Guides · Updated 1 November 2026 · 6 min read
Opening a bank account in France as an expat: French IBANs, the droit au compte and form 3916
Documents, French IBANs at N26, bunq and Revolut, Revolut's move to a French bank, the droit au compte and declaring foreign accounts in France.
In France, you will mostly be asked for an identity document and a recent proof of address. N26, bunq and Revolut all give customers living in France a French (FR) IBAN, and if banks turn you down, the droit au compte lets the Banque de France name a bank that must open a basic account for you, free of charge.
What you will be asked for
| Item | What it is | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Passport or national ID card | Proof of identity | French or foreign documents are accepted for the droit au compte |
| Proof of address | Typically a water or phone bill, or a rent receipt, less than three months old | Service-Public also lists the title deed of your main home |
| Tax residence in France | Where you pay income tax | N26 says you need to be a tax resident in France |
| Smartphone | For app-based banks and identity checks | N26, bunq, Revolut |
N26 adds that it may ask for a second ID, a proof of address or a tax notice. Each bank runs its own identity checks, so the exact list can vary.
Neo banks with French IBANs
N26
N26 is a digital bank with a German banking licence. Since July 2023, new customers in France receive a French IBAN (the RIB). N26 explained the move by saying that, despite the obligation of merchants and organisations in the SEPA zone to accept all European IBANs, its German IBANs were still occasionally refused. Deposits are protected up to €100,000 by the German deposit protection scheme. Standard has no account fee; Smart costs €4.90, Go €9.90 and Metal €16.90 a month.
bunq
bunq is a credit institution authorised in the Netherlands and operating in France under the freedom to provide services. Deposits are covered by the Dutch deposit guarantee scheme up to €100,000. French IBANs are available to everyone living in France: if you sign up with a French address, you get one automatically on every plan. If you are already a customer and move to France, you update your address in the app, verify your identity again and open a French IBAN account; your Dutch IBANs stay the same. Plans: Free, Core €3.99, Pro €9.99 and Elite €18.99 a month.
Revolut
New Revolut users living in France start with a Lithuanian (LT) IBAN and are asked within 30 days to move to a French IBAN. FR IBAN accounts are currently held at Revolut France, succursale de Revolut Bank UAB (10 avenue Kléber, Paris), the French branch of Revolut's Lithuanian bank.
This is changing. On 10 August 2026, Revolut announced that it had been granted a full banking licence in France and that accounts would move to its new French bank over the following months. Eligible customers get two months' notice, account and card details stay the same, and deposits move from Lithuania's scheme to France's FGDR, which covers eligible deposits up to €100,000 per person. Customers who do not accept the changes can close their account free of charge before the move. French press reports, citing customer emails, put the transfer between 2 and 5 December 2026. For more, read is Revolut safe?
At a glance
| N26 | bunq | Revolut | |
|---|---|---|---|
| IBAN for customers in France | French (FR) | French (FR) | LT first, then FR within 30 days |
| Licence | Germany | Netherlands | Lithuania (French branch); French bank announced |
| Deposit protection | German scheme, €100,000 | Dutch scheme, €100,000 | Lithuanian scheme, moving to FGDR, €100,000 |
| Cheapest plan | Standard, no fee | Free | Standard |
See the N26, bunq and Revolut listings, or N26 plans explained.
Declaring accounts held outside France
French tax residents must report accounts held abroad on form 3916 with their income tax return. According to the official notice, failing to declare one costs a fine of €1,500 per undeclared account, rising to €10,000 where the country has no administrative assistance agreement with France.
What counts depends on the provider:
- N26 says you must declare your account if your IBAN starts with DE.
- Revolut's help page lists EUR accounts with a FR IBAN at the French branch, investment accounts at Revolut Securities Europe UAB (Lithuania) and crypto accounts at Revolut Digital Assets Europe Ltd (Cyprus) among the accounts to declare. Check its help pages again after your account moves to the French bank.
- bunq and others: check with the provider and impots.gouv.fr.
Your right to an account: the droit au compte
If a bank refuses to open an account for you, or does not answer within 15 days (silence counts as a refusal), you can apply to the Banque de France. You qualify if you live in France (whatever your nationality), are a French citizen living abroad, or are a foreign national legally resident in another EU country, and you have no other deposit account in France.
How it works, according to Service-Public and the Banque de France:
- Send the form with your ID, proof of address and the bank's refusal letter (or proof of your request dated more than 15 days earlier), online with FranceConnect, at a Banque de France counter or by post.
- The Banque de France designates a bank within one working day of receiving a complete file. You cannot choose the bank.
- The designated bank sends you its list of documents within three working days. You have six months to contact it; an appointment is usually needed.
- Once your file is complete, the bank must open the account within three working days.
The basic banking services are free. They include a payment card with each use authorised by the bank, incoming transfers, SEPA direct debits and transfers, remote access to your balance, monthly statements, and cash deposits and withdrawals at the branch. Fees for irregular operation, such as a payment without enough funds, are capped at €4 per operation and €20 a month.
Compare all providers for France in our comparison table for France. Moving to Spain instead? Read opening a bank account in Spain as an expat, and see is my money safe in a neo bank? before you move large sums.
Moving to another country? See which neo banks accept residents of each country. Thinking about Portugal instead? Our guide to opening a bank account in Portugal as an expat explains the NIF, the €5.37 basic account and which neo banks give a Portuguese IBAN.
Sources
- Service-Public: Refus d'ouverture de compte bancaire, droit au compte
- Banque de France: Les bénéficiaires de la procédure de droit au compte
- Banque de France: Procédure de droit au compte (intervenants sociaux)
- impots.gouv.fr: Notice of form 3916
- N26: Bank account for expats in France
- N26: N26 launches accounts with French IBANs
- N26: How to declare your N26 bank account
- bunq Help: French IBANs, hello France
- bunq: Plans
- bunq: bunq Elite (France)
- Revolut: It's official, Revolut is now a French licensed bank
- Revolut Help: Switching to a French IBAN
- Revolut Help: What's Revolut's official name and address?
- Revolut Help: How do I declare my Revolut accounts?
- Journal du Geek: Revolut va transférer vos comptes en France
Prices and features checked on 1 November 2026.
This guide is general information, not financial advice. Fees, features and availability change, so check the provider's own website before you apply. Read how we compare providers and our affiliate disclosure.
Providers mentioned in this guide
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