Paul W. Says:
My wife and I want to move to Toulon. Is it very complicated to do this?
IL France Correspondent Tuula Rampont Says:
A move to Toulon is not difficult, but it does require getting a certain amount of paperwork together to apply for a French long-stay visa, which is initially good for a 12-month period. I would first recommend considering a scouting trip to Toulon with a plan to stay for at least a few weeks, if not longer. In my opinion, this would be the best way to see if the area is a good fit for you.
The website Morning Croissant provides a wide selection of reasonably priced short-term rentals that would be easy to secure for a few weeks’ stay.
While Toulon has many attractive attributes, including a lower-priced housing market as compared to other cities along the French Riviera, there are very few English-speaking expats, and you will need a bit of basic- to intermediate-level French to get acclimated. In this sense, you will truly be immersed in the French lifestyle and culture right off the bat, and your French language capabilities will grow by leaps and bounds. On the other hand, you may miss the comforts of having other English-speaking expats on hand. A real “boots on the ground” experience would help with the decision-making process.
The next step would be applying for the long-stay visa, which is actually one of the easier visas to get in Europe. The process starts on the France-Visas website and then is handled by a third-party processing center which helps expedite the process. Upon approval, the visa is mailed directly to your home. You can find further information on how to obtain a French visa on the IL website here.
Best of luck to you!