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Bonjour et bienvenue ! Are you planning to move to France from Australia? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Our guide will make your removal to France as stress-free as possible since we’ve covered the essentials of what you need to know in regard to moving costs, visas, and an essential checklist, and you can even request free removal quotes. We’ll have you moving with a smile. So, read on to start your move to France as an Australian citizen on the best foot!
Ça fait combien ? Excellent question and excellent French, by the way. It’s really important to know how much shipping from Australia to France will cost Australia. However, it can be difficult to calculate if you don’t know much about international moving costs. Fortunately for you, we’re experts in this matter and we’ve put together some estimates.
In estimating the costs, we considered the distance, cost of container shipping volume, and more factors which we’ll explain in a bit, so keep reading. For now, let’s take a gander at some estimates for the cost of moving to France from Australia based on house size:
| Household Size | Time | Cost |
| 1 bed | 9 – 12 weeks | $4,500 – $6,500 |
| 2 bed | 6 – 9 weeks | $6,500 – $9,500 |
| 3 bed | 6 – 9 weeks | $9,000 – $14,700 |
| 4 bed | 6 – 9 weeks | $12,600 – $18,500 |
| 5 bed | 6 – 9 weeks | $18,000 – $25,000 |
Disclaimer. The figures above are merely estimates and the actual cost quoted may differ based on several factors.
Those figures can be a shock to the system, 6-9 weeks to ship your belongings from Australia to France! Oh, also the price of course, but that’s not set in stone. If you’re wondering if you can influence the cost, you definitely can. Just consider the following factors when planning your move:
Are you searching for removalists to France? You’re in the right place. Take a look at the 3 best international removal companies from Australia to France:
Those are just some of the factors that will affect the cost of your move to France from Australia. Of course, the one that will have the greatest effect is your choice of removalist. Fill out the form below to get some free removal quotes to start comparing removalists now!
If you happen to hold a European passport or be an EU or EEA citizen, great news you don’t need a visa!
Presuming that you’re just an Australian moving to France, you’ll need to apply for a visa, fun, said no one ever. Fortunately, it’s not too hard and most of the application process can be completed online. Of course, when applying you need to know which visa to apply for.
Some useful things to have when applying for a visa are:
Additionally, your documents will need to be accompanied by a certified French translation.
Remember, you can’t apply for your visa when in France, unless it’s a renewal, so you’ll need to apply from Australia, or the country you’re currently legally residing in.
Believe it or not, moving is not stress-free, but you can reduce the stress by being organised. And as experts, we’re in the perfect position to help. Hence, we’ve put together an essential checklist for moving to France from Australia to help you get organised and reduce stress!
There are a lot of intricacies involved in moving to France from Australia. So, why not use one of the top 8 international removalists to help make your move as smooth as possible.
Obviously, you can’t move easily if you haven’t packed. And if you want to pack well, we recommend reading our expert packing guide. It’ll be a time saver!
You’ll need to be able to prove who you are and the qualifications that you hold. Therefore, you’ll want to have the following documents at the ready:
Sirelo tip: It’d be wise to keep these in a safe and accessible place, and you should consider having duplicates, just in case.
Did you know that depending on your intention as to whether you intend to settle abroad permanently or live temporarily will affect your tax situation? That’s why we strongly recommend that you investigate the effect your move to France as an Australian citizen will have on your tax residency since you may also need to file a tax return sooner as a result.
Another thing that you might be interested to know about is your superannuation. It will remain subject to the same rules. This means that you will not be able to access it until retirement or another condition of release is fulfilled.
Before moving to France from Australia, it’s important to apprendre le français in advance. It will help with assimilation and being able to enjoy your time. You can visit the French embassy’s website in Australia to find a French network near you that offers lessons.
Moving to France and don’t want to leave your beloved pets behind? Don’t worry, you don’t have to! If you are moving to France with a dog or cat, all you’ll need is for your pet to have:
See, it’s not too hard, your pet can definitely come with you! If your pet is not a cat or a dog, there’s a strong chance that it can still move with you. Just visit the French government’s Douane (Customs) page to find out about your pet.
This is equivalent to the TFN. You’ll need it for tax and being able to access the healthcare system. So, how do you get it? Well, you don’t, your employer will apply on your behalf. Thus, this isn’t something that you really need to worry about. Of course, there are situations where you may not have an employer. In that case, click here for more information on the subject.
You’ll need to apply for a carte de séjour within 3 months of your arrival. This can be done by visiting la mairie (your local town hall) and it’s free to do!
French healthcare is partly subsidised by the state. This means that you won’t have to foot the whole bill for your healthcare, but you will have to pay towards it. Getting insurance would be a wise choice to help with out-of-pocket expenses and to cover you in the time between you arrive and being covered by state healthcare.
When moving to a country in a different time zone and with a different currency, you’ll find it hard to access the services of your bank abroad and that conversion fees are a real drain on your funds. After moving to France, be sure to open a local bank account. Here are some of the big banks in France:
Alors, this is where the checklist ends. These are some of the most important things you’ll need to prepare before moving to France from Australia. Of course, you can check out our moving overseas checklist for an additional checklist. Who doesn’t like to cross things off a checklist?
Liberté. Égalité. Fraternité. These are the principles of the Fifth Republic and are pervasive throughout French culture and life if you can speak French! We really can’t stress how important these values are, they’re as important as cheese, croissants, and wine in France. So, be sure to embrace them!
Before you move to France as an Australian citizen, it’s a good idea to understand some of the differences in the cost of living between the two countries. We’ve put together some of the metrics we find most important such as cheese, wine, and coffee. It’s hard to live without them! So, start saving now for some of those great, local French cheeses.
| French average | Australian average | |
| 3 bed city centre | 4,600 A$ | 4,900 A$ |
| Basic utilities | 280 A$ | 175 A$ |
| Mid-range Bottle of Wine | 12 A$ | 16 A$ |
| Local cheese | 26 A$ | 11 A$ |
| Cappuccino | 6 A$ | 4 A$ |
Did you know? The oldest living person was from France, and she lived to be 122 years old. She was known for enjoying a daily glass of port and 1 kg of chocolate weekly, so drink up, eat up, et bonne santé!
If you like the sound of a 35-hour workweek and 2-hour lunch breaks, sadly only one of those is true. You’ll likely find that you’ll be at work for more than 35-hours. Some good news though, you have the right to disconnect and can’t be contacted in the evening after work.
Of course, you’ll never experience this if you don’t get a job. Furthermore, without a job, it’ll be hard to move to France. You can find some useful links to start your job search below:
Sirelo tip: French is the language of France. You might find it hard to work there as there are not as many jobs for solely English speakers, so we really recommend that you learn the language.
Eh bien, c’est le fin. You’ve made it to the end and you’re now ready to take on the challenge of moving to France. We’re confident that you’ll be moving like an expert with minimal stress.
Of course, we always like to recommend that you continue reading the articles we’ve written. You’ll definitely find plenty more useful tips and information, so you really should read more. Go on, click on of the articles below to start. 😊
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