Moving Regulations - France

If you intend to relocate for permanent residence to France from Australia, first of all you need to apply for a residency visa. Being issued with a residency visa is only the beginning. If you get this visa and go to France, then you must apply for a residency card from the administrative offices of your local préfecture, the département’s main town. Two types are issued to foreigners depending on status: the carte de résident and the carte de séjour. The majority of foreigners (unless married to a French citizen or the parent of a French-born child) are issued a carte de séjour.

You will have to renew your carte de séjour temporaire for the first 3 years in France. After this period of time, you can request the 10-year carte de résident. It is renewable automatically. This gives an opportunity holders to work in France as salaried employees. Please, pay attention that a 10-year card isn’t granted as a right. Before your carte is issued a great deal of documentation is needed as with a residency visa:
• Long-stay visa;
• Valid passport;
• Photocopy of passport title page and French visa page;
• Three recent passport photos;
• Proof of financial resources;
• Proof of domicile in France;
• Medical insurance or a medical certificate issued by a doctor and approved by the French Consulate. It is also required to make full translation of details of foreign medical insurance.

Besides, there are other visa types allowing to entry France for permanent living. For example, long stay visa for researchers, long stay visa for creating and running a business or a company in France, long stay visa without work for metropolitan France, working in metropolitan France. Depending on your appropriate type of visa additional documents are required.

The following documents are required for shipping household gods and personal effects:
• Copy of passport.
• A detailed and valued (in €’s) inventory indicating the used value of your goods, dated and signed on each page (copy attached for completion).
• Non resale certificate (Certificat de non cession).

It is permitted to import household goods duty free under the condition that:
• They have been in the owners use and possession for more than 6 months abroad and are for continued use by the owner.
• Importation has to take place within one year after residence transfer.
• Any subsequent consignment has to be reported and listed at the time of the first import.
• Duty free importation for person taking up a secondary residence is subject to a special authorization granted by the French Customs.