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MOVING TO FRANCE

10 things to think about before moving to France

It can be hard to know where to start when moving countries, so here are our tips for the things you need to think about before making the move, and to smooth your path once you're here.

Published: 4 November 2021 11:51 CET
Updated: 21 July 2022 14:47 CEST
Map of France
Being able to locate France on a map is a good start. Photo by Danielle Rice on Unsplash

Learn French

There are some countries that you can live in without ever learning the language, but France isn’t one of them unless you are prepared to miss out on a lot and you have a very patient French-speaking friend/partner/family member who is willing to do all your admin tasks for you.

READ ALSO How easy is it to move to France without speaking French?

That doesn’t mean you need to be fluent when you arrive, but learning at least some French before moving is a good idea and be prepared to keep working at it once you arrive.

Yes, we said work – a few gifted linguists might just ‘pick it up’ once they arrive, but for most people learning French involves classes, sweating over grammar books and regularly making excruciatingly embarrassing mistakes – the French language has many traps for the unwary foreigner.

Beautiful butts and condom-free baguettes: Readers reveal their most embarrassing French mistakes

Be legal

It’s boring but also important to make sure that you are in France legally. For non-EU citizens this will usually involve a visa and if you intend to work you may also need a work permit.

EXPLAINED How to apply for a French visa

It’s important to get these things sorted before you move and you need to have at least looked into the practicalities before you consider buying property. Contrary to what many people believe, owning a house in France does not give any special privileges within the visa system.  

READ ALSO Moving to France: What should I do first, residency, healthcare or driving licence?

Visit in the winter

Many people fall in love with France through holidaying here, but living in a country is a very different thing.

If you intend to live in a rural area you should visit in the winter as well as the summer to see if you still like it when it’s cold, damp and largely deserted. Conversely, not many people have written songs about Paris in August when it’s brutally hot, crammed with tourists and most of the good shops are closed.  

Cost of living 

Another deeply unromantic one, but do make sure your sums stack up and you have enough to live on, especially if you don’t intend to work in France.

If you want to be in Paris be aware that it regularly tops league tables for the world’s most expensive cities, while country living comes with its own expenses such as having to run a car in many places because of the lack of public transport.

Those French taxes also add up and if you’re relying on an income in another currency (such as a pension from your home country) remember that currency market fluctuations can have a dramatic impact on the money that ends up in your pocket.

Zen and the art of waiting

Be prepared for the fact that some processes might be slower than you are used to. French bureaucracy moves at its own pace and a good rule of thumb is to expect it to take six months to get all your administrative affairs in order after you move.

Railing at the system won’t make things move any faster and railing at bureaucrats is more likely to get your file ‘accidentally’ shredded, so practice the art of acceptance.

Internet connections

It sounds obvious, but if you intend to work from home in your French property then do make sure in advance that it has a good internet connection and, if necessary, your phone can get a signal.

Things are improving but many rural areas of France still have very patchy internet connections and buying extra signal boosters doesn’t always solve the problem.

Also, don’t believe anyone who tells you that high-speed fibre connections are coming ‘soon’ to the area, various companies have been making this promise for years.

READ ALSO Remote working in France – what are the rules for foreigners?

Making friends

Think about your social circle too. Moving to a new country can be lonely and making French friends might not be as easy as you think.

It’s not impossible of course, but give some thought to who you will socialise with and research in advance ways you might be able to meet people, whether it’s getting involved in village activities, joining a yoga class or setting up a conversation exchange group where you can improve your French and help others to improve their English.

READ ALSO Why finding French friends in France might be trickier than you think

Have documents ready

Most administrative tasks in France require a dossier – a file of documents – and you will save yourself much time and frustration if you get this ready in advance.

Expect to be regularly asked for your (full) birth certificate and if applicable marriage/divorce certificates, passport (and visa/residency card if necessary), bank account details, proof of address such as a rental contract or utility bills, proof of income such as payslips or pension details and proof of health cover. It’s a good idea to have some passport-sized photos ready as these are also often required. 

READ ALSO The essential documents you will always need in France

Be prepared for problems 

As well as practical matters, it’s important to be emotionally prepared for your move and any problems that come along.

Sooner or later you will hit a problem, particularly with the bureaucracy which is not always user-friendly, and if you have been imagining that every moment of your new life in France will be a paradise then this can be emotionally difficult.

There are few newcomers to France who haven’t cried at least once while trying to sort out everything that moving countries involves so expect problems to occur, but also know that they will be resolved eventually.

But remember to enjoy it

Hopefully this list doesn’t sound overly negative – it’s more about being prepared than putting you off France – but also take time to enjoy the small things (and the big things) about living in France.

From unexpected days off on obscure Catholic holidays to giggling like a child at French brand names that sound like rude words in English, there are all sorts of small pleasures to moving country.

And that’s before we get to the things that people move for in the first place – the more relaxed pace of life, the stunning countryside, the beautiful cities, the gastronomy, the wine, the culture, the cheese and did we mention the wine?  

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WORKING IN FRANCE

The rules on working from home in France

Working from home is increasingly common in France and Paris residents are being urged to consider it during the Olympics - so what rules and protections are in place for employees and employers?

Published: 26 April 2024 13:03 CEST
The rules on working from home in France

The pros and cons of homeworking were thrown into sharp relief during the Covid-19 pandemic – and it seems there are more pros than cons for many employees, who avoid having to commute to work one or more times per week.

For employers, the advantages are sometimes less clear, if articles about the benefits of going into the office are accurate. However, the fashion in France seems to be for a form of hybrid working, with those workers able to do so spending part of the week in the office and the rest working remotely.

Meanwhile some people just do it as needed – for example to avoid transport disruption during a strike or during the Paris Olympics for people who work in areas close to Games venues.

If you do want to work remotely in France – or if your employer has asked you to – are as follows:

Negotiate

Private sector employees can negotiate an agreement to work remotely full- or part-time. If you ask to work from home for any number of days per week on a long-term basis, your boss has the right to refuse, but must give a reason. 

Your boss can also ask you to work from home. In normal circumstances, you can refuse and don’t have to provide a reason. However, in the event of exceptional circumstances (such as, for example, a pandemic), remote working may be imposed on employees without their agreement.

Either way, it’s considered sensible to have the agreement down in writing so that everyone knows where they stand. It also means that no one will get shouted at during any health and safety inspection.

It’s a good idea to check any conventions collectifs – collective agreements – that exist in your profession or workplace. They may well have covered remote working already, so it is well worth checking out what this covers before beginning negotiations – as well as working time, the agreements may also cover things like whether your company will buy you a special chair and whether you can put in an expenses claim for extra electricity used on your work-from-home days.

The remote-working rules for public sector workers are different and slightly more complex.

Contract conditions

Assuming you are not a self-employed contractor, you remain an employee of the company with the same rights and responsibilities you have when working in the office. But if you switch to home-working permanently, your employers must provide written conditions of your working practices.

Among these must be a protocol for working hours and workflow regulation.

Employer and employee must also agree – before you start remote working – times when your boss can contact you at home, in order to preserve your right to a private life. This will usually be during office hours, obviously. But it also means your boss can’t assume you’ll be tied to your desk permanently just because you don’t have a commute.

READ ALSO URSSAF: What is it, how it works, and how it affects you

In all other aspects, the employee is under the same obligations as if they worked in the office full-time. You must respect your employer’s instructions, working hours and rules on using office equipment or systems.

Work equipment

Speaking of which… when an employee is working from home, the employer must provide, install and maintain any necessary equipment.

If the employed remote worker uses their own equipment, the employer has to ensure it is appropriate for the job and is maintained. Be aware, self-employed contractors, such as remote-working freelances, will often be expected to have and use their own equipment.

For employees who work from home, however, setting up home-working should not entail any personal additional costs. Employers must supply and maintain equipment that you reasonably need. How that equipment is supplied – whether it’s direct from the employer, or by reimbursement of the cost of setting up a work-station at home, can be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Rules on the use of company equipment at home – including, for example, limits on personal use – will likely remain the same as those in the office, but you should get this in writing before you start any shifts at home.

READ ALSO Micro-entrepreneur: How to set up as a small business in France

Allowances and expenses

Working from home will mean that personal electricity bills rise as workers use their own electricity for lights, coffee machines/kettles and computers.

Any fixed expenses – such as stationary, phone calls, printer cartridges, for example – can be claimed back from your employer on the production of receipts.

You are also entitled to ask your employer to share some of the cost of utilities like electricity, internet and heating.

If you work in a job where you receive restaurant vouchers, these cannot be withdrawn if you switch to home-working.

Data protection

The employer has an obligation to protect any customer and company data used and processed by its employees, including remote workers, whether the worker uses the employer’s equipment or their own.

Health and safety

If you are working at home, your residence becomes your workplace for that day, with all that implies legally. For example, if you fall down your own stairs on a day you are working from home, that could count as a workplace accident and your employer could be liable.

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