Why France?

The language

For a quarter of the Canadian population, french is their first language. For the rest of us, living in a bilingual country means that we are exposed to french from an early age in school, on television and radio, and when shopping groceries where all product labelling is in both languages by default. Regardless of what level of french you currently posses, the average Canadian will have a much easier time learning french than European Portuguese.

The economy & cost of living

France has a much better economy than Portugal. That means higher salaries, more career opportunities, better infrastructure, better healthcare and public services, more funding for the arts and many other bonuses. It also means a higher cost of living overall. However, if you compare rents or property prices in Lisbon with smaller cities in France, like Lyon, you will find that France can be a more affordable option than Portugal. No matter your personal financial situation, France is a large, diverse country and probably has an better option for you. Do your research.

The food

Whether you go to culinary school to become a Chef de Cuisine, Sous-chef, Garde-manger, Saucier, Pâtissier, Boulanger, Entremetier, Poissonnier or a versatile Tournant, the first thing you will learn is the basic knife skills. Knife skills are knowing the difference between a julienne, a brunoise and a batonnet, how to paysanne potatoes and make a chiffonade of herbs. You will then go on to the basic cooking methods. You learn how to sauté, blanche, poêle, braise, grille and flambé. In your first weeks you will be introduced to the mother sauces: to start with a roux and consommé build up a velouté, a béchamel, espagnole, hollandaise or mayonnaise and hopefully make a creative gastrique. No matter what the language of instruction is in culinary school, the terms are all French. There is a reason for this. French dominate the culinary arts globally.

The wine

May 24, 1976 marks the date of the “Judgement of Paris”, where British wine merchant Steven Spurrier famously invited 9 French wine judges to a tasting of Bordeaux and Burgundies and added in some under-the-radar Californian Cabernet Sauvignons and Chardonnays. The French judges picked the Californian Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars as the winning red and Chateau Montelena (also from California) as the champion white. The Judgement of Paris marked the moment that non-french wine began to be taken seriously by wine critics and aficionados world wide. That said, Bordeaux are still the gold standard in wine for International wine investors, and french wine culture is unparalleled.

The trains

Although high speed rail was invented in Japan in 1964 with the 210kph Tokyo <-> Osaka Shinkansen, France launched European high speed rail with it’s 1981 opening of the 260kph Paris <-> Lyon Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV), and still holds the world speed record for conventional, non-maglev trains at 574 kph.

France has an incredible network today, connecting all major cities in France to Paris in under 2 hours, except Marseilles in 3 hours. Plus, France is well connected to the rest of Europe by high speed rail, so you can board a train in downtown Paris and be in another country in a matter of a few hours with no passport control, no security checks, and no grungy minuscule airplane seating. Traveling by high speed rail is relaxing, efficient, and most importantly carbon neutral. Some sample international travel times are:

Paris is at the heart of Europe by rail, and this is an extremely enticing proposition compared with Portugal. Lisbon has no train connection to the closest large city, Madrid, not even a slow speed connection: one must drive, fly or take the bus despite it being as close as Montréal is to Toronto. And to get anywhere else in Europe one must queue up at the slow moving disaster zone that is Humberto Delgado airport for those living in Lisbon. Other airports in Portugal are not much better, apparently. The advantage of being able to skip custom checks, (but not security checks) when boarding a plane is offset by how inefficient this airport is, so there is little advantage to living in Portugal over living on the east coast of North America when it comes to European travel. France is the clear winner here.

Faster path to EU citizenship

Due to Portugal’s new Nationality Law (Projeto de Lei n.º 20/XVII/1), France will now be a more attractive destination for the vast majority of Canadians looking to relocate to Europe. In order to get the full rights and privileges afforded by European citizenship, Portugal’s new Law will require you to spend most of your time in Portugal for a period of 10 years instead of 5, and this law applies retroactively. In addition, they are changing the rules so that the clock starts ticking when they issue you your first Temporary Residence Card, not when you arrive, which tacks on up to an additional year. Finally, Portugal can take up to two years, sometimes longer to process your application for residency, so the total time spent in Portugal is quickly approaching 13-14 years, if things go “smoothly”.

Even the Portuguese prefer France

Although the population of Portugal is only 10 million, 1.7 million Portuguese have voted with their feet and chosen France as the best place to make their home, according to the French Government.

How to choose France?

For the potential D7 (retiree) applicant

Portugal’s D7 Visa was the perfect choice for the Canadian who wants to retire in Portugal. The equivalent visa in France is the Visteur Financially Independent Persons (FIP) Visa. It requires you to prove more wealth, and does not allow you to work in France. This visa does not allow you to work remotely for a Canadian company from France.

The FIP Visa requires:

• a passive income of €21,600 per year (compared with Portugal’s €8,460 requirement) or €30,000 – €45,000 in savings
• health insurance (same as Portugal)
• proof of accommodation (same as Portugal)

This visa is initially granted for 1 year, but is infinitely renewable and is a path to citizenship or permanent residency in 5 years.

For the potential D8 (digital nomad) applicant

Portugal’s D8 Visa was the perfect choice for Canadians who want to work remotely in Portugal.

The equivalent visa in France is the “Visa de long séjour, profession libérale” visa.

The Profession Libérale visa requires:

• Proof of remote client contracts (same as Portugal)
• Income equal the the French minimum wage, €1,540 per month (less than Portugal’s €3,280 per month)
• Health insurance (same as Portugal)
• Criminal Record Check (same as Portugal)
• Proof of Accommodation (same as Portugal)

There is also a Visa de long séjour, entrepreneur” version of this visa for self-employed entrepreneurs and freelancers

France has also launched a more attractive visa for remote workers in 2023, the Passeport Talent remote workers option. Passport Talent is equivalent to the other visas in most ways, but requires a stronger resume, slightly more income and/or wealth, and has the added benefit of 4 year renewals instead of annual renewals and a streamlined family reunification process.

France is also much more welcoming of digital nomad freelancers, whereas Portugal wants you to have a remote full-time single employer.

For the Permanent Resident of Portugal

If one is granted a Portuguese Permanent Resident Card, one has the right to move to any other EU member state and be granted Permanent Residency in that state as well, under EU Law (Directive 2003/109/EC). Within 3 months of your arrival in France, one must show

• A Portuguese Permanent Resident Card
• Proof of purpose: Can be anything, a job, enrolment at a school, proof of financial independence)
• Proof of accomodation
• Health Insurance

Risks

Bureaucracy

If you are looking to France as a less bureaucratic alternative to Portugal, look elsewhere. It is a subjective comment, but France has a reputation for being a bureaucratic nightmare and the visa process will be no exception.

Rassemblement National (RN)

The Rassemblement National (RN) is France’s far-right party, equivalent to Chega which is currently making Portugal intolerable for immigrants. RN has a much longer history than Chega, but also a smaller percentage of the vote. The only way that RN has been able to grow it’s vote is by moderating it’s rhetoric and attempting to present itself as a more mainstream party. By toning down it’s overtly eurosceptic and anti-immigrant policies, it has been able to grow it’s share of the vote to 25% according to polls, and represents a clear and present danger to the status quo for new arrivals in France.

Paris Syndrome / Délire de voyage

Paris Syndrome, or more generally “délire de voyage” is a rare but real psychological condition experienced primarily by foreign tourists. Many tourists, especially from Japan who visit Paris and suffer a profound disappointment or cultural shock because the city fails to live up to their romanticized expectations. The Japanese name for this syndrome is パリ症候群 ( Pari shōkōgun ), but can affect anyone who builds up an unrealistic vision of France before arriving. Paris is a big, dirty, noisy, expensive world megapolis, set your expectations accordingly, or choose a different region of France and do your research before rushing into a relocation project.

Notable mentions

• Isolation
• Identity strain
• Language fatigue
• Complex tax system
• High taxes
• Cost of living
• Protest culture and strikes
• Discrimination when renting an apartment

That said, all of these apply equally to Portugal and Europe in general as well.

To learn more

To learn more, visit France’s government website.

https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en