The moving to France checklist: six months to touchdown
The short version
- Start the visa file 4 to 6 months out; you can submit up to 3 months before departure
- Order a fresh apostilled birth certificate early, it surfaces in every French procedure
- Land with a no-foreign-fee US card; French accounts, even the online ones, wait for an address
- Carry the paperwork kit in your hand luggage, never in checked bags
Moving to France is a project with a deadline, and it runs a lot smoother when you treat it like one. This is the master checklist: the big moves in the right order, with links to the deep-dive guide for each step. Check things off as you go, your progress is saved on this device.
How to use this page: skim the whole thing once so nothing ambushes you later, then work through it phase by phase. Six months is comfortable. It has been done in six weeks, but nobody enjoyed it.
Six to three months out
This phase is about the two slow-moving beasts: the visa and your documents. Everything else can be compressed. These cannot.
Pick your visa first, since it decides what everything else looks like. Most Americans arrive on a long-stay visa (VLS-TS): visitor, student, worker or entrepreneur. The long-stay visa guide walks through choosing and applying.
Checklist
Why the birth certificate obsession? France asks for your birth certificate for almost everything: health insurance, marriage, PACSpacte civil de solidarité, the French civil union, CAFthe national benefits office that pays housing aid, sometimes even a bank. It usually needs an apostille and a sworn translation, and some offices want a copy issued within the last 6 months, which is why stockpiling copies backfires: they go stale. One or two fresh copies cover the landing.
Two months out
The visa application itself happens in this window: you can submit no earlier than 3 months before your travel date, and consulate appointment slots disappear fast in summer.
Checklist
Booking a short furnished rental first is not a compromise, it is the strategy. Long-term French leases want a dossier you cannot build until you are in the country. The apartment guide explains the whole dance.
The final month
Admin cleanup at home, so US loose ends do not chase you across the Atlantic.
Checklist
Shipping vs suitcases: international shipping is slow and expensive, and French apartments are small. Most movers regret shipping furniture. The usual winner is extra checked bags plus one or two boxes of sentimental things sent later, once you know your address is permanent.
Landing week
The first days have their own guide, but these are the non-negotiables so you know what is coming.
Checklist
Read the first week guideValidate your visaHow to join French healthcare
The paperwork kit
Pack one folder in your hand luggage. If a checked bag disappears, none of these should be in it.
| Document | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Passport with visa | Obviously. Photograph new stamps as you collect them, starting with your first entry into France |
| Birth certificate, apostilled | Health insurance, the benefits office and half of French admin will ask |
| Marriage or divorce certificate, apostilled | Family procedures, joint taxes, spouse visas |
| Proof of housing for the first months | Border question, visa validation, first bank attempt |
| Diplomas and transcripts | Work, study, some professional registrations |
| Vaccination and medical records | New doctors, school enrollment |
| Prescriptions with generic drug names | French pharmacies know molecules, not US brand names |
| US driver's license | Driving and rentals in year one, the exchange file if your state qualifies |
| Recent US tax return copy | Some visa types and some banks ask |
How early should I really start?
Six months is comfortable and three is doable if your documents are simple. The two things that blow up timelines are apostilles from slow states and consulate appointment availability in the May to August rush. Start those two first and everything else fits around them.
Do I need a lawyer or a relocation agency?
For a standard visitor, student or salaried move: usually no. The process is bureaucratic but well documented, and this site plus the official France-Visas wizard covers it. A lawyer earns their fee in complicated cases: business creation, unusual immigration history, or high-stakes tax situations.
How much does the move itself cost?
A rough per-person budget: visa and appointment fees around 100 to 150 euros, flights, first and last month of furnished housing (often 1,500 to 3,000 euros in a big city), apostilles and sworn translations (30 to 60 euros per document), plus your normal cost of living until the first paycheck or transfer clears. Three months of runway is the comfortable floor.