Keeping your French assurance-vie after leaving France

An assurance-vie contract normally continues after you leave France and retains its original start date. Future withdrawals, reporting and taxation must then be reviewed under the rules of the new country and the applicable treaty.

An existing assurance-vie can often be kept after a move, retaining its opening date. Notify the insurer and confirm which payments, switches and withdrawals it will permit for your new residence. Then review the tax in both countries. French assurance-vie explained for foreign residents describes the policy; non-resident withdrawals require a separate calculation under article 125-0 A and the applicable treaty.

In short

A French assurance-vie can often stay open after you leave, and its original opening date keeps measuring the policy’s age; you need to confirm with the insurer which payments, switches and withdrawals it permits for your new residence.
French tax deducted at source by the insurer may apply to the gain in a non-resident’s withdrawal (article 125-0 A of the French tax code), which a treaty may reduce or remove; the calculation is not identical to a resident’s.
The opening date keeps counting towards the eight-year anniversary, but the annual allowance after eight years that French residents receive is not generally available to non-residents, so each proposed withdrawal needs its own comparison.
Your new country may treat the contract very differently: some tax the whole gain on withdrawal, others may look through it to the underlying investments and, in the least favourable case, treat it as an offshore arrangement with heavy reporting.

Tax deducted at source, and the treaty that can change it

French withholding — tax deducted at source by the insurer — may apply to the gain within a withdrawal, with a treaty potentially reducing or removing it. Ask the insurer what residence evidence is required before payment. The non-resident calculation is not identical to a resident’s, and the new country may impose its own tax or reporting requirements.

The eight-year anniversary keeps counting

The original opening date continues to measure the policy’s age. That does not preserve every resident tax benefit: the annual allowance after eight years available to French residents is not generally available to non-residents. Compare the actual treatment of the proposed withdrawal, rather than treating the anniversary as the only question.

Whether your new country recognises it at all

This issue requires advice in the country of destination. Some countries tax the whole gain on withdrawal without reference to the French regime; others may look through the contract to its underlying investments and apply an entirely different characterisation, in the least favourable case treating it as an offshore arrangement subject to punitive reporting. A contract that was efficient in France can become inefficient, or simply administratively heavy, in the country you move to, and checking this before departure is far easier than untangling it at the first foreign filing.

Who you report the contract to, before and after you leave

While you remain a French resident, no separate declaration is needed for a French assurance-vie held with a French insurer; it is not a foreign contract. Once you have left, the same contract sits from the perspective of your new country of residence, and that country’s own reporting rules for foreign investment products, if any, now apply, entirely independent of French law. That obligation, and any penalty attached to it, belongs to the new jurisdiction and is not something this firm advises on directly.

The tax treatment of a French assurance-vie held by a non-resident depends on the treaty between France and the specific country of residence, on how that treaty characterises this category of income, and on the domestic reporting rules of that country, none of which are uniform. Rates are set by law and revised; none is reproduced here. This page describes general mechanisms and is not a determination of your own position, which requires reading the applicable treaty and your new country’s domestic rules together.

References cited

CGI, art. 125-0 A

Frequently asked questions

Does my assurance-vie stay open if I leave France?

It can often remain open, but tell the insurer about the move and obtain its conditions for your new country. Keeping the opening date does not guarantee unchanged investment choices, further payments or tax treatment.

Will I still pay French tax on withdrawals once I am non-resident?

French withholding can apply to the gain under article 125-0 A, subject to treaty relief. Establish the residence documents and treatment with the insurer before withdrawal. Review any tax and reporting in the new country as well; a lower French charge does not by itself determine the total result.

Should I surrender my contract before I leave to lock in the eight years?

Leaving does not restart the policy’s age, so surrender is not needed merely to preserve its opening date. However, non-residents do not generally receive the same annual withdrawal allowance as residents. Compare charges and taxation before and after the move, together with the next country’s treatment.

Will my new country of residence tax the contract differently?

Possibly, but the answer requires advice in the country of destination. Some countries simply tax the gain on withdrawal without reference to the French regime; others look through the contract to its underlying investments, and in the least favourable cases treat it as an offshore product subject to heavy reporting. This has to be checked in the country you are moving to, before departure, because a contract that was efficient in France can become inefficient or administratively burdensome elsewhere.

ÉTHIQUE ET PATRIMOINE, a French simplified joint-stock company (SAS), registered office at 41 rue Saint-Ferdinand, 75017 Paris, France, Paris Trade Register no. 803 414 796, VAT no. FR 40 803 414 796, registered with ORIAS under number no. 24001817 (www.orias.fr) — Financial investment adviser (CIF) no. 18002418, member of ANACOFI-CIF, a professional association approved by the Autorité des marchés financiers, and Anacofi-Courtage for its brokerage activity. Presence: Paris, Montpellier, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Shanghai and Dubai.

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Written by Stéphane Molère, President of Éthique et Patrimoine — page last reviewed on 2026-09-15 — reference date for the rules: 2026-09-07.