Thursday, September 29, 2016

Expats in France Can Face Banking and Housing Technicalities


As a self-employed doctor in Oklahoma City, OK, William D. Jones, MD, specializes in occupational and preventive medicine. Throughout his life, William D. Jones, MD, has twice lived in France

While moving to any new country can mean substantial paperwork and numerous other technicalities to sort through, many expats find it difficult to get established after moving to France, because of the country’s banking and housing rules and customs.

When you arrive in France, you might find it hard to rent an apartment if you do not have a French bank account. Complicating the matter, French banks often require you to have a permanent address before opening an account. 

If you can provide bankers with enough additional information to make them comfortable with you, they might make an exception. Bring any banking documents you can to show you are responsible with money. A letter from your US banker can go a long way, too. You should also be prepared to make a large initial deposit in the amount of thousands of dollars. 

As for rentals, many French landlords prefer to rent to the most stable, least risky tenants. Preferred tenants are typically people who have an established rental history in France, since the country’s housing laws can make evicting a problem tenant difficult. Barring an established checking account, you might have to pay a large portion of your rental agreement up front. In an interview, Julie Nies, an American food writer living in Paris, said she had to pay her first French landlord an entire six months of rent, thereby covering her whole lease upfront.