- Digital nomad visa
- No
Overall3/10Harder visas than about 90% of cities
Good to know
Good to Know
- The 90/180-day limit applies across the entire Schengen Area combined — days spent in Italy, Switzerland, or any other Schengen country before arriving in Courchevel all count against your French allowance, not just time physically spent in France.
- Think in exact days, not 'three months' — several calendar months have 31 days, so counting by month can cause an accidental overstay. Use the EU's official Schengen day calculator to check your specific dates.
- An EU pre-travel authorization scheme (ETIAS) for visa-exempt travelers has been in rollout; requirements and timelines have shifted repeatedly, so check the official France-Visas or EU ETIAS site shortly before travel rather than relying on older articles.
- This visa-free entry does not permit employment or freelance work performed for a French client/business — it's a tourism/business-visit allowance only, which matters for nomads working remotely for foreign clients while physically in Courchevel.
- France still has no visa officially branded 'digital nomad visa' as of 2026 — guides referring to one are describing workarounds using existing visa categories.
- The old trick of using the long-stay Visitor visa to live in France while quietly working remotely for a foreign employer was formally closed off in June 2025; the tax authority now treats work as performed wherever you are physically present.
- If you genuinely plan to freelance/invoice clients while living in France, the Profession Libérale visa is the more legally sound (though more bureaucratic) route, since it requires registering as self-employed with URSSAF and paying into French social security.
- Don't rely on staying under 183 days as a safe harbor from French tax residency — French law can treat you as tax resident based on where your household, main job, or economic center of interest is, even with fewer days physically present.
- As of mid-2026, there was still unresolved legal ambiguity between France's immigration rules and its tax authority's stance on remote work on a Visitor visa, after a French MP raised the conflict in December 2025 — expect this area to keep evolving.
Visa Free Entry
- Zone
- Schengen Area
- Country
- France
- Overstay Consequences
- Fines, entry bans, or removal; can also jeopardize future Schengen visa or entry applications
- Beyond 90 Days Options
- Nomads wanting to stay longer than 90/180 days must apply for a French long-stay visa (e.g., visitor visa) or residence permit before traveling; a Schengen short-stay visa does not grant this
Baseline Rule
- Process
- No advance visa application needed for eligible nationalities for stays under 90 days. Border officers may still ask for proof of onward travel, accommodation, sufficient funds, and travel/health insurance.
- Max Stay
- 90 days within any rolling 180-day period, counted cumulatively across ALL Schengen states combined, not per country
- Who Qualifies
- Nationals of visa-exempt countries (per the EU/France visa-waiver list) do not need a visa for stays under 90/180 days. Citizens of the EU, EEA, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican are exempt from this limit entirely and may stay longer than 90 days.
- Purpose Allowed
- Tourism, business meetings/negotiations, trade fairs, short training courses, family visits — NOT employment, long-term study, or residence
- Description
- Most non-EU/EEA nationals (including US, UK, Canada, Australia, and most other visa-exempt passport holders) can enter France and the wider Schengen Area without a visa for short stays.
Counting Rule
- Mechanism
- Rolling 180-day window — on any given day, authorities look back 180 days and total all days spent in Schengen countries; the total must stay under 90
- Reset Misconception
- Leaving the Schengen Area does NOT reset the counter to zero; it is continuously recalculated on a rolling basis
- Non Schengen EU Exception
- Time spent in Cyprus and Ireland (EU members but not Schengen) does not count toward the 90/180 limit
Official Sources
Passport Requirements
- Validity
- Passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the planned departure date from the Schengen Area, and generally must have been issued within the last 10 years
- Blank Pages
- At least 1-2 blank pages recommended for entry/exit stamps
Digital Nomad Visa And Tax
- Summary
- France has not created a visa officially branded as a digital nomad visa, and immigration/tax rules apply nationally — there is no Courchevel- or Savoie-specific variant. As of mid-2026 the closest legal paths for a remote worker are the Profession Libérale (freelancer) visa, the Long-Stay Visitor Visa (now restricted), and the Passeport Talent for those with a French employer, entity, or capital.
- Visa Ease Tier
- low
- Visa Ease Tier Rationale
- France has no dedicated digital nomad visa, closed its main remote-work loophole (the Visitor visa) in June 2025, requires either French employer/entity sponsorship or a registered freelance activity with URSSAF for genuine work-based long stays, and applies a multi-criteria tax-residency test where any single trigger (not just a day count) can create high French tax and social-contribution exposure.
- Dedicated Digital Nomad Visa Exists
- No
- Baseline Visa Free Stay Context
- Non-EU/EEA visitors can stay in France (and the wider Schengen area) for up to 90 days within any 180-day period without a visa; EU/EEA citizens can stay visa-free indefinitely but must register with local authorities after three months if settling.
Tax Notes
- Income Tax Rates
- Progressive income tax rates for French tax residents go up to 45% on income above roughly €160,000; investment income (dividends, interest) is generally taxed at a flat 30% rate.
- Exit Tax
- An exit tax under Article 167 bis CGI can apply to people who were French tax residents for at least 6 of the last 10 years and hold qualifying financial assets over €800,000 at departure, taxing unrealized gains on those assets.
- Social Contributions
- Social contributions for self-employed individuals typically range between roughly 35% and 45% of net income, on top of income tax.
- Double Taxation Relief
- France has double-taxation treaties with many countries, which can determine final tax residency and prevent the same income being taxed twice when two countries both claim residency.
- No Simple 183 Day Rule
- France does not use a standalone 183-day threshold for tax residency. Under Article 4B of the Code général des impôts, a person is a French tax resident if ANY ONE of several criteria is met: France is their household/main home (foyer), France is their main place of physical presence (often, but not strictly, tied to 183+ days), France is the place of their main professional activity, or France is the center of their economic interests.
- Under 183 Days Is Not Automatic Safety
- Someone can become a French tax resident with fewer than 183 days present if their household, main professional activity, or economic center of interest is in France — meeting just one criterion is sufficient.
Closest Equivalents
Profession Libérale (Self-employed/freelancer Long-stay Visa)
- Who Its For
- Freelancers and self-employed professionals who will invoice clients and actively carry out a professional activity while resident in France.
- Income Requirement
- €1,766
Roughly €1,766/month is the commonly cited benchmark; higher for couples or dependents, and no single officially published floor exists.
- Duration And Renewal
- Issued for roughly one year initially; renewable, with the activity typically able to continue for up to four years before applying for a longer-term card. Renewal is via a residence permit application at the local prefecture before the current permit expires, using the same core documentation as the original application.
- Tax And Social Security
- Once registered (typically as an auto-entrepreneur/micro-entreprise via URSSAF), holders must register as self-employed, declare France-sourced income, and contribute to French social security covering health, pension and family benefits.
Documents Required
- Valid passport (valid 6+ months beyond intended stay)
- Completed long-stay visa application form
- Proof of professional activity viability: freelance contracts, business plan, client invoices
- Proof of income/funds (bank statements, client letters)
- Long-term health insurance valid for the residency period (travel insurance not accepted)
- Proof of accommodation in France
Long-Stay Visitor Visa (VLS-TS Visiteur)
- Who Its For
- Historically used by remote workers living off foreign income without engaging the French labor market — but this route changed materially in 2025.
- Renewal Path
- Renew by applying for a residence permit at the local prefecture at least two months before the initial visa expires, resubmitting proof of foreign income, health insurance and accommodation — but genuine remote work is no longer a compliant basis for this visa category.
- Income Requirement
- €1,400
Approximate monthly figure cited by immigration guides; consulates informally benchmark against the French minimum wage (SMIC), roughly €1,800/month as of 2026.
- Critical 2025 Change
- In June 2025, France's tax authority (DGFiP) told the press that the Visitor permit does not authorize any professional activity, including remote work for a foreign employer, because work is considered performed in France whenever you are physically present on French territory. This closed the long-standing informal loophole nomads used to live in France on this visa while quietly working remotely.
- Legal Ambiguity Note
- A French MP formally raised the conflict between the immigration rules and the tax authority's interpretation in December 2025; no ministerial resolution had been published as of mid-2026.
Passeport Talent
- Who Its For
- Qualified employees, EU Blue Card holders, company directors, business creators, or investors — not a fit for someone with a standard remote employee job and no French entity connection.
- Requirements
- Requires either a French employer/entity (Qualified Employee, EU Blue Card, Company Director categories) or significant capital (Business Creator typically ~€30,000, Investor).
- Duration And Renewal
- Valid for up to four years and renewable; holders are exempt from the newer A2 French-language requirement that applies to most other multi-year residence card renewals from 2026.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this visas research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Courchevel
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.