythms of daily life in France. I’ve shared before that I was living in Paris for two years before I heard one day in the boulangerie someone ordering their baguette to a certain temperature and finish.

Even if I was dashing around France in a camper van or something similar, changing residence every month, how could I go through the administrative challenges of an OFII visit, which is tied to your address of record? Speaking of which, what address are you going to give the French if you keep changing it every month or quarter? Or to the French bank that you need to have statements from for your renewal? Or how about the renewal itself, which all of us on one-year cards dread until we qualify for a longer-term card and don’t have to go to the annual torture of renewal any more?

What might make more sense is, once a quarter, to spend a month in a different region of France you are considering living in. That allows you to maintain a single residence while getting to know France in an easy and unhurried way.

“I want to come to France as a visitor or Profession Liberale and then get a job”

While I fully understand the logic of this from someone who has never lived in Europe, it’s a thought process that is detached from the realities of the labor market in the European Union.

In short, the EU is a highly protectionist market. When I got a work permit two summers in a row in Switzerland (almost a decade ago now, wow), the process the Swiss followed then has similarities to what is followed in France now:

  • a detailed job listing has to be created and publicly posted
  • no one from Switzerland applies for the job, or if they do, it must be demonstrated that they are not sufficiently qualified
  • even after you are interviewed and found qualified, more time must be allowed to pass, in case anyone Swiss missed the listing
  • the work permit is issued weeks, not months, before the foreigner’s arrival
  • the employer must pay a bounty for hiring a foreigner, usually at least five figures for a full-timer, or four figures for a seasonal or part-timer
  • the employer must pay an additional tax every pay check for hiring a foreigner, as long as you are employed there, usually at least 10% of a paycheck

People used to being able to “find a job” in their industry in their home countries don’t realize just what kind of disadvantage they are at in the EU. The only reason I got the job in Switzerland two summers in a row was because I possessed a skill that no one in Switzerland (at the time) had: expertise in teaching American university entrance exams, specifically the ACT and the SAT.

So, if you are one of the few people trained in a particular field, or type of software, or have a particular security clearance (that would be relevant in the EU), or have NGO-specific experience, or have a particular set of skills a la Liam Neeson, you are not going to get a job here. That doesn’t make you any less of a person, it just means that the protectionist policies of the EU are working effectively, alas to your disadvantage.

Even should you land a job somehow, you won’t be able to keep your visitor or Prof Lib statuses. But thankfully, someone from the legal team of the company hiring you will, in all likelihood, help you apply for a change of status and wind up the previous statues you have.

As a final note, I must stress that a PL visa is not an employment visa. It is a freelancer visa, which allows you to work as an independent contractor, with an established annual income cap. An employment visa allows you to have a job, with no income cap.

“I’d like to count my URSSAF contributions as foreign taxes paid”

For those who don’t know, URSSAF charges are paid by business owners, large and small, to contribute to health care and other expenditures of the French state. They are social charges, not income taxes. Just as Americans don’t get any deductions for paying FICA or unemployment insurance, the French don’t get any credit for paying URSSAF charges, much less credit to a foreign government.

As always, consult your accountant on your business taxes in particular.

TAIP is 100% reader-supported through tipping. If you want to leave us a tip of any amount it would be highly appreciated. These tips help support our efforts to keep TAIP an ad-free environment. Just as at a cafe, the tips are split evenly among the team.