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Short answer
If you move your main home to France after living outside the EU for at least 12 months, your household goods can come in free of duty and VAT, as long as you have owned and used them for at least 6 months and declare them to French customs. Goods for a second home get no relief. Pets from Great Britain need a microchip, a rabies vaccination at least 21 days before travel and an animal health certificate, and a UK car must be registered in France within a month of moving. French Finance can introduce you to one of the leading, reputable removal firms we work with.
Do I pay duty on belongings I bring to France?
Not if you are moving your main home and meet the conditions for transfer of residence relief, the franchise for a transfert de résidence. You must have lived outside the EU for at least 12 months, and the goods must have been in your private use for at least 6 months and have borne normal taxes where you bought them. You cannot sell, let or lend them for 12 months after they arrive. Alcohol, tobacco, commercial vehicles and professional equipment are excluded.
To claim it you file form Cerfa 10070 with French customs, with a detailed, dated, signed and valued inventory in two copies and proof that you lived abroad and are settling in France. The goods must arrive within 12 months of your move. You can ship in more than one load, but the inventory you give at the first import must list everything.
Moving between France and another EU country involves no customs formalities.
Sources: French customs on transferring your main residence; Service-public.fr, checked November 2025; France Diplomatie, July 2026.
What about furniture for a second home?
There is no relief for furnishing a résidence secondaire. French customs and Service-public.fr both say goods brought from outside the EU for a second home pay duty and VAT, so it can be cheaper to furnish a second home in France.
Sources: as above.
How do I bring a dog or cat from the UK to France?
- Have your pet microchipped before or at the same time as its rabies vaccination.
- Have it vaccinated against rabies. The vaccine can only be given from 12 weeks of age.
- Wait at least 21 days after the first vaccination before travelling.
- Get an animal health certificate from an official vet no more than 10 days before you arrive in the EU.
You can take up to 5 pets. People who live in England, Scotland or Wales cannot use a pet passport to enter the EU, even one issued in the EU, since that route closed on 22 April 2026. EU pet passports are only issued to owners who live in the EU, so once you have moved, ask a French vet. The UK and the EU are negotiating an agreement that would bring back a pet passport for Great Britain, which the UK government expects to take effect in mid-2027. Until then the rules above apply.
Sources: GOV.UK, taking your pet abroad, September 2026; French customs on travelling with pets from the UK, September 2026; Your Europe on pets, September 2026; Food Standards Agency update, September 2026.
Can I bring my car to France?
Yes. Since Brexit a UK car is treated as coming from outside the EU, the same as a car from the US or elsewhere. You must register it in France within one month of settling, online through the ANTS or through an authorised garage. You need:
- the foreign registration certificate
- proof of your French address less than 6 months old
- a certificate of conformity
- the customs certificate 846 A
- a French or EU roadworthiness test less than 6 months old, the contrôle technique, if the car is over 4 years old
Under transfer of residence relief a private car comes in free of duty and VAT if you lived outside the EU for more than a year, and owned and used the car for at least 6 months and paid tax on it where you bought it. You then cannot sell it for 12 months. Without relief a car pays 10% duty plus 20% VAT, although proof that the car qualifies as UK origin under the UK-EU trade agreement can remove the duty.
Sources: Service-public.fr on registering a foreign car, February 2026; French customs on vehicles bought abroad, February 2021.
Can I drive in France on my licence?
A licence from outside the EU is valid in France for one year after you become resident. A UK licence issued before 1 January 2021 does not need exchanging while it is valid, unless it expires, is lost or stolen or you commit a driving offence. A UK licence issued from 2021 onwards must be exchanged within 12 months of your arrival. You apply online through the ANTS with a check code from the DVLA.
A US licence can only be exchanged if the state that issued it is on France’s reciprocity list. Otherwise you have to pass the French driving test.
Sources: Service-public.fr on foreign licences, checked June 2026; GOV.UK, living in France, December 2025.
Do I need a visa to live in France?
British, American and other non-EU citizens can spend up to 90 days in any 180 in the Schengen area without a visa. Owning a French home does not change that. To live in France you need a long-stay visa, such as the VLS-TS, which you apply for from your home country before you leave and validate online within 3 months of arrival. People who will not work in France can apply for a visitor visa by showing they can support themselves.
The EU’s Entry/Exit System has recorded short-stay visitors at the border since October 2025 and has been fully operational since 10 April 2026. Holders of a long-stay visa or residence permit are exempt. The ETIAS travel authorisation is not yet in operation, and the EU will announce its start date several months in advance. Our guide to buying in France covers the 90-day rule for second-home owners.
Sources: France-Visas on long-stay visas; GOV.UK, France entry requirements, September 2026; European Commission on the EES, July 2026; European Commission on ETIAS.
How does healthcare work when I move?
If you receive a UK State Pension you can apply for an S1 form, register it with your local CPAM and get French state healthcare on the same basis as a French citizen, paid for by the UK. Otherwise, once you have lived in France stably and legally for 3 months you can join the French system, PUMa. The 2026 social security budget adds a contribution for PUMa members who do not work, and the amount is still awaited.
Sources: NHSBSA on healthcare cover abroad; Service-public.fr on PUMa, checked May 2026.
How do our removals introductions work?
Tick moving help on our enquiry form or ask through our contact form. With your agreement we pass your name and contact details to one of the removal firms we work with, who quotes and agrees terms with you directly. We only introduce you to firms that hold the registration their work needs. We do not carry out removals or give customs, immigration or tax advice. Suppliers we introduce you to may pay us a fee when an introduction leads to business. We tell you before we make an introduction.