Before you start

Passport and residence permit or validated visa
Justificatif de domicile in your name
Proof of income or employment, commonly requested
A French mobile number

Step-by-step

1
Open a digital account immediately
Revolut, N26, Wise and the French online banks open accounts quickly and give you a usable IBAN in days, covering the deposit and first rent while a traditional account is arranged.
Mobile appWho: YouWeek 1
2
Get your RIB and keep it to hand
You will be asked for it constantly — employer, landlord, utility company, tax office, health insurance fund. Save it as a PDF somewhere you can send from in thirty seconds.
Mobile appWho: You
3
Open a traditional French account for the things that need one
Some landlords, employers and administrative procedures still prefer a French high-street bank. Book an appointment with the passport, residence permit, proof of address and employment contract.
In personWho: You
4
If paid from Monaco, ask what the employer actually needs
Monegasque employers commonly pay into Monegasque accounts, and some Monaco-side services expect one. A French account remains essential for your rent, utilities and tax. Establish before your first payday whether you need both, because opening a Monegasque account has its own requirements.
Via employerWho: You
5
Invoke the droit au compte if you are refused
Get any refusal in writing and take it to the Banque de France, which designates a bank obliged to provide a basic account and standard services free of charge. It is a statutory right and it is routinely used.
In personWho: You
6
Arrange assurance habitation before the key handover
Legally required for tenants, and the agent will demand the attestation on the day you collect the keys. Cheap and arrangeable online in an hour — but not on the morning itself.
OnlineWho: YouBefore key handover

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Residence permit or validated visa
Justificatif de domicile
Employment contract or proof of resources
French mobile number

Things most newcomers don’t know

Working in Monaco often means two banking relationships, not one.

Monegasque employers commonly pay into Monegasque accounts and some Monaco-side services assume you hold one, while your French rent, utilities, taxes and health reimbursements all run through a French IBAN. Neither replaces the other. Establishing what your employer actually requires before your first payday avoids a month of manual transfers and unnecessary currency-neutral friction.

Source: community-reported

The droit au compte exists and almost no newcomer knows about it.

If banks refuse you an account, you can obtain the refusal in writing and apply to the Banque de France, which designates a bank required to open a basic account with standard services free of charge. It is a statutory right, routinely used, and it turns a dead end into a two-week procedure.

Source: Banque de France

The RIB is the single most-requested document in French life.

Salary, rent, utilities, insurance, tax refunds, health reimbursements and social benefits all move by transfer against your RIB, and every one of those organisations asks separately. Having it saved as a PDF ready to send removes a recurring friction.

Source: community-reported

There is no taxe d'habitation on your main home, which matters more where rents are high.

France abolished the residence tax on principal homes, so unlike a British tenant paying Council Tax you owe the commune nothing for living in your own home. On the Côte d'Azur, where rents are the highest outside Paris, the absence of a second recurring housing bill is a meaningful part of the comparison against a UK move.

Source: service-public.fr