Visas for Americans - need information on the system?

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Can you get the VLS-TS and maybe look for a job while here ? I don't know if that's allowed or not.

One sounds rather privileged to say they are going to move to France but might have no legal pathway to do so. Americans do not need, and don’t get issued, a tourist visa in any of the Schengen countries like France. They can come for up to 90 days in a 180 day period for visa-free tourism. And there are no real “qualifications” other than being free of a serious criminal record.

But to stay longer, one needs to establish residency on the basis of getting a work or study visa. With TEFL credentials you could likely get a job teaching English which sounds like a good option.

Normally one needs to line up a job before coming to get a work visa. In Germany, where I live, we have a job seeker’s visa where one can come for up to 6 months to look for a job but they need to show good credentials which would suggest a likelihood of getting work.

And like in Germany, some large international companies might have some positions where English can be used, the vast majority of jobs will require a good command of the local language. So both for work opportunities but also quality of life living in a country, learning the language if you haven’t already is virtually a necessity.

Thank you so much for this information - I appreciate very much your help!

C

Yes that's right

Hello.  Yes, good idea to learn French in your case.  However, you seem to have the qualifications necessary to teach English and now is the time to apply for jobs in the teaching sector.  I am retired from TEFL teaching and unfortunately the school I worked with no longer exists.  There are many other schools which will need teachers to start the school year in September, October.  Keep in mind that for interviews, you need to be available as from now and at the beginning of September.  August is a big holiday month in France, especially Paris and places are closed.
For a TEFL teaching job, you won't need French language skills.  So many of my ex-colleagues were not French speakers at the start.  I hope this is helpful ...

Go to the FUSAC.fr site for classified ads especially in English FL teaching.  Fusac stands for France USA contacts ...

What about if I would like to retire in France and do not plan to find employment? What type of Visa could I get?

Hello,
I would suggest you apply for the 1 year tourist visa. Every year you renew this until you get a 5 year one. You continue to work from your home laptop for your American business. You can't work for a company in France, but you can work for a company in the USA. You have just relocated your office.
Good luck !

1 year longterm tourist visa, and then you renew it each year.

GalaxyQuest wrote:

Hello,
I would suggest you apply for the 1 year tourist visa. Every year you renew this until you get a 5 year one. You continue to work from your home laptop for your American business. You can't work for a company in France, but you can work for a company in the USA. You have just relocated your office.
Good luck !

This is absolutely false information. One CANNOT work on a tourist visa and there is no such thing as a year long one. Schengen rules codify that non-Schengen people can come for max. 90 out of 180 days for tourism. A few nationalities including USA, Canada, N. Zealand, Japan and Australia and a couple of others can do so visa-free - but with the same non-work and time restrictions.

Its been a very long time since I lived in France but I am living in Germany and know that this is the rule for all Schengen countries. In some Schengen countries there are year-long visas for special working holidays for young people, volunteer work or for being an au-pair but none of these really fit to the OP's plan.