Retire in France as an American: Visa, Healthcare, Taxes
A clear, friendly guide for US retirees moving to France: visitor visa (VLS-TS), OFII validation, healthcare options, taxes, Social Security, driving license exchange, and renewal planning.
Retiring in France is often less about “moving countries” and more about designing a calmer daily life: morning markets, walkable towns, real seasons, and a culture that still protects time off. The key to making it feel easy is sequencing: visa first, then a stable address, then health coverage, then the tax and admin setup. This guide pulls the common threads from official French and US sources, plus the practical “what actually happens next” details.
1) The core pathway for US retirees: the long-stay visitor visa
Most Americans retiring in France start with a long-stay visa that fits a simple idea: you live in France without taking employment there. In the French system, that is typically the “visitor” long-stay visa (VLS-TS visiteur). France-Visas describes long stays as over 90 days and points you to the right category based on your situation, including private stay (no professional activity).
Once issued, many long-stay visas function as a residence permit for the first year, provided you validate them after arrival (more on that in the next section).
What “visitor” really means, in practical terms
A visitor status is built around three pillars that keep showing up across official guidance:
Resources: you show you can support yourself.
Accommodation: you show where you will live.
Health coverage: you carry medical insurance, especially at the beginning.
This is also why many retirees plan France as a “pension plus savings” chapter: it maps cleanly to what the administration expects.
2) Validation after arrival: your first “must-do” admin step
If you arrive with a VLS-TS visitor visa, you validate it online after entering France, and you do it within three months of arrival.
In practice, you enter your visa details, passport info, and your French address, then pay the required fee via electronic tax stamp (timbre fiscal). Guidance aimed at VLS-TS visitors also notes that this is an online procedure and references a 200€ tax in e-stamp form for validation.
Think of validation as the “activation step” that turns your visa into a usable residence status for day-to-day life.
3) Financial proof: what France expects you to show
For the visitor residence track, the French administration explicitly references an annual resources threshold. Service-Public’s page on the “visiteur” residence card states that you provide proof of resources reaching an annual amount of 17,317.39€, and it gives examples that include bank attestations, a solvent guarantor, and pension proof for retirees.
That same official page frames the visitor status around living in France without working and supporting yourself with stable resources.
What tends to work well for US retirees
In the real world, retirees often present a “clean bundle”:
Pension or Social Security award letters (plus recent payments)
Investment or savings statements
A simple monthly budget that shows margin
A lease, ownership deed, or a hosted-attestation style accommodation proof
The goal is a file that reads as steady and calm.
4) Healthcare: a smooth plan from day one to long-term coverage
Step 1: health insurance for your visa and arrival
France-Visas guidance for arrival in France highlights the need for an insurance certificate covering medical and hospital expenses, plus repatriation, for the duration of your stay.
For the visitor residence status, Service-Public also positions health coverage as part of the conditions you meet as a visitor.
So, many Americans plan on comprehensive private medical insurance at the start, then transition later if eligible.
Step 2: the French public system and PUMa
France’s baseline mechanism is PUMa (Protection universelle maladie). Ameli describes opening rights via a formal request (Cerfa forms and supporting documents) handled by your local health insurance office.
For newcomers, the concept you see repeated across practical guidance is stable, regular residence, often paired with a time component (commonly described as three months of residence for inactive newcomers).
A real-world note for 2026 planning
Service-Public also flags a policy update tied to the 2026 Social Security financing law: under certain conditions, some beneficiaries of PUMa may owe a minimum financial participation, with details to be set by decree (including the amount and implementation).
This is exactly the kind of item retirees should keep an eye on each year: the system remains welcoming, and the details evolve.
5) Staying beyond year one: the “visiteur” residence card renewal rhythm
Many retirees spend the first year on the validated VLS-TS, then move to the “carte de séjour temporaire visiteur” and renew it.
Service-Public states:
The visitor card is valid for 1 year and is renewable.
Renewal is filed online, as early as 4 months and as late as 2 months before your current document expires.
The fee shown is 225€ via tax stamps.
For planning, the big win is to treat renewal as a seasonal admin ritual: you keep your proof of address, insurance, and resources tidy all year, and renewal becomes a repeatable process.
6) Taxes: the friendly version of what you actually need to know
You will very likely deal with two systems
The IRS is clear that US citizens living abroad generally have US filing obligations and report worldwide income based on the usual rules.
France, meanwhile, expects residents to declare income, including foreign-source income, with mechanisms to prevent double taxation where treaties apply. The French tax authority explains how foreign-source income is treated and how conventions may apply.
Tax residence: how France thinks about it
France defines tax residence using criteria such as where your home is, where you mainly stay, and where your economic interests are. The French tax authority and Service-Public both summarize these principles, and the underlying legal basis is in the French tax code.
The treaty piece
The US-France income tax treaty is the “tie-breaker” framework that helps allocate taxing rights and reduce double taxation for many income categories, including pensions in various forms. The IRS publishes the treaty text.
Practical takeaway: retirees often do best with a simple annual workflow (French declaration first or US first depending on profile), supported by a cross-border tax professional when the portfolio is complex.
7) Social Security, Medicare, and what changes when you live in France
Social Security payments abroad
Many retirees continue receiving Social Security while living abroad, and official US government guidance points you to tools and country rules.
If you are residing in France and need SSA services, the US Embassy in France provides Federal Benefits Unit guidance and contact details.
Medicare
A key planning point: Medicare coverage outside the United States is limited in most situations. Medicare’s own publication explains the general rule and the narrow exceptions.
SSA’s “Payments While You Are Outside the United States” also notes that Medicare generally does not cover health services outside the US.
The US-France Social Security Totalization Agreement
SSA’s official agreement pamphlet explains how the agreement can help people who worked in both countries qualify for benefits and avoid dual social security taxation in certain work scenarios. It also clearly notes that the agreement does not cover Medicare benefits.
For retirees, the spirit is simple: your US retirement income continues, and France becomes your day-to-day healthcare and residency system.
8) Driving in France: the “exchange” question, answered with official lists
If you settle in France, the general rule is that a non-European license is usable for a limited period and then you exchange it if eligible. Service-Public explains that for VLS-TS holders, the 1-year exchange window is counted from the date of visa validation (or the OFII sticker date, depending on your case).
ANTS also points users to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs list and notes that reciprocity is assessed when the application is processed.
Here is the part Americans always ask about: France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes a list (updated May 14, 2024) showing which US state licenses are exchangeable, including states such as Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Florida, and Connecticut (with category details).
Service-Public also provides a simulator to check exchangeability.
9) A simple “retire in France” timeline that feels manageable
6 to 3 months before
Pick your region and confirm a French address strategy (lease, long-term rental, hosted option).
Assemble your financial proof in a clean PDF bundle (pensions, savings, monthly budget).
Choose a health insurance plan aligned with visa expectations.
Arrival to month 3
Validate your VLS-TS online and keep the confirmation safe.
Set up your French bank access (for utilities, rent, and admin life).
Start your longer-term healthcare path if relevant (PUMa is document-driven).
Month 4 to month 12
Begin tax admin setup (tax number, first declarations, treaty alignment).
If you plan to drive long-term, confirm exchange eligibility and prepare the file early.
Renewal season
File your visitor renewal online in the 4-to-2 month window and keep your documents current.
Sources
Visa and residency (France)
ANEF: Administration numérique pour les étrangers en France (online procedures)
Service-Public: Carte de séjour temporaire “visiteur” (F302)
Préfecture de Police: Visitor status supporting documents list (PDF)
Healthcare (PUMa and enrollment)
Taxes (US and France)
Social Security and Medicare (US)
SSA: Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States (PDF)
Medicare.gov: Medicare coverage outside the United States (PDF)
