Moving abroad

“Alexis, I’m leaving in three months. Do I need to close my Livret A savings account?”

This question, put to me by a senior executive client about to leave for Dubai, is the tree that hides the forest. Behind the banking anecdote lies a far more brutal reality: crossing the border turns your assets into fiscal targets or into legally obsolete wrappers.

Moving abroad is not a simple relocation; it is a break in tax residence that demands a multidimensional analysis. At Balmont Conseil, we don’t merely tell you what to do with your savings; we carry out a genuine departure tax audit to turn your mobility into a lever for financial performance.

As an Augmented Wealth Engineer, my mission is to put your assets through a wealth stress test before expatriation: how will your property, your contracts and your matrimonial regime react to the friction of international tax treaties?

Personalised analysis

The tax checklist before moving abroad: the 4 pillars of anticipation

Leaving without a prior wealth review means sailing blind into a regulatory storm. Anticipating your departure is your only protection against unforeseen taxation risks.

The departure tax audit: fixing residence (Art. 4B CGI)

The first step in our specialist support is to secure your status as a non-resident for tax purposes. The French tax authorities use a “body of evidence” to determine whether you remain, despite yourself, caught in their net. Under Article 4B of the CGI (French General Tax Code), you are a French tax resident if your household (spouse/children) remains in France, or if your centre of economic interests stays there. A single error of interpretation here, and your entire worldwide income is taxed in France.

The Exit Tax: anticipating the entrepreneur’s toll

If you hold significant shareholdings (> €800,000 or > 50% of a company), the exit tax is a burning issue. Through a tailored exit tax strategy, we help you obtain a deferral of payment. This often calls for heightened fiscal vigilance, particularly for departures outside the EU where bank guarantees must be put in place.

The Tax and Social Review: tomorrow’s protection

Beyond tax, the fiscal impact of expatriation affects your social protection as an expatriate. Should you contribute to the CFE (French Overseas Health Fund)? How can you maintain your pension rights by buying back quarters? We factor these parameters into your supplementary income strategy.

AI-augmented advisory firm in France

Tax optimisation on a change of residence: reorganising your investments

Expatriation renders certain “classic” solutions obsolete. Your wealth management must become modular and portable.

Luxembourg Life Assurance: the ultimate weapon

For wealthy expatriate profiles, French life assurance is often too rigid and poorly treated for tax purposes abroad (notably in the USA from a FATCA/PFIC standpoint). Luxembourg life assurance offers:

The Security Triangle: asset protection that is unique in the world, guaranteeing that your funds are segregated from those of the insurer.
Management in foreign currencies (USD, CHF, GBP) to neutralise the impact of exchange rates.
Complete fiscal neutrality: Luxembourg does not tax non-residents, and only the law of your host country applies.

Managing your property: sell, keep or transform?

For a non-resident, property investment in France is subject to heavy taxation (a minimum rate of 20% or 30% + social levies of 17.2% outside the EU). Our wealth management advice often consists of:

Moving from bare land ownership to LMNP (Non-Professional Furnished Lettings) to wipe out the tax through accounting depreciation.
Opting for SCPI bare ownership: no taxable income during expatriation, and recovery of full ownership on your return to France.

Securing your wealth and Succession Vigilance

Fiscal expatriation weakens your civil-law structure. A death or divorce abroad can become legal chaos without reinforced legal certainty.

International wealth transmission: the Professio Juris

The European succession regulation allows you to choose the law of your nationality to govern your estate. At Balmont Conseil, we secure your transmission strategy to prevent local law (sometimes incompatible, such as Sharia law or Common Law) from applying to your worldwide assets. Without this clause, your estate could be frozen for years.

The matrimonial regime: automatic mutability

Some countries “automatically” change your matrimonial regime after 10 years of residence (Hague Convention). A multidimensional analysis is essential to prevent your spouse from being disadvantaged or your wealth protection from being compromised by an unforeseen foreign law.

Preparing your return to France: the wealth “check-in”

Expatriation is a cycle. Successful wealth management on moving abroad already plans for your return to France.

The impatriates’ regime (Art. 155 B)

This exceptional scheme lets you exempt 50% of the impatriation bonus and 50% of financial income from foreign sources for 8 years. It is one of the best tax-optimisation levers in the world, but it must be validated before you sign your employment contract.

The homecoming Wealth Review

Rejoining the French investment ecosystem requires cleaning up your foreign accounts and bringing your reporting obligations into compliance (foreign accounts, trusts, etc.) to avoid flat-rate fines.

Detailed FAQ: expert answers for your mobility

What are the real tax impacts of moving abroad on my personal wealth?

How can I optimise my financial investments during expatriation?

What steps absolutely must be taken before leaving France?

Why choose specialist support rather than a conventional bank?

How can I protect my family and my assets internationally?

Conclusion: human expertise, amplified by technology

Succeeding in your wealth management on moving abroad is a question of method and timing. At Balmont Conseil, we blend Alexis Sagnier’s strategic approach with the precision of artificial intelligence to handle the complexity of supplementary income strategies and international wealth transmission.

Don’t let your expatriation turn your financial successes into an administrative headache.

Ready for your departure audit?

Contact Balmont Conseil for a personalised 360° Wealth Review.

Useful links:

Sources & References:

French General Tax Code (CGI): Articles 4B, 155 B, 167 bis and 244 bis A.
Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 on international successions.
Bilateral tax treaties (BOFiP – Directorate General of Public Finances).
ANACOFI Member Handbook 2025 – Wealth management advisory standards

Ready to structure your future?

Whether you are in Lyon or on the other side of the world, Alexis Sagnier and the Balmont Conseil team are here to listen.

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