How to Open a French Bank Account as a UK Citizen: Documents, Proof of Address and the Right to an Account (2026)

A British citizen who legally lives in France can open a French bank account. The official French pages set out what a bank may ask for, what to do when it refuses, and a reporting duty that catches your UK accounts. This guide follows them, as read on 20 October 2026. It does not cover individual banks’ own policies, which the official pages do not describe. For moving money between the two countries, see sending pounds to euros for a move to France.

Can a British citizen open a French bank account?

Yes, once you legally reside in France. The service-public.gouv.fr page on individual bank accounts says you can open a bank account in France if you are a foreign national and legally reside in the country. You must be of age to open an account alone.

Any type of account can be opened individually: current account, savings account or booklet, or securities account. Savings products can carry their own conditions on age, income or payment, which the page leaves to the bank.

What the bank can ask for

Identity

You must present a valid official identity document with a photograph. The page lists the national identity card, the passport, an EU residence card and “other residence permit”. For a British citizen that means your passport and, once you have it, your residence permit. If you moved under the Withdrawal Agreement, see Withdrawal Agreement residence rights in France. If you came on a long-stay visa, British citizens and French visas after Brexit explains the routes.

Proof of address

You must also prove where you live. The examples on the official page are:

• a tax notice,
• a rent receipt,
• a water or electricity bill,
• a certificate of election of domicile, if you do not have a stable home.

If you are staying with someone, the bank may ask for an accommodation certificate from your host, and the page links a model certificate.

This is where new arrivals can get stuck: you need an account to pay a first bill, and a bill to open the account. The page does not name a way round it, but it does list the two documents that exist for people without their own bills: the certificate of election of domicile and the host’s accommodation certificate.

Signature

You must deposit your signature, which the bank records. If you give a proxy on the account, that person deposits a signature too.

Opening online

When you open an account online, the page says the bank can use a certified service provider’s platform to check your documents and verify your identity, and may ask for a first payment from or to another account opened in your name.

What the bank must do with the account

If the bank agrees, it tells you the terms of use and the pricing and you sign the account agreement. The bank must also declare every account opening in France to the Ficoba file, with the holder’s name and address, the account references and the opening date.

If a bank refuses: the right to an account

The service-public.gouv.fr page on refusals (verified 19 October 2026) describes the droit au compte. It applies if a bank refuses to open an account and you have no deposit account in France. The Banque de France then designates a bank, near your home or where you choose, which must open an account with basic banking services.

• Silence counts as a refusal. If the bank does not answer within 15 days, counted from the notice of receipt of your application or from the day you handed it in, that is a refusal. The bank must then give you a letter of refusal stating the reason, and tell you that you can go to the Banque de France.
• Who can use it. The page lists three cases: you are domiciled in France, without any nationality condition; you are a French national living abroad; or you are a foreign national legally resident in another EU member state, and not acting for professional needs. A British citizen who has not yet moved to France fits none of the three as the page words them. Once you are domiciled in France, the first case applies to you.
• If you already have a deposit account in France you cannot use it. Being on a banking ban, being on the file of personal credit incidents, being over-indebted or holding a joint account does not disqualify you.

The steps

1. Prepare a file: the application form, a valid identity document (French or foreign), proof of address less than 3 months old, the letter of refusal (or the acknowledgement of a registered letter, or proof of a hand delivery, more than 15 days old), a declaration on honour that you hold no personal or business deposit account, and, if you are in that situation, a declaration that you legally reside in another EU member state.
2. Send it to the Banque de France online (through your personal space on its website, accessed with FranceConnect), at a branch counter, or by post.
3. Within 1 working day of receiving the documents, the Banque de France designates the bank and tells you. The decision is valid for 6 months.
4. The designated bank has 3 working days to write to you with the documents it needs and the contact details of the branch. You then have 6 months to contact it.
5. The bank opens the account within 3 working days of receiving everything. An appointment is usually needed and you usually have to attend in person. The page adds that further documents may be requested because of anti-money-laundering rules.

What the account includes and what it costs

The agreement is limited to basic services: opening, maintaining and closing the account; one change of address a year; bank identity statements; domiciliation of transfers; a monthly statement; cashing cheques and transfers; payments by SEPA direct debit and SEPA transfer; remote balance consultation; cash deposits and withdrawals at the counter of the account-keeping bank; a card each use of which the bank authorises; and two bank cheque forms a month or an equivalent.

The page states that opening the account and using these services is free. Fees can still apply if the account is irregular: for beneficiaries of the droit au compte, they are capped at 4 euros per operation and 20 euros a month. The bank can close the account itself in listed cases, including illegal use, inaccurate information, no longer meeting the residence condition, or opening a second deposit account in France that gives access to basic services, with a 2-month notice period except for the first two of those.

Your UK bank accounts: a declaration in France

This is a point a British arrival can easily miss. GOV.UK’s page on living in France says you must declare assets held outside France, including bank accounts, and calls this declaration separate to the annual tax return. The French page on accounts opened abroad, which does tie the declaration to the tax return, is service-public.gouv.fr’s page on accounts opened abroad (verified 9 July 2026):

• Who: anyone domiciled in France for tax purposes. You must declare accounts you hold or have a proxy on.
• Which accounts: accounts with a bank or other financial services provider outside France, if they were opened, held, used or closed during the tax year. The page also names digital-asset accounts on foreign platforms and life insurance contracts taken out abroad.
• How to tell if an account is foreign: look at the IBAN. A French IBAN starts with FR. If it does not, you must declare it each year as a foreign account. That includes an account at an online bank with a non-French IBAN.
• One exception: an account used to pay for online purchases or collect sales proceeds is not declared if it is linked to an account you already have in France and you received no more than 10,000 euros in the year from sales you made. All three conditions must be met.
• How: with your annual tax return, ticking the box for the accounts and attaching the statement of accounts opened, used or closed abroad, one per account.
• The penalty: 1,500 euros per undeclared account, or 10,000 euros if the account is in a State without a tax evasion and avoidance convention with France, or an 80% increase of the duties due on the amounts in the account, which replaces the fixed fine.

Declaring an account is not paying tax on it. How UK income is taxed once you live in France is a separate question: see UK to France tax: residence, HMRC and the treaty.

What this guide does not cover

The official pages read do not describe non-resident accounts for people who have not yet moved, whether UK-issued cards keep working, or which banks accept which documents. Ask the bank before you go to the branch, and keep the refusal letter if there is one.

FAQ

Can I open a French bank account before I move?

The official pages read say a foreign national who legally resides in France can open an account. They do not describe an account for people who have not yet moved. The droit au compte is open to people domiciled in France, French nationals abroad, and legal residents of another EU country, not to someone still living in the UK.

Which documents does a French bank ask a British resident for?

A valid photo ID (passport or residence permit), proof of address (for example a tax notice, rent receipt, or water or electricity bill) and your signature. Hosted people can be asked for an accommodation certificate.

What if I have no proof of address yet?

service-public.gouv.fr lists a certificate of election of domicile for people without a stable home, and an accommodation certificate if you are being hosted.

What if the bank refuses?

Ask for the letter of refusal. If the bank does not reply within 15 days that counts as a refusal. Then apply to the Banque de France, which designates a bank to open a basic account.

Is the account opened through the droit au compte free?

Opening it and the basic services are free, according to service-public.gouv.fr. Fees for irregular operation are capped at 4 euros per operation and 20 euros a month.

Do I have to declare my UK bank account to the French tax office?

If you are domiciled in France for tax purposes, yes. GOV.UK tells you to declare assets held abroad, including bank accounts, and service-public.gouv.fr says how: accounts opened, held, used or closed abroad are declared with the annual tax return, and the fine is 1,500 euros per undeclared account.

Is an online account with a non-French IBAN a foreign account?

Going by the service-public.gouv.fr page, an account whose IBAN does not start with FR is declared as a foreign account.