French visas for Brits: talent, visitor and work

If you weren't living in France before 2021, moving to Paris now means applying for a visa before you go, much like anyone else from outside the EU.

The short version

Brits who arrived after 2020 need a long-stay visa for any stay of more than 90 days in 180. You apply in the UK before you leave; you can't simply turn up and sort it out in Paris.
The talent card (carte de séjour talent, still widely called the passeport talent) is the main route for skilled workers, founders, investors and researchers. It lasts up to four years. A qualified employee needs a salary of at least EUR 39,582 a year (about £32,980) [2].
The visitor visa (visiteur) suits retirees and people living on their own income. You must show enough money to live on and promise not to work in France [3].
Salaried work visas (salarié) need a French employer and a work authorisation, which the employer applies for.
On arrival you validate a long-stay visa online within three months, or apply online for your card. From 1 January 2026, first multi-year cards come with a French civic test and a language requirement [4][5].

Who needs a visa now

Brexit split Brits into two groups. If you were living in France before 1 January 2021, you're covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and have (or should have) a special residence card; our guide to the carte de séjour covers that. Everyone else is a "third-country national", and the GOV.UK "Living in France" guide says you need a visa or residence permit to live, work or study in France, and points to the French government's visa wizard [1].

As a British visitor you can still spend up to 90 days in any 180 in the Schengen area without a visa, but you can't work, and the days add up across every Schengen country. For anything longer, you need a long-stay visa (visa de long séjour). Our guide to Brits in the EU after Brexit explains the 90/180-day rule and the Entry/Exit System.

You apply online on the official France-Visas site, then hand over your documents and biometrics at the visa application centre it books you into. Plan for weeks, not days, and apply well before your moving date.

The main routes compared

Route	Who it's for	Key condition	Can you work?
Talent: qualified employee	Graduates hired on a good salary	Master's-level degree and a salary of EUR 39,582+	Yes, for that job
Talent: EU Blue Card	Highly qualified employees	Degree (or 5 years' experience) and a salary of EUR 59,373+	Yes
Talent: company founder or investor	Entrepreneurs and investors	A real business project, or a EUR 300,000 investment	Yes, in your business
Visitor (visiteur)	Retirees and people with their own income	Enough income to live on, health cover, no work	No
Salaried worker (salarié)	Anyone with a French job offer outside the talent route	A job and an approved work authorisation	Yes, for that employer

Talent thresholds are from Service Public, verified on 1 June 2026 [2]. Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.2002).

The talent card (passeport talent)

The talent card is France's red carpet for skilled people. It's a multi-year residence card, valid for the length of your contract up to a maximum of four years, so you skip the yearly renewals that other routes involve [2]. Your spouse and children can come with you on a "talent-famille" card through a simplified procedure, without a separate family reunification application [2].

Service Public lists these categories and figures (gross a year, unless stated) [2]:

Category	Main condition
Qualified employee	Master's-level diploma, contract of more than 3 months, salary of at least EUR 39,582 (about £32,980)
Employee of an innovative company	R&D-type role at a recognised innovative company, same EUR 39,582 salary
Intra-group transfer	At least 3 months with the group, French contract, EUR 39,582 salary
EU Blue Card	3 years' higher education or 5 years' relevant experience, contract of 6 months or more, salary of at least EUR 59,373 (about £49,470)
Company creation	Master's or 5 years' experience, a real project and at least EUR 30,000 (about £25,000) invested, plus resources of at least the full-time minimum wage, EUR 22,404.20 a year (about £18,670)
Direct economic investment	At least EUR 300,000 (about £250,000) invested in France, with jobs created or kept
Corporate officer	Legal representative of the French arm of a group, paid at least three times the minimum wage, EUR 67,212.60 (about £56,000)
Researcher, artist, person of renown	Hosting agreement, artistic income or an established reputation

How it works [2]:

Apply for a long-stay visa marked "talent" at the French consulate, through France-Visas.
If you're staying less than a year, the visa itself is your permit; validate it online within three months of arriving.
If you're staying a year or more, you get a three-month visa and then apply online for the card itself within two months of entering France.
Collect the card at the prefecture once you're told it's ready, paying the fee in tax stamps (timbres fiscaux). Service Public currently gives the talent card fee as EUR 350 (about £290) [2].

Founders and innovative-project applicants need an opinion from the Ministry of the Economy first, so allow extra time [2].

The visitor visa for retirees

For many Brits retiring to Paris (or using it as a base for a slower life), the visitor route is the one. The rules are simple to state and fiddlier to prove [3]:

Enough money of your own. A prefecture guide sets the bar at a yearly total of 12 times the net monthly minimum wage (the SMIC), not counting French benefits. In practice, a UK State Pension, a workplace pension and savings all count.
A promise not to work in France. You sign a commitment not to carry out any professional activity. Working remotely for UK clients is a grey area, and consulates may refuse a visitor visa if it looks like you'll be working; if you plan to work, look at the talent or salaried routes instead.
Health cover for your whole stay. Private insurance at first. If you draw the UK State Pension, an S1 from the NHS can later get you into the French system; see the NHS when you live abroad and the S1.
Somewhere to live, such as a lease or a property deed.

The visitor visa is usually issued as a one-year visa that counts as a residence permit (a VLS-TS), which you validate online after you arrive. After that, you apply for a visitor card through the online system, renewing each year. Our retiring abroad guide compares France with other countries.

Salaried work visas

If you've landed a job in Paris that doesn't reach the talent thresholds, the salarié (or, for contracts under a year, travailleur temporaire) route applies. The difference from the talent card is that your employer must first get a work authorisation (autorisation de travail) for you, which can involve showing that the job couldn't easily be filled locally. Once it's approved, you apply for the visa. Expect a one-year permit at first, then renewals.

If you're keeping a UK job and working remotely from Paris, a French visa route is still needed, and so is a look at tax and National Insurance; see working abroad for a UK employer.

After you arrive: validation, fees and the new civic test

The admin doesn't stop at the airport. The essentials:

Validate your VLS-TS online on the government's ANEF site within three months of arriving, paying the validation fee. Miss it and you're technically without a permit.
Fees went up in the 2026 budget. Since 1 May 2026 the standard rate for a first residence card is EUR 350 (about £290), up from EUR 225, a renewal costs EUR 250 (about £210) and VLS-TS validation EUR 300 (about £250), up from EUR 200; check the current amount when you pay [6].
Renewals are made online, between four and two months before your permit expires [2].
The civic test. Since 1 January 2026, most people applying for a first multi-year card or a first ten-year resident card must pass a civic exam, 40 multiple-choice questions in French with a pass mark of 80%, and show French at A2 level for a multi-year card (B1 for a resident card). Over-65s, people renewing a card they already hold and Withdrawal Agreement Brits are exempt [5].

Moving to Paris on a visa is a faff, but a predictable one. Get the paperwork lined up, keep copies of everything, and join our community group for Brits in France to hear from people who've just been through it. A French immigration lawyer can check your case if it's at all unusual.

French visas for Brits: the talent card, the visitor visa and working for a French employer