🇫🇷 France vs 🇩🇪 Germany: Digital Nomad Visa Compared
France has no visa officially called a "digital nomad visa". Germany has no visa officially called a "digital nomad visa". Every figure below comes from each country's own sourced, dated fiche - compare income, duration, tax, family rules, fees and processing time before you decide.
- Minimum income
- 1,867 EUR / month
- TBD
- Visa duration
- Tax regime
- Living in France more than 183 days generally makes you a French tax resident, taxed on worldwide income at French rates. Double-taxation treaties apply.
- Living in Germany more than 183 days generally makes you a German tax resident, taxed on worldwide income. Freelancers register with the Finanzamt and receive a Steuernummer.
- Family (spouse / children)
- Application fees
- 99 EUR
- 100 EUR
- Health insurance
France has no digital nomad visa. Since June 2025, France had enforced a ban on remote work under the long-stay VISITOR visa (VLS-TS 'visiteur'); a 2026-06-23 Journal Officiel response from the Ministry of the Interior (answering National Assembly question n°11730) reversed course: remote work from France for a foreign employer, with income paid and taxed abroad and no activity benefiting a France-based business, is 'non-active' and IS compatible with visiteur status - no work permit needed. The visiteur visa has no fixed income figure in law; consulates require proof of 'sufficient and regular resources', commonly benchmarked against the SMIC. The Profession Liberale visa (resources ~SMIC, figure above) or the Talent Passport remain the applicable routes only if the work is integrated into the French economy (French clients, French-paid work, staff supervised in France). SMIC-linked figures rise with each revaluation - confirm the current amount and exact thresholds with your consulate.
source · verified 2026-07-16
Germany has no digital nomad visa and the Freelance permit has NO fixed income minimum - you must show financial viability. IMPORTANT: it requires German/EU clients (economic integration); it is NOT open to people working full-time for a foreign employer. Not a pure remote-employee route.
source · verified 2026-07-08
source · verified 2026-07-08
EUR 99 long-stay visa application fee (paid to the consulate); confirm with the consulate. Separately, the mandatory post-arrival visa validation fee (OFII/interior-ministry portal) rose from EUR 200 to EUR 300 effective 2026-05-01. RE-CHECKED 2026-07-19: this rise now traces to a specific legal source - Article 128 of Loi n. 2026-103 du 19 fevrier 2026 (Loi de finances pour 2026) - corroborated on several prefecture .gouv.fr pages, not just aggregator guides. The figure itself is unchanged; this only upgrades how well-sourced it is. A separate OFII stamp fee (~EUR 25) is reportedly unaffected but single-sourced - unverified.
source · verified 2026-07-19
Residence-permit fee reported around EUR 100; confirm with the local Auslanderbehorde.
source · verified 2026-07-08
Figures marked TBD are not yet verified and are never shown as facts. Last full review: France 2026-07-16, Germany 2026-07-12.