We are considering a long stay visa during which we would like to stay in a few different regions before deciding on where to look for a permanent residence. What duration in days must the term of residence lease be at the address listed in the visa application? I have read in “Foolproof French Visas” by Allison Lounes that the long stay visa can be revoked if the government determines one has moved around too much. If true, what minimum duration in days should stays in any location after the first one be to avoid being categorized as “moving around too much?”
How weird. I have read of so many people doing exactly what you are doing and exploring France with a longer term goal of finding a place to settle. I wonder whether it comes down to how you explain your plans?
I don’t know the person or the book you refer to, but cynically I wonder if she is in the business of selling houses?
Do you have a relative or friend who is full time French resident whose address you could use as a means of contact ?
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Yes, I have French friends in Lyon and we plan on starting in Lyon and staying for perhaps as many as three months in order to get coverage under French healthcare after paying for the temporary visitor health insurance. What legal obligations under French law would they be taking on, if any, if they allowed me to use their address?
Her business is advising on obtaining visas and moving to France.
It sounds like you are applying for a long stay visa leading to a carte de séjour, but would it instead make sense for you to start by getting a 6- to 12-month visa for your exploratory period? That gives you the freedom to go wherever you want to to figure out where you want to settle. At the end of that visa you would need to return to your home country to apply for the long stay visa leading to a carte de sejour.
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“staying for perhaps as many as three months in order to get coverage under French healthcare after paying for the temporary visitor health insurance.”
@stevokay I’d suggest you check out the Health Insurance you will need to pay, as Medical Care in France does not come for free (even after 3 months 
)
@fabien is our tried and trusted Advisor in such matters. 
I read Lounes’s book and did not find anything in it that I could not have found elsewhere.
According to the French government,
Your long-stay visa as a residence permit may be revoked by the Prefect for one of the following 3 reasons:
- Obtaining your visa fraudulently
- Entry to France for an installation for purposes other than the issuing of your visa
- Disturbing public order
Nothing about moving around!
For a long stay visa you must have private health insurance and evidence of that is required when you attend the interview for the visa.
Hah, I know you added a smiley but, for the benefit of the OP, it’s worth reinforcing that it’s 3 months before one can apply and it’s a reasonable planning assumption to expect to wait another 3 months after that to be accepted, though it can be much, much longer.
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I’m a big fan of Allison Grant Lounes and appreciate her breadth of knowledge. When I read your question I was actually listening to her December 1 Q&A, put up a day later on youtube. She addressed a question lots of us have about the possible change to health coverage for non-EU citizens moving to France.
I’ve long thought it was extremely generous of France to give health coverage to all and sundry soon after they move to France, especially if they are retired and don’t contribute to France’s social security. I would hope the change would close this loophole and make things fairer.
Allison says when the new law comes, she expects the cost to be quite reasonable.
I may have misunderstood, but I thought my health costs were reimbursed by the UK government?
I assumed the OP is American, perhaps wrongly. Americans don’t have that type of reciprocity.
That sounds like the Daily Mail 
and is as accurate!
I believe that the only thing your friends would have to do is to go to their local Mairie and complete a declaration that they will be providing accommodation for you, which they then send to you so that you may carry it with you when entering France to enable the Immigration Officer to know that you do have accommodation available to you. Apart from that, I do not believe that your friends would be incurring any liability.
However, do keep in mind that if you obtain a 12 month visa, and then remain in France for more than a total of 6 months during that 12 month period, you will become ‘Fiscally Resident’ in France and therefore will have to submit an Income Tax declaration of your world wide income to the French authorities in due course. It’s a bit of a technical point, but it is one that could adversely affect any future application for permanent residency were a failure to comply to come to light.
Only if you have an S1. I don’t, so I’m being treated om courtesy of the French system at the moment.
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But you pay taxes, don’t you?
Porridge, Guardian reader here. I understand the Daily Telegraph is a British tabloid, but I’ve never seen it.
Perhaps I should make myself clear that I don’t think any well-off retiree moving to France should get a free ride.
Except that they didn’t just ‘give’ health coverage to all. They simply screwed up when PUMa went into effect and either didn’t think it through and enact a minimum contribution, like they are trying to do now, or , at the time , didn’t think there were enough Americans or whatever other country slips under to worry about.
It isn’t free, but because of the US-France tax treaty US retirees with basically retirement income don’t usually pay. And that should have been fixed.
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However, let’s not forget that said US retirees are still paying US Federal Income Tax even though they reside permanently in France, so to be fair, one would have to fix that as well.