The four numbers
€1,477.93 a month. The income bar for France’s long-stay visitor visa: the net minimum wage, about $1,652. It’s less than 60% of Italy’s €2,583. How it compares with other visas →
Three months. How long you live in France, stably and legally, before you can join the public health system.
Article 18(1)(b). The line in the US–France treaty that keeps your Social Security out of French income tax.
€27.30 vs €11.90. Median rent per square meter, per month, in Paris and in the Toulouse area in 2025.
Dollar figures use the European Central Bank’s rate of $1.1181 on October 12, 2026.
France long-stay visitor visa requirements
The visitor visa is a VLS-TS: a long-stay visa that works as a residence permit for up to a year. It’s built for people who live in France without working there. Retirees, mostly.
| What France checks | What it asks |
|---|---|
| Income | At least €1,477.93 a month, or €17,735.19 a year ($19,830) |
| Insurance | Health coverage for the whole stay |
| Work | A handwritten statement that you won’t work in France |
| After you land | Validate the visa online within three months |
| Year two | A visitor residence card, valid one year, renewable |
| Renewal fee | €250 in tax stamps (about $280) |
The income figure moves. Often. It’s tied to the minimum wage, which Service-Public.fr shows at €12.31 an hour gross from June 1, 2026. Check it again the month you apply.
Validation is done on the Interior Ministry’s site for foreigners. Campus France spells out what happens if you miss it: once three months have passed, leave France and you’ll need a new visa to come back.
Then the cycle starts. The visitor card lasts a year. Each renewal means new proof of income, new insurance papers and new stamps.
Healthcare in France: PUMa after three months
PUMa, the universal health protection, covers anyone who works or lives in France in a stable, regular way. “Stable” means more than three months of uninterrupted residence. Until then, you’re on the private policy the visa required. Keep it until your card arrives, not until the three months are up.
Ameli adds a rule for later. To stay covered, you need to show at least six months of residence in France in the last 12.
Then there’s the bill few newcomers expect. URSSAF charges a contribution, the CSM, to PUMa members with little French work income and real investment income. With 2025 thresholds:
- French work income under €9,420 (about $10,533)
- Investment and property income above €23,550 (about $26,331)
- A rate of 6.5% on the part above €23,550, shrinking as French work income rises
With €40,000 of investment income and no French earnings, that’s about €1,069 a year ($1,196). People who received a retirement pension that year don’t pay it. URSSAF’s page doesn’t say whether a US pension or Social Security counts, so ask before you rely on it. Public healthcare for foreign residents, compared →
French tax residency and US Social Security
France’s test is short. Under Article 4 B of the tax code, you’re resident if you meet any one of these:
- Your home (foyer) is in France, or, without one, your principal place of stay. More than 183 days in a year counts.
- Your main work is in France.
- The center of your economic interests is in France.
One is enough. That’s it. Once you’re resident, France taxes your income from everywhere, subject to the treaty.
Social Security. Article 18(1)(b) of the US–France treaty says Social Security paid to a resident of France is taxable only in the US. So the IRS taxes it the normal way, and France doesn’t tax it directly. But France doesn’t ignore it. Under Article 24, French-resident income that’s taxable only in the US is counted when France computes your tax, then France gives a credit equal to the French tax on it. The result: no French tax on the benefit, a higher rate on everything else. How Social Security is taxed abroad →
IRA withdrawals, dividends and rental income each follow their own article. Run your own numbers with a preparer who files in both countries before you sign a lease.
Cost of living in France: Paris vs Montpellier and Toulouse
France’s rent observatories publish median rents across homes already rented, not just new listings. Here are the 2025 figures, without charges, for a 50 m² apartment (about 540 square feet).
| Area | Median rent per m² | 50 m² a month | In dollars | Share of the visa bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris, priciest zone | €32.80 | €1,640 | about $1,834 | 111% |
| Paris, median | €27.30 | €1,365 | about $1,526 | 92% |
| Paris, cheapest zone | €23.00 | €1,150 | about $1,286 | 78% |
| Toulouse, central sector | €15.00 | €750 | about $839 | 51% |
| Montpellier area | €13.70 | €685 | about $766 | 46% |
| Toulouse area | €11.90 | €595 | about $665 | 40% |
The last column is the point. A person living on the minimum the visa asks for can’t rent a median Paris apartment and eat. In Toulouse or Montpellier, the same income leaves more than half for everything else. A newcomer signing a fresh lease often pays more than these medians. Lease rules by country →
Before you apply
- Price the city first. Rent in Paris and Toulouse differs by more than half.
- Check the minimum wage the month you file. It changed on June 1, 2026.
- Buy a health policy that covers the whole year, not just the first three months. You’ll need it until the PUMa card arrives.
- Put a reminder in your calendar for the online validation. Three months goes fast.
- If you live on investments, run the CSM formula on last year’s income. Then decide.
The catch
- A yearly renewal. New proof, new insurance papers, €250 in stamps, every year.
- No work. The statement you sign says so, and the official page carves out no exception for remote work.
- Paris. Rent alone can eat the whole visa minimum.
- The CSM. Live on investments rather than a pension, and a 6.5% health contribution can show up a year later.
- Two tax systems. Social Security is simple. Almost nothing else is.
France works best for a retiree with a pension, who wants a big public health system and a city like Toulouse or Montpellier. Paris works too. It just costs about twice as much.
