Even tho’ some commentators say this is acceptable, France doesn’t have a digital nomad visa for people who work remotely so most say that remote working is not possible. If you are physically in France you have to pay into French system.
I spoke to two immigration consultants prior to my move and both assured me that I could work remotely as long as the company wasn’t based in France.
It seems you are already concerned that your funds will be insufficient and are looking into possibly working remotely (you’ve yet to confirm if this would be legal)
Thanks so much for your concern! I have sufficient funds to cover my stay. I am not worried that I will run out of money. However, I’m still of working age, so…why draw from investments and savings when I can continue making an income? That’s my thinking anyway
Open an account with Revolut. You can ask for a France-based account that comes with a full French IBAN number. I use mine for paying all French agencies with no problems.
I’d get a new consultant if I were you. The French government website is quite clear that you may not take part in any professional activity on a visitor visa.
@_Brian , you were able to open that account without a visa? If so, that’s great. We opened accounts with Wise before we had visas, but of course it’s a Belgian IBAN. (We have a French bank account with BNP, which was pretty easy to get once we lived in France.)
That’s correct - I don’t know if things have changed but it’s worth asking them. I believe that Revolut banking is based in Lithuania but that have a fully accredited French banking licence.
Good to know. I hope that they are working well for you. I hear a lot of complaining about Revolut, but I also hear a lot of complaining about Wise - and I am one of those complainers. They’ve been difficult to work with lately, so I basically use Wise to exchange funds between USD and euros - other than that, all of our money is either in BNP or our US credit union.
I’ve been with them for 4 or 5 years and have no complaints at all. I only use them for simple banking services - transferring funds between currencies, paying bills, day-to-day shopping etc.
I find the app very useful. For example, you can set up sub-accounts for (say) each monthly direct debit, then each payment will be made from that sub-account. If you’ve forgotten to top it up, Revolut will pay from the main account in the appropriate currency.
I also find the single-use virtual debit card very useful if shopping online.
And they provided that advice in writing? With a caveat that they would pay your fines if wrong?
I know a lot of people do this seemingly unbothered but it is a big risk. Foreign immigration consultants are not the French Social Security - URSAFF. In fact some French immigration sites get it wrong too.
It’s nothing to with visas and immigration, but social security. If you are physically in France when working then you and your employer pay into the system. There are mechanisms set up for foreign employers and employees. If you are not contributing to the system then you are working illegally. URSAFF are ferocious about illegal working if this is uncovered.
Sorry, I’m going to disagree here in this scenario it’s entirely about visas and immigration. A visitor visa explicitly does not allow someone to work, one of the professional visas is necessary if someone wants to work and that’s when the social security bit kicks in.
Possibly clumsy wording. I was trying to make the point that working in France is not just an immigration matter, but also that of the social security system.
And also acknowledging that fuzziness circulates in the visitor visa world about the legitimacy or not of working on a visitor visa. There have been many posts saying I have been told this is ok by X or Y. And it seems it’s particularly American immigration consultants who seem to think the line rests on whether the employer is French or not.
But according to French Social Security laws this is out of the question!
It would be interesting to find someone who had been doing this through several visa renewals and tax returns!
Despite having made enquiries of various lawyers (based in both UK and France), and of course the knowledgeable folks on here, I am still not 100% sure whether receiving royalty payments for stock photography sales from Adobe and Alamy in Canada and the US respectively would count as “working”!
(It’s not a deal-breaker for me if it does, as it only amounts to a few hundred dollars a year, but it would be nice to have the money if I can receive it as a retraité without needing to be on a “profession liberal” visa).
Yes, I signed on with Garantme as well as created a rental dossier thru the gov website Dossier Facile. Highly recommend. I just signed a lease yesterday with a landlord who had never before rented to an international person. And the fact that I had both of these put his mind at ease, and it went incredibly smoothly. I will be happy to share information about it if you want to message me.
