To work, study or retire: Why do Americans move to France?
New EU data has shed fresh light on the reasons Americans have for moving to France.
Moving to France from a non-EU country such as the United States involves getting a visa or residency permit - and while this can annoying or time-consuming on an individual level it does provide useful data on the reasons people have for moving.
Data from the EU agency Eurostat compares first-issue residency paperwork from around the EU and divides it into four areas; study, work (both employees and people starting their own business or working as a freelancer), family reunification and 'other' - which includes retirees or people who don't intend to work or study in France.
READ MORE: MAP: Where do all of the Americans in France live?
And it shows that the biggest single group of Americans in France are those who are studying here.
Americans studying in France
Out of the 12,220 new residency permits awarded in France in 2022, over half (6,328) were for students.
However many of those people have no intention of staying in France for the long-term, and the vast majority of those students were staying less than a year in France and most were spending a single semester in the country as part of their American university course.
Just 499 people - or eight percent of the total number of students - were on courses of one year or more.
Most students came to France for under 11 months total, with about half staying for only three to five months, or the average length of a semester in an American university.
Campus France, the body promoting French higher education abroad, reported that 6,179 American students studied in France during the 2021/22 school year, which includes those who already held permits.
Prior to Covid-19, the United States State department estimated that for the 2019-2020 year, over 8,500 American students studied abroad in France for academic credit (which includes short-trips for less than three months).
The US News and World Report ranked France in the top five destinations for US students to study abroad, not far behind the UK, Italy and Spain.
While the United States is far from making up the largest non-French presence in higher education in France (that honour belongs to Morocco), it remains one of the most common reasons for Americans to cross the Atlantic.
Americans working in France
After education, work and professional reasons come second as to why Americans first move to France.
The European Union's immigration data showed that about one in five (or 2,371 out of 12,220) Americans were granted their first French residency permit to work.
In terms of the types of jobs they hold, Emily in Paris may be a bit misleading - a large portion of Americans working in France are teaching English - many through the Teaching Assistant Programme in France otherwise known as TAPIF.
This allows Americans to move to France for seven months to teach English in public schools. The French Embassy in the United States estimated that for the 2021-2022 school year about 1,500 Americans moved to France to take part in TAPIF, and that on average the number exceeds 1,000 per year.
Many other Americans in France hold other professional positions aside from teaching English, however. Notably, in recent years French President Emmanuel Macron has pushed to make the country more attractive to tech workers and foreign investment.
In fact, the country has even launched the 'French Tech Visa' (you can read more about this residency permit HERE) that allows you to work in France for up to four years if you have been offered a job at an eligible French company.
Family
Perhaps surprisingly, moving to France with the dreamy French lover conjured up by the entertainment industry, was the least common reason for first moving - only 11 percent of first-time permit holders were given them for 'family reasons'.
READ MORE: Where does the 'romantic, sexy French' stereotype come from?
That does not mean that Americans are not moving to France for romance. Whether it is love for a French person or for the French countryside, twice the amount that move for family moved for 'other reasons', which includes permits handed out for visitors and retirees.
Retirees
In total 2,218 people were granted residency permits for 'other' reasons, which includes the visitor visas given to people who are either retiring to France, moving while not intending to work or coming to France for only a short stay.
The visitor visa is one of the easiest visa types to get - provided you have the financial resources to justify it and are happy not to work while in France.
Of those permits, over half were for periods of between six and 11 months, while the other half were for periods of at least one year. Second-home owners who take a visitor visa typically have six-month visas in order not to lose their US residency.
One American reader, Robert Heuer, told The Local in a previous survey that "living in France was the best decision we ever made".
Several readers mentioned a higher quality of life - from fresh food and delicious cuisine to public services like healthcare.
READ MORE: Readers reveal: What makes the quality of life in France so high
Are you an American living in France? Let us know what you think of these results in the comments below
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Moving to France from a non-EU country such as the United States involves getting a visa or residency permit - and while this can annoying or time-consuming on an individual level it does provide useful data on the reasons people have for moving.
Data from the EU agency Eurostat compares first-issue residency paperwork from around the EU and divides it into four areas; study, work (both employees and people starting their own business or working as a freelancer), family reunification and 'other' - which includes retirees or people who don't intend to work or study in France.
READ MORE: MAP: Where do all of the Americans in France live?
And it shows that the biggest single group of Americans in France are those who are studying here.
Americans studying in France
Out of the 12,220 new residency permits awarded in France in 2022, over half (6,328) were for students.
However many of those people have no intention of staying in France for the long-term, and the vast majority of those students were staying less than a year in France and most were spending a single semester in the country as part of their American university course.
Just 499 people - or eight percent of the total number of students - were on courses of one year or more.
Most students came to France for under 11 months total, with about half staying for only three to five months, or the average length of a semester in an American university.
Campus France, the body promoting French higher education abroad, reported that 6,179 American students studied in France during the 2021/22 school year, which includes those who already held permits.
Prior to Covid-19, the United States State department estimated that for the 2019-2020 year, over 8,500 American students studied abroad in France for academic credit (which includes short-trips for less than three months).
The US News and World Report ranked France in the top five destinations for US students to study abroad, not far behind the UK, Italy and Spain.
While the United States is far from making up the largest non-French presence in higher education in France (that honour belongs to Morocco), it remains one of the most common reasons for Americans to cross the Atlantic.
Americans working in France
After education, work and professional reasons come second as to why Americans first move to France.
The European Union's immigration data showed that about one in five (or 2,371 out of 12,220) Americans were granted their first French residency permit to work.
In terms of the types of jobs they hold, Emily in Paris may be a bit misleading - a large portion of Americans working in France are teaching English - many through the Teaching Assistant Programme in France otherwise known as TAPIF.
This allows Americans to move to France for seven months to teach English in public schools. The French Embassy in the United States estimated that for the 2021-2022 school year about 1,500 Americans moved to France to take part in TAPIF, and that on average the number exceeds 1,000 per year.
Many other Americans in France hold other professional positions aside from teaching English, however. Notably, in recent years French President Emmanuel Macron has pushed to make the country more attractive to tech workers and foreign investment.
In fact, the country has even launched the 'French Tech Visa' (you can read more about this residency permit HERE) that allows you to work in France for up to four years if you have been offered a job at an eligible French company.
Family
Perhaps surprisingly, moving to France with the dreamy French lover conjured up by the entertainment industry, was the least common reason for first moving - only 11 percent of first-time permit holders were given them for 'family reasons'.
READ MORE: Where does the 'romantic, sexy French' stereotype come from?
That does not mean that Americans are not moving to France for romance. Whether it is love for a French person or for the French countryside, twice the amount that move for family moved for 'other reasons', which includes permits handed out for visitors and retirees.
Retirees
In total 2,218 people were granted residency permits for 'other' reasons, which includes the visitor visas given to people who are either retiring to France, moving while not intending to work or coming to France for only a short stay.
The visitor visa is one of the easiest visa types to get - provided you have the financial resources to justify it and are happy not to work while in France.
Of those permits, over half were for periods of between six and 11 months, while the other half were for periods of at least one year. Second-home owners who take a visitor visa typically have six-month visas in order not to lose their US residency.
One American reader, Robert Heuer, told The Local in a previous survey that "living in France was the best decision we ever made".
Several readers mentioned a higher quality of life - from fresh food and delicious cuisine to public services like healthcare.
READ MORE: Readers reveal: What makes the quality of life in France so high
Are you an American living in France? Let us know what you think of these results in the comments below
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