Anyone on France Self-Employment Visa w US clients?

Posted by Prestigious_Crow4376@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 29 comments

TL:DR: for those who are under the self-employment visa, is it possible to obtain/keep your visa if your clients aren’t in the country?

Also, any additional advice or resources you find worth sharing on the subject matter?

—— For context, I’m US/Brazilian citizen currently living in California, with a lifelong itch to move to Europe.

I’m also a high earner in the entertainment industry with a 6-figure student debt on my shoulders. That said, taking any European job would mean slashing my income by more than 1/4. I’m already aware of FEIE, but considering the monster of a debt I have, I can’t rely on IDR and $0 monthly payments.

Goal has always been Scotland or France, and after looking into avenues to make my way to either, I found the best initial route there to be the profession liberale visa, which would be a great happy medium if I freelance for US companies while living in France. At least until I’m debt free.

I haven’t found that many answers for my particular questions. Worth noting that my French is quite basic, and I do plan to learn as much as I can till I make the move, but it won’t be enough for me to freelance there in my specific line of work which demands fluency in the language I’m working in. I am confident that spending time with boots on the ground would improve my French in a speedy manner, so later on I can potentially take on local work as well.

I might be dreaming high by thinking I can pull this off, so please feel free to bring me down to earth if you think I am. :)

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Ok_Magician_3884@reddit

So if one's clients are not french, shouldn't he apply for visitor visa. I have came across a woman on Fb group tried to apply PL visa and the embassy told her if her clients are not french, she should apply visitor visa and work remotely?

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PrettyinPerpignan@reddit

Also join the France Legal Immigration group on Facebook it’s run by an attorney and you’ll get good info there. Also Applying for a French CDS group also good info. Someone posted an example of their approved dossier For PL. Also I know some people from the Stephen Heiner group that does get approved with a letter stating they’re working remote. However not sure how that would work in the long run and it would prevent you from taking on French clients should the opportunity arise

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Ok_Magician_3884@reddit

I have joined these groups on fb and read a lot of information. However it seems the results are contradictory. There are many grey area. I don't know if I should consulate an attorney, I wonder if I ask 5 of them, they would give me different answers.

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PrettyinPerpignan@reddit

No it’s really straight forward and if you ask in France legal immigration specifically this group you will get one answer. Again I don’t know the logistics of your friend that was denied but you do not need to have french clients and I have a few friends who have an approved Profession Liberale and don’t have any french clients.

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Ok_Magician_3884@reddit

I have posted my questions in 2 different groups and I got 2 different answers...Oh ok, do you guys hire any attorney for the application or you do it by yourself? Sorry for many questions!

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PrettyinPerpignan@reddit

No both did their apps on their on. One is a virtual assistant and the other is a marketing consultant. they did get letters from French people saying that they would consider them as potential clients though

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PrettyinPerpignan@reddit

Here’s the link to a post where someone was applied and was accepted. There’s definitely a discussion in the group about just getting a VLS-TS and working remote but again may be short term solution https://www.facebook.com/groups/legalfia/permalink/5503131963103064/?mibextid=W9rl1R

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PrettyinPerpignan@reddit

If you’re already in the group here is the guide for applying for a PL https://www.facebook.com/groups/legalfia/permalink/4956966467719619/?mibextid=W9rl1R

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PrettyinPerpignan@reddit

I’d need to know the circumstances but no. they do not need to be French. You can apply for a PL with no clients initially do not sure what she did or what was included in her dossier.

sharrison17@reddit

American applying first this visa in a few months. You don't need to have French clients or even EU clients. In fact, you dont even need to have clients, yet if you're starting a new business, you just need to demonstrate a comprehensive business plan that demonstrates you can and will get clients. Although you should plan to at least have some, eventually. The most important thing is that you are capable of sustaining an actual business and are fully self-employed and not just relying on one major client, which would means you don't really qualify for the visa.

yewberries@reddit

Did you end up submitting a visa application? How was the process? Based on my understanding, I thought it was mandatory to elaborate on how the business would integrate into the France market / eventually secure French clients

I actually put it on hold. France has a lot of problems right now and the EU is in serious trouble.

dk_2027@reddit

Still on hold or.. France

DardamusPrime@reddit

Please elaborate on the problems.

binary_hyperplane@reddit

Far right taking over a couple of places, war risk increased and if that happens, EU could face it alone / non-US backup, unstable cost of living due to tariffs, high rents, declining fertility (worldwide, though).

I’d not consider those serious tbh. War has always been a concern, far right is a cyclical change, tariffs are off once Trump is out or maybe before if TACO policies keep happening and declining fertility / birth rate is a problem worldwide.

Watch the news. You should be informed about a country BEFORE you move there.

Prestigious_Crow4376@reddit (OP)

Incredible! Where were you able to find more information? Would love to hear more about the process you’re going through!

I’m also curious about how heavy the taxes are on self-employed folks?

dustybottomsss@reddit

Does france audit liberal visa holders businesses

Sweaty-Trash6496@reddit

I went down the same road with a Profession Libérale visa and exclusively US clients - so yes, it’s totally doable as long as you can prove stable revenue and stay above the minimum income threshold set by OFII. They don’t force you to have French or EU customers; they just want to see that your activity is viable (via business plan, SIRET registration, URSSAF contributions, etc.).

For record-keeping and invoicing I was choosing between Bonsai, FreshBooks and more recently Maginvoice - each lets you bill US clients in dollars, auto-fill all the French legal mentions (SIRET, “TVA non applicable, art. 259 B CGI”), and export clean reports for your visa renewal.

As for resources, the ANEF portal has all the official checklists, URSSAF’s “auto-entrepreneur” guides are surprisingly clear, and the Expat.com forums and SciencePo visa wiki were lifesavers for real-world tips. Good luck!

Purple_Degree_967@reddit

Thank you for the specifics!

Sweaty or others - assuming you get the Profession Liberale and get settled in France and start running your business, are there audits to prove you are viable or contributing to the economy, or contributing to the culture, etc.? If so, how much revenue is required?

SomeKindOfWondeful@reddit

LOL... I'm literally investigating the same thing.

Based on my many hours of research it appears that you don't need in-country clients (I won't have any). I can't say for sure because their visa site has been down all day...

I was thinking of reaching out to a French immigration attorney at this point.

ThrowAway7368264@reddit

Did you ever reach out to the French immigration attorney? Any update? I am self employed with all US clients and looking to move to France.

You don’t need clients in the country just a dossier of how you plan to earn money. I have a friend of mine who applied for profession liberale approved and she has been a virtual assistant with a few clients for over a year. Googel Stephen Heiner and profession liberale his blog should come up and he explains a few ways of working in France with foreign clients

How about the second year? If you don't have any french clients when you extend your 2nd-4th year liberal visa, will they question you?

You don't need French clients just need to make over the SMIC (France Minimum wage) which is roughly $1539 per month. My friend has 5 clients 1 of them is French but only because she wanted to teach English also.

No I didn't. I'm actually talking to a UK attorney about their visa options for people in digital tech. Both my boys have decided on the UK in terms in university, so that might be where we end up. Not 100% sure yet

Oh hey there fellow future expat!

Thanks for sharing! Hopefully the answers on this post will deem helpful to you as well.

I saw that UK one, sadly I’ve graduated a decade ago, from what I read you must have graduated within 5 years. :( but congrats to your gal!

theatregiraffe@reddit

If you use the visa wizard from France Visafor the “liberal or independent profession” clause, it specifically states that you need “If the activity is not subject to a specific authorization : Signed document specifying your professional project in France and any document justifying your professional capacity (diplomas, qualifications, professional experience, etc.). From my reading, that means you need to have a reason to work in France. It’s not a digital nomad visa.

The UK doesn’t have a freelance visa, you have to be hired by a UK sponsor or already have the right to work in the UK.