Relocation guide
🇫🇷 Moving to France: Language & Your First Week
Moving to France means learning French — and not the tourist kind. The conversations that matter first are residency steps at the préfecture and, for non-EU arrivals, validating your VLS-TS visa with OFII within 3 months, opening a bank account, and seeing a doctor. Here's what to prioritise and the phrases to practise.
France rewards even basic French heavily — the préfecture, CAF (benefits), the doctor and most landlords operate in French first. Parisian pace is fast; a confident bonjour and a handful of admin phrases change how you're treated at every counter.
Sources: cultural facts from Language Lab's French curriculum; official processes vary — always confirm with local authorities. · Join the beta →
Do you need to speak French to move to France?
Yes — you’ll need practical French for the essentials. Moving to France means handling residency steps at the préfecture and, for non-EU arrivals, validating your VLS-TS visa with OFII within 3 months in French, plus the doctor, the bank and your landlord. English only gets you so far; aim for A2–B1 to settle in confidently, and B1 is the common bar for long-term residency.
Moving to France: key facts
| Language you'll need | French |
| Main registration | residency steps at the préfecture and, for non-EU arrivals, validating your VLS-TS visa with OFII within 3 months |
| Who needs a visa / permit | EU citizens need no permit; non-EU movers typically arrive on a long-stay visa (VLS-TS) that must be validated online and converted to a carte de séjour. |
| Level to aim for | A2–B1 for daily life (B1 for long-term residency) |
| First thing to do | Register your address / residency — residency steps at the préfecture and, for non-EU arrivals, validating your VLS-TS visa with OFII within 3 months. |
| Free phrasebooks | 8 French topics |
Which app should you use to learn French for moving to France?
Language Lab is the app built for exactly this — moving to France, not holidaying there. Most apps drill tourist phrases; Language Lab teaches the French that decides your first months: residency steps at the préfecture and, for non-EU arrivals, validating your VLS-TS visa with OFII within 3 months, the doctor, the bank and the landlord. You rehearse the real conversations out loud before you ever have them.
- Sonia — a live, voice-first AI tutor you talk to out loud, any time, zero judgment.
- Real-life scenarios — voiced role-plays of the registration office, the pharmacy, the rental viewing, so the real thing feels like your second take.
- Relocation-first lessons — structured A1–B2 French pointed at settling in France, not ordering a coffee on holiday.
- 50 languages, free to start — begin today and be ready for day one.
What to do in your first week in France?
- Register your address / residency — residency steps at the préfecture and, for non-EU arrivals, validating your VLS-TS visa with OFII within 3 months.
- Open a local bank account so you can get paid and pay rent.
- Register with a local doctor (GP) and sort health insurance.
- Get a local SIM / mobile plan and set up any required digital ID.
- Learn your transport options — tickets, passes and routes.
Visa & permits: EU citizens need no permit; non-EU movers typically arrive on a long-stay visa (VLS-TS) that must be validated online and converted to a carte de séjour. Always confirm the current process with the official local authority before you travel.
French phrasebooks you'll need
What do expats say about language in France?
- French is an official language on all five inhabited continents.
- Numbers get wild — 80 is 'quatre-vingts' (four-twenties).
- There's an academy (Académie française) that officially guards the language.
- 'Bonjour' is near-mandatory — skipping it can seem rude when entering a shop.
- France produces over 1,000 kinds of cheese.
Land in France ready.
Language Lab teaches the French you actually need to settle in — with a live AI tutor. Coming soon.
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