A complete resource for Americans navigating French visas, residency permits, and legal status. This section covers every major long-stay visa pathway available to US citizens in 2026: the visitor visa for retirees and people of independent means, the talent passport for skilled workers and entrepreneurs, salaried work permits, student visas, and family reunification pathways. We explain how to choose the right category, what the consulate actually evaluates beyond the official checklist, how to build a dossier that gets approved, and what happens after you land. We also cover OFII validation, the carte de sejour renewal process at the prefecture, and the legal nuances that most online guides miss. If your status in France starts here, this is where you start.
If you read one guide on this topic, make it How to Get a France Long-Stay Visa as an American: The Complete Guide to Getting Approved (2026).
Everything U.S. citizens need to apply for a French long-stay visa in 2026: visa types, required documents, timelines, and what to do after arrival.
Maxime Roseau37 min read
What France-Visas, TLScontact and the consulate check, and who reads your long-stay visa file before the appointment, with the price each one publishes.
Maxime Roseau11 min read
Americans aged 18 to 30 can au pair in France on a jeune au pair visa. They get room, meals and at least 320 euros a month, for up to 25 hours a week.
Maxime Roseau16 min read
France has no digital nomad visa. The visitor visa forbids work; the profession libérale visa asks freelancers for 1,867.02 euros a month in 2026.
Maxime Roseau17 min read
Americans studying in France for 90 days or more need a student visa. Campus France comes first, and you must show 877.50 euros a month since August 2026.
Maxime Roseau18 min read
No, France has no golden visa. Here are the real residency routes for wealthy Americans, and how France compares to Portugal, Greece, and Italy.
Maxime Roseau15 min read
France-Visas says validate within 15 days; the law sets 3 months for every VLS-TS. Validate at once anyway. Plus who qualifies.
Maxime Roseau18 min read
Clearing the SMIC floor for the visiteur visa is not enough on its own. Which income and bank statements consulates accept, and how to present US documents.
Maxime Roseau16 min read
The consulate judges you on the subcategory you claim: pick wrong and it's a refusal. Economic investor: at least €300,000. Business creation: €30,000.
Maxime Roseau24 min read
Applying from the US? How the TLScontact appointment for a French long-stay visa works: booking, what to bring, biometrics, and the mistakes to avoid.
Maxime Roseau20 min read
No signed lease yet? Here are the four accommodation documents French consulates accept for a long-stay visa as an American, and how to prepare each one.
Maxime Roseau20 min read
Can Americans work remotely on a French student visa? The 964-hour rule, US employer complications, and the freelance trap most students miss.
Maxime Roseau19 min read
French consulate denied your long-stay visa? Understand the refusal, your appeal options, and how to reapply successfully as an American in 2026.
Maxime Roseau16 min read
Validate your VLS-TS online on the ANEF portal within three calendar months of your first entry into France, not of the date on your visa.
Maxime Roseau22 min read
When to start your carte de séjour renewal, what you are actually renewing, the documents required, the visiteur case, and what to expect while you wait.
Maxime Roseau32 min read
Can Americans change visa status without leaving France? Changement de statut rules, which categories allow it, when you must leave, and how to apply.
Maxime Roseau19 min read
US citizens can stay in France 90 days in any 180-day period. How the rolling Schengen rule works, what counts, and how to avoid an overstay.
Maxime Roseau19 min read
Americans can stay 90 days in France without a visa. For about six months you need a long-stay visitor visa. What each option allows, and what it does not.
Aurelio Maurici9 min read
Repeated scouting trips eat the same 90/180 allowance your move-in trip needs. How to calculate the days you have left now that EES counts them.
Maxime Roseau12 min read
ETIAS is not active for Americans as of mid-2026 — so it is not what will stop you at the border. What is: the 90/180 Schengen count, and EES biometrics.
Maxime Roseau13 min read
The EES is the EU's new biometric Entry/Exit System. What it means for Americans at the border, who is exempt, and how it differs from ETIAS.
Maxime Roseau14 min read
Marriage to a French citizen gives an American a visa, a residence permit of right and a route to citizenship after four years. A PACS guarantees none.
Maxime Roseau20 min read
Can an American parent move to France to live near an adult child? What France-Visas, the Interior Ministry and service-public say about the older-relative route and family reunification.
Aurelio Maurici6 min read
A couple living in France can divorce there, even after a US wedding. Each spouse needs a lawyer, and mutual consent takes a 15-day wait and a notaire.
Aurelio Maurici18 min read
Americans can legally marry in France if one of you has a domicile or one month of residence in the commune. Only the ceremony at the mairie counts.
Maxime Roseau17 min read
A US will valid where it was made is valid in form in France. A handwritten French will is free, a notarial one costs 135.83 euros, children keep a share.
Maxime Roseau17 min read
France recognizes your US same-sex marriage, but recognition is not a residence permit. What article 202-1 covers, who can transcribe, and what you file.
Maxime Roseau9 min read
The conjoint de Français visa is free and has no income threshold. On the TLScontact checklist, the document that decides is your transcribed US marriage.
Maxime Roseau18 min read
Married to a French citizen and moving to France? The exact visa category, consulate documents, and post-arrival admin steps for Americans in 2026.
Maxime Roseau17 min read
