As an Irish citizen you can live and work in France without a visa. Your belongings travel on the direct Rosslare to Cherbourg ferry, with no UK landbridge, arriving in 6 to 10 days. The admin to line up is your numéro fiscal (tax number), then CPAM registration for your Carte Vitale (health cover). One catch worth knowing early: central Paris apartments often need furniture hoisted through the window.

France is a long-standing destination for Irish movers, and the move itself is one of the more straightforward in Europe. You have full EU free movement, your belongings cross no customs border, and there's a direct ferry that keeps the whole trip out of the UK. The friction is on the French side, in the paperwork and, if you're heading for Paris, in the building you're moving into.

This guide covers what to sort before you go, how your belongings get there, the Paris access problem, and what a move costs.

How your belongings get from Ireland to France

For most Ireland to France moves, AMC uses the direct Rosslare to Cherbourg ferry, which crosses straight to Normandy.

You've got two main options, and the right one comes down to how much you're moving.

Groupage (part load) shares the truck with other shipments heading the same way. It's the sensible choice for a studio, a one or two-bedroom, or anyone not moving a full house. Typical timeline: 6 to 10 days from collection.

Dedicated truck is your own load, for three-bedroom houses and up or a fixed move date. Typically 4 to 6 days door to door, and more expensive.

Because France is an EU move, customs is clean. Used household goods you've owned for six months or more come in free of duty and VAT when you're relocating your main residence. You'll need a detailed inventory (we provide the template), proof of your new French address, and proof of your previous Irish residence. New or still-boxed items and vehicles are handled separately.

The Paris access problem: what fits into a Haussmann apartment

This is the one that catches people out, so it's worth being direct about it before you decide what's coming with you.

Central Paris is mostly Haussmann-era buildings, the handsome stone-fronted blocks from the 19th-century rebuild of the city. They look wonderful and they're genuinely awkward to move furniture into. The lifts, where they exist, were usually retrofitted inside the stairwell and are narrow, often too small for a full-length sofa or a tall wardrobe. The staircases spiral, with tight landings. Large pieces frequently can't make it up in one piece.

The standard Parisian solution is window hoisting: a rope and pulley lifts furniture up through the window from the street. The city has a long tradition of it and professional movers are set up for it, but it's a separate cost that needs to be in your quote from the start.

What this means for you is simple. At the survey, tell us your exact delivery address and floor. If it's a central Paris apartment above the second floor with no workable lift, we assess the hoist. Measure your largest pieces, the sofa, bed frame, and wardrobes, against your window opening before the move, because some items genuinely cannot enter the building whole. Lyon, Bordeaux, and Toulouse have more mixed building stock, so the problem is far less systematic outside Paris.

French healthcare: CPAM and the Carte Vitale

France has excellent public healthcare, but you have to register into it, and that takes time, so start early.

The CPAM (Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie) runs the state health system. As an EU citizen establishing residency, you're entitled to register, and you'll need your passport, proof of French address, and a numéro de sécurité sociale, which you apply for through CPAM. Processing commonly takes several weeks. Once you're in, you receive a Carte Vitale, the green smart card you swipe at every appointment and pharmacy to get reimbursed.

France covers around 70% of standard healthcare costs, and most people take out a complémentaire santé, usually called a mutuelle, to cover the rest. Many employers provide this as part of the contract, so check what yours includes before paying for your own.

The admin sequence, and one benefit nobody tells you about

France has paperwork, and doing it in the right order saves weeks. The practical sequence is tax number, then bank account, then health and benefits.

Numéro fiscal. Your French tax ID, applied for at impots.gouv.fr once you arrive. You need it to deal with the tax authority and access certain services. Keep the document it gives you.

French bank account. You need one, because landlords almost universally require a French IBAN for rent. BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale, and La Banque Postale are the main high-street banks; Boursorama and Hello Bank work well while you set up. Most landlords accept a neobank IBAN, but some older ones won't, so confirm before you sign.

The APL housing allowance. This is the one new arrivals miss. CAF (Caisse d'Allocations Familiales) pays a housing benefit called the APL (Aide Personnalisée au Logement) directly toward your rent, and eligibility depends on your income, situation, and the property. Plenty of people who qualify never claim it simply because they don't know it exists. Check at caf.fr once your CPAM registration and bank account are in place.

Your Irish driving licence is an EU licence and valid in France, and once you're resident you can exchange it for a French one at your préfecture with no retest, under the reciprocal agreement.

Bringing your car: the Contrôle Technique and the Crit'Air catch

An EU car doesn't pay import duty moving to France, but it does need re-registering, and there's one modern catch that can undo the whole plan.

The process runs: French insurance first, then a Contrôle Technique inspection (the NCT equivalent, around €70 to €100), then a certificat d'immatriculation applied for online at the ANTS website using your inspection certificate, insurance, Irish V5, and proof of residency, then a regional tax of roughly €50 to €150. You can drive on Irish plates for about a month after becoming resident, no longer.

The catch is the Crit'Air sticker. Paris, Lyon, Grenoble, and a growing list of cities run low-emission zones (ZFE, Zone à Faibles Émissions) covering the centre, and you need a Crit'Air vignette (around €3.84 from certificat-air.gouv.fr) to drive in them. Most modern cars qualify, but older or high-emission diesels can be restricted from the zone entirely. Some people in Paris find they can't drive into their own neighbourhood without a fine. If you're bringing an older diesel, check whether it qualifies for a sticker that reaches where you're moving before you commit to shipping it. For older or lower-value cars, selling in Ireland and buying on arrival is often cleaner.

Where are Irish people moving in France?

Paris is the most common destination, but it's far from the only sensible one.

Paris is the economic and professional capital, with frequent cheap flights to Dublin and a large international community where English is workable in most professional settings. Housing is the hard part: a one-bedroom in the 10th or 11th runs €1,200 to €1,600 a month, the market moves fast, and you should plan for four to six weeks of temporary accommodation while you search.

Lyon is France's strong second city, with pharma, biotech, and finance, rents roughly 40% below Paris, and fast TGV links in every direction. Irish people who've lived in both often rate Lyon higher for quality of life.

Bordeaux became a Paris satellite once the two-hour TGV arrived: wine country, Atlantic access, good weather, and a growing expat community, with rents still well below the capital. Strong for remote workers.

Nice and the Côte d'Azur suit people prioritising climate and coast over local career, with a large expat community and direct Dublin flights. It's expensive, and the local salary market doesn't keep pace with the cost, so it works best on an Irish salary or a pension.

Toulouse is the aerospace capital, built around Airbus, with a big student population keeping rents reasonable. Worth knowing if you're in engineering or aerospace. Beyond the cities, Normandy, Brittany, the Dordogne, and the Lot draw people after rural French life, which works best if you're remote-working or retired.

What does it cost to move from Ireland to France?

Cost is driven mainly by volume. These are realistic ranges (subject to change based on various factors) for the direct Rosslare-Cherbourg route, collection in Dublin, delivery to Paris:

Move Size: Studio/room of belongings
Groupage estimate: €700 – €1,200
Dedicated truck estimate: Not applicable

Move Size: 1 bedroom apartment
Groupage estimate: €1,100 – €2,000
Dedicated truck estimate: €3,000 – €4,500

Move Size: 2 bedroom apartment
Groupage estimate: €1,900 – €3,200
Dedicated truck estimate: €4,000 – €5,800

Move Size: 3+ bedroom house
Groupage estimate: Quote required
Dedicated truck estimate: Quote required

Packing, vehicle transport, window hoisting for Paris apartments, and specialist items are quoted separately. The only way to get a fixed figure rather than a range is a pre-move survey, in-home across Leinster or by video call anywhere. If your address is in central Paris or another city with a low-emission zone affecting truck access, flag it at the survey.

FAQs

Do Irish citizens need a visa to move to France?
‍No. Ireland and France are both in the EU, so you have full freedom of movement and can live and work in France without a visa. If you stay longer than three months you have the right to register your residency, which helps when proving you're resident for a lease or bank account.

Do you use the UK landbridge to get to France?
‍No. We use the direct Rosslare to Cherbourg ferry, which crosses straight to mainland France. No UK leg, no second crossing, and none of the post-Brexit paperwork a route through Britain would bring.

How long does a move from Ireland to France take?
‍Groupage (a shared load) takes 6 to 10 days from collection. A dedicated truck is typically 4 to 6 days door to door.

Can you deliver inside central Paris?
‍Yes, with planning. Central Paris delivery works around parking, low-emission zones, and building access. If you're moving into a Haussmann building above the second floor with no suitable lift, tell us at the survey so we can assess window hoisting and price it in.

How does French healthcare work for Irish movers?
‍You register with CPAM as a resident and receive a Carte Vitale, which you swipe at appointments and pharmacies. The state covers about 70% of standard costs, and most people add a mutuelle (supplementary insurance) for the rest, often through their employer. Registration can take several weeks, so start early.

Can I bring my car?
‍Yes, with re-registration: French insurance, a Contrôle Technique inspection, and a certificat d'immatriculation via the ANTS site. The catch is the Crit'Air low-emission sticker. Older diesels can be barred from city-centre zones entirely, so check before shipping an older car. We quote vehicle transport separately.

What if my French address isn't ready when my belongings arrive?
‍Common, and not a problem. We have storage in Ireland and hold your shipment until you have a confirmed address. Tell us at booking rather than a few days before.

Get started

AMC has been moving Irish families to France for over 25 years, on the direct Rosslare-Cherbourg ferry with full door-to-door delivery across the country, Paris hoisting included where it's needed. FIDI-accredited and FAIM-certified, the highest independent standards in international moving, held by fewer than 600 companies worldwide.

The first step is a free pre-move survey, in-home or by video call. It takes 30 to 60 minutes and gives you a fixed quote based on your actual volume and access, not an estimate. If you're heading for central Paris, have your address and floor ready so we can plan the building access.

Get a free pre-move survey here.

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