Returning to France from Vietnam: year of return, exit tax and expatriate status

The year of your return is divided into two parts: until your arrival date, you are treated as a non-resident, then as a resident, with all your income, both French and foreign. Your accounts held in Vietnam must be declared using form 3916. If an exit tax is pending, your return, according to the official notice, constitutes a tax relief or refund, provided you still hold the securities. This page does not cover exit formalities from Vietnam, nor Vietnamese taxation, for which we were unable to consult any official sources.

The day of arrival separates two periods

The government website on returning from expatriation, published on June 25, 2026, requires you to update your address in the Public Finances section. If you had no income from French sources during your time abroad, you must file form 2043 with supporting documents with the tax office of your new residence.

In the spring of the following year, the declaration depends on your situation before your return:

The balance of the notice is collected in one payment if it is less than €300, otherwise in four monthly installments from September to December of the year following the return.

Resident of France, resident of Vietnam: the pivotal year

On the French side, Article 4 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI) considers you a resident if your home or principal residence, your main professional activity, or the center of your economic interests is in France. One criterion is sufficient. More than six months of presence is not an absolute criterion (BOI-IR-CHAMP-10). If Vietnam still considers you a resident, the convention of February 10, 1993, differentiates between the following: permanent home, center of vital interests, habitual residence, nationality, and agreement of the authorities (Article 4 § 2). We were unable to access the Vietnamese residency regulations.

Tax clearance and exit formalities

The information sheet on service-public.gouv.fr (verified on June 17, 2026) indicates that a tax clearance certificate may be requested before departure by the authorities of the country being left. This is obtained from the tax authorities of the country of residence. We do not know if the Vietnamese authorities require or issue it: this point must be verified locally. The same information sheet advises declaring any money transfer of at least €10,000 online to customs, informing organizations in the country being left, and terminating local contracts. Registration with France Travail requires a French address.

Your accounts in Vietnam: form 3916

Bank accounts, life insurance or capitalization contracts, and digital asset accounts opened, held, used, or closed abroad during the year must be declared using form 3916 or 3916-bis, attached to the income tax return. Failure to declare is punishable by a fine of €1,500 per undeclared account. The tax authorities' website states that this fine is increased to €10,000 if the account is located in a country that has not signed a tax treaty with France; their wording differs, and they do not specify which country Vietnam falls under. This point needs to be verified. Undeclared income may also be presumed taxable, with a surcharge of 40%.

The exit tax upon return

If you left France with an exit tax liability that was suspended, the 2074-ETD form includes "re-establishing your tax residence in France" among the events that qualify for a tax reduction or refund of the tax on receivables and capital gains, provided you still hold the securities on the date of your return. If you do not return, the tax is reduced after two years if the total value is less than €2.57 million, and after five years if it exceeds that amount. According to the form, the declaration must be filed the year following the year in which the event occurs, using form 2074-ETS3 and forms 2042 and 2042 C. Annual monitoring is done using form 2074-ETS3 or 2074-ETSL.

Expatriate status: five calendar years outside of France

The regime under Article 155 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI) applies to individuals who were not tax residents of France for the five calendar years preceding their appointment and who transfer their tax residence to France. It runs until December 31st of the eighth calendar year following their appointment. The tax authority's website (updated April 8, 2026) mentions the exemption of the expatriation bonus, or, by option, a bonus assessed at 30% (the website uses several terms for the basis of this percentage, notably "net taxable remuneration": this needs to be verified), the exemption of 50% of certain foreign-source income under certain conditions, and a French wealth tax (IFI) limited to assets located in France for up to five years after relocation. It excludes individuals who move to France of their own volition. Further details can be found in our pages on expatriates.

Your Vietnamese income after returning

If you are a resident of France as defined by the convention, here is what the text stipulates:

• Private guesthouses. They are taxable only in the state of residence of the beneficiary (article 17), i.e. France if you are a resident there.
• Buildings in Vietnam. Income and gains remain taxable in Vietnam (Articles 6 and 12 § 1). France then grants a tax credit (Article 22 § 1).
• Other gains. Gains on all other assets are taxable only in the State of residence of the transferor (Article 12 § 5).
• Dividends from a Vietnamese company. Vietnamese tax is capped at 7, 10, or 15 % according to the text, and at 5 or 10 % according to the tax authorities' commentary. For dividends, the French tax credit is equal to the tax paid in Vietnam, up to the limit of the corresponding French tax (Article 22).

The administrative list of conventions does not include any inheritance or gift conventions in Vietnam. This page does not explain how inheritances involving assets remaining in Vietnam are settled.

Health insurance upon return

For returning from a country outside the European Economic Area, the European Union, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, the service-public.gouv.fr information sheet (verified on October 2, 2025) assumes the case of someone who ceased to be covered by French social security during their time abroad, unless they have taken out voluntary insurance. If you are employed, coverage is acquired from the first hour worked; the sheet requires you to submit the completed S1106 form, along with supporting documents, to your local CPAM (Health Insurance Fund) as soon as you have your employment contract. If you do not immediately find work, it indicates that a residency period of "3 consecutive months" in France must be observed to obtain health coverage. For retirees, it states that this depends on the existence of a social security agreement between your country of origin and France, which we were unable to find for Vietnam.

Return on May 12, 2028: numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. A fictional executive left France in 2021. He returns on May 12, 2028, to take up a position on June 1, 2028, at a French company. He has four accounts or contracts open in Vietnam.

Issue. He wants to know the years to check for the expatriate regime, the end date of the regime, the basic penalty in case of forgetting 3916 and the portion of 2028 relating to each period.

Strategy. It lists the five calendar years preceding 2028, adds eight calendar years to 2028, and counts the days in each period.

Result. The years to be examined are 2023 to 2027: none of them should have a tax residence in France. The scheme runs until December 31, 2036, if the other conditions are met, which are not examined here. Without form 3916, the basic penalty would be 4 × €1,500 = €6,000, the base amount indicated by the tax authorities; the increase to €10,000 mentioned above is not ruled out for Vietnam. In 2028, a leap year, 132 days precede his arrival and 234 days run from May 12 to December 31. This profile is fictitious.

What changes depending on your situation

• Your arrival date and your connections in France before your return.
• Your French-source income before your return, which determines the filing of form 2042-NR.
• A list of your accounts and contracts abroad.
• The existence of a deferred exit tax and the holding of securities upon return.
• Your professional situation upon arrival, for the expatriate scheme and health insurance.
• Your assets remaining in Vietnam: buildings, securities, accounts.

The rule depends on your situation. No results are guaranteed.