In summary…
Your departure abroad is proven by the documents that twelve organizations have given you or received from you. Notify them in the correct order, request a document from each (certificate, acknowledgment of receipt, dated statement), and file everything in a single folder that you can produce years later.
Our position: the departure file serves two purposes. It organizes life on site, and it answers the question that the administration may ask later: where was your tax residence?
«"I've notified the tax authorities, my bank and Social Security. What's left?" This is the question from a family in Lyon three months before their departure, and the correct answer lies in a table: twelve organizations, one action per organization, one document to keep for each.
1. Why evidence matters as much as the process
France considers you a tax resident as soon as one of three criteria is met: your home (or, failing that, your main residence), your main professional activity, or the center of your economic interests. To leave French tax residency, none of the three criteria must still exist. Each organization listed below documents one of these criteria: the family allowance office and the consulate refer to your home; your employer, France Travail (the French employment agency), and pension funds refer to your professional activity; and your bank, insurer, and notary refer to your economic interests. See our article on the three criteria of Article 4 B.
2. The twelve organizations, the action to be taken, and the evidence to be kept
| Body | What to do | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tax Administration | Communicate the new address from your personal space; file the declaration for the year of departure, then the one that covers from January 1st to the date of departure, with the 2042-NR if you have French income after departure. See the instruction manual | Acknowledgement of change of address, tax notice, filed tax returns |
| 2. Bank | Respond to the tax residency request; decide which accounts to keep or close. See the tax residency requested by the bank | Address confirmation letter, statements taken around the departure date |
| 3. Securities account and PEA holder | Inform the institution and check the status of the plan. See the PEA at the start | Statement of account dated the day of departure: titles, quantities, purchase price |
| 4. Insurers (life, home, auto) | Notify insurers of the change of residence; adjust the coverage for the home and vehicle remaining in France (a change of address that alters the covered risk may give rise to the right to cancel by registered letter, within a limited timeframe); have the beneficiary clause of the life insurance policy reviewed. | Amendment or letter of acceptance, statement of contract as of the date of departure |
| 5. Health insurance, then the French Overseas Social Security Fund if you are a member. | Report your departure; arrange local health insurance. According to Service-Public, outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, you are no longer covered by the French social security system; posted workers remain covered by the French system. See the membership conditions | Certificate of termination of entitlement, confirmation of membership |
| 6. Mutual Insurance | Request cancellation, or continuation depending on your situation. See portability | Certificate of deregistration or retention |
| 7. Pension funds | Review your acquired rights with the online Info Retraite course dedicated to expatriation; provide your address. View pension payments made abroad | Up-to-date career record, change of address letter |
| 8. Employer | To establish in writing the status: secondment or expatriation, and the end date of the French contract. See form A1 | Amendment or letter of assignment, local contract, A1 form in case of secondment |
| 9. France Work | If you are registered: declare your departure before leaving. Eligibility for compensation depends on your country of residence, and benefits subject to a residency requirement in France are only paid into a French bank account or within the Single Euro Payments Area. | Letter of cancellation or termination of rights |
| 10. Family Allowance Fund | Reporting a change in circumstances: benefits are subject to a residency requirement, which differs depending on the benefit (family allowances require habitual residence in France or a stay of more than nine months per year). | Acknowledgement of receipt of the declaration |
| 11. Notary | Reviewing wills, advance directives, matrimonial property regimes, and the law applicable to inheritance | Dated and signed copies of the documents |
| 12. Consulat | Register with the French citizens living abroad registry (not mandatory, but highly recommended); each adult has their own account | Registration certificate and consular card |
Specifically. Request written confirmation on the same day as the call: a phone conversation proves nothing three years later. A saved email address, a read receipt in a personal space, and a dated letter are sufficient, provided they are stored in a single digital folder, organized by organization.
3. In what order should we act?
Before departure, during the month of departure, the following year
Before departure Notary, employer, insurers, health insurance fund, mutual insurance company, and France Travail if you are registered. These organizations operate on their own timelines, and their certificates determine the next steps. Within the month of departure : bank, taxes, benefits office and consular registration on site. The following year The income tax return for the year of departure covers income from January 1st to the departure date, and form 2042-NR is added if you receive French income after leaving. From the second year following your departure, you are a non-resident and are taxed in France only on income from French sources, or that which the tax treaty allocates to France.
For any departure, inform the tax authorities of your new address and departure date. If you are subject to exit tax, Article 167 bis of the French General Tax Code (CGI) also requires you to inform the non-resident tax office of each new change of tax residence within the timeframe stipulated by law. See Our article on declaring your address to the tax authorities for non-resident individuals.
For the technician. Article 4 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI): alternative criteria for tax residence. Article 167 bis of the CGI (exit tax): obligation to inform the tax authorities of each new change of tax residence, for the taxpayers concerned. Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 of 4 July 2012 on international successions: the law applicable to the entire estate is in principle that of the State of the deceased's last habitual residence (Article 21); each person may instead choose the law of the State of which they are a national, by means of a testamentary disposition (Article 22), hence the importance of consulting a notary before leaving. Law No. 2026-534 of June 25, 2026: allowances subject to a condition of residence in France are paid only into an account domiciled in France or in the single euro payment area, provision examined by the Constitutional Council in its decision No. 2026-904 DC (article 59 of the law, article L. 5421-5 of the labor code).
4. How long should the parts be kept?
The French government's public service website (Service-Public) provides retention periods for common documents: tax notices and income tax returns should be discarded at the beginning of the fourth year following the tax year (a 2026 return for 2025 income should be discarded from January 1, 2029); payslips should be kept until you have claimed your pension from all pension funds; marriage contracts and property deeds should be kept indefinitely. Your departure file is not considered a common document: keep it as long as the authorities can still ask you to prove your residence, and scan it with a filing date.
Frequently asked questions
Which date should be used as the departure date?
The date on which none of the three criteria for tax residency is met: home, main professional activity, and center of economic interests. Only one criterion is sufficient to maintain residency in France, hence the importance of documenting all three.
Do I need to register with the register of French citizens living abroad?
Registration is not mandatory, but it is strongly recommended, according to Service-Public. It is done online, with each adult having their own account, and provides a registration certificate and a consular card, useful as documents for the departure file.
How long should I keep my tax notices?
Until the beginning of the fourth year following the tax year, according to Service-Public. For example, the 2026 tax return for 2025 income can be discarded from January 1, 2029. The original file must be kept for a longer period.
Are you leaving in the coming months?
The first interview reviews the list of twelve organizations with your situation, sets the order of steps and prepares the file to prove your residence.
Are you a notary, chartered accountant, lawyer, or fellow consultant? And your clients are going abroad? We work in partnership on the asset inventory and departure file: the client remains yours, we provide you with a file classified by organization.
Book an appointment
The initial consultation is to establish your exact situation and determine if there is anything that can be done—sometimes there is nothing, and we will say so as well. Thirty minutes, with no obligation.
Book an exchange with Balmont Conseil
Alexis Sagnier, financial and real estate investment advisor, insurance broker, AMF certified. ORIAS 13003497. Updated on 23/10/2026.
Official sources consulted
- Economie.gouv.fr — Taxes: what are the rules for residents abroad?
- Service-Public.fr — Income tax for a French citizen who goes to live or work abroad
- Service-Public.fr — How long should you keep your everyday documents?
- Service-Public.fr — Register of French citizens living abroad, consular registration
- Service-Public.fr — Information Path for Retirement and Expatriation
- Legifrance — General Tax Code, article 167 bis (exit tax)
- Economie.gouv.fr — Social and tax fraud: a law to better detect and combat it
- Constitutional Council — Decision No. 2026-904 DC
- Service-Public.fr — Leaving the country: social security
- Service-Public.fr — Family allowances: residency requirements
- Service-Public.fr — Registration on the register of French citizens living abroad
- EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 of 4 July 2012 (successions)
