thanks. Apparently after they sold Thomas Jefferson our fair state they decided to utterly disown us. Louisiana is not on the list of reciprocal. Looks like an international license is the less problematic way to do this.
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I’m not sure an international licence is the answer but I’m sure somebody else will give you advice on that. It might be worth starting a new thread. It’s a uniquely American problem.
I wasn’t aware that such a thing existed. I’ve heard about some sort of card you can get that gives temporary valiation to your existing licence issued by your home country, to allow you to use it in other countries when you’re there as a visitor. But I’m not sure that would work if you changed residency so that you were no longer a resident of the country whose driving permit you hold. If you see what I mean.
The best advice I’ve seen is to get a licence issued by another state before you arrive in France. Mind you there is a live thread on another forum currently where the poster has been asked to prove that he was resident in the state his licences was issued by at the time it was issued.
Excuse me jumping in but… We are planning moving over from Austraila and living off our private pension until we hit retirement age… Is that tied or can you point me to a thread to help me…
Paul T
I mean taxed not tied…
Paul, you’d need to lo look at the Australia-France tax treaty.
For instance under the France-UK DTA, for French residents UK-sourced private pensions are taxed only in France, whilst UK public service pensions are taxed in the UK.
Paul
My wife & I have been living in France for nearly 5 years now and being retired, we rely on our private pension income from OZ.
Under the Bi-lateral tax agreement between France & Aust (mentioned by Anna above), our private pension income is taxed here as “normal income”, however, the tax structure is quite different from Aust in that tax is assessed on total income, then divided by the number of people in the household (presumably you and your wife - therefore 2 parts). Tax is actually not horrendous here, but you need to be aware of the possibility of “Social contributions” which can add significantly to the overall cost.
Please also note that after you reach “retirement age” you will not receive the Australian Age Pension in France unless you have already received it in Aust. Unfortunately, there currently is no Bi-lateral Social Security agreement in place.
You will also need to apply for a Visa “long durée” before leaving Australia and this needs to be renewed annually here in France. To qualify for the Visa you will need to be able to show you have sufficient income to survive in France and importantly that you have suitable private health insurance to cover you here. After 3 months residency, you can apply for the French Health Card “Carte Vitale” but once you receive that, you will be in the french system and be required to pay “Social contributions” on your pension income.
Drivers Licence can be another issue and if you are coming permanently, you will need to “swap” your Aust licence for a French one within 12 months. To do so they usually require a copy of your driving record from Australia, so I would recommend that you get this prior to leaving OZ.
All that aside, it is a wonderful place to live and the lifestyle (outside of Paris) is so much more peaceful. French administration is and can be difficult at times, but we have managed pretty well.
If you need further assistance simply send me a “personal message” thru this site.
Good luck
Hi, this thread is a few months old now; perhaps Sam’s dilemma is resolved. I am applying for an international driving permit via the applications provided at the AAA website. Even if my state of Vermont does translate, I still think it’s best (IMHO) to get the IDP.
So just in case you’re interested here’s the link for the AAA IDP application and more info. The info is for ‘vacationers’ but I’m thinking it would still be good to have during my transition from non-resident to resident in France: https://www.aaa.com/vacation/idp.html
Please, anyone, correct me if there’s better info somewhere. Cheers.