[Ajdin]

My family has a business here in Canada. We are a design/build company and as of recently I've been getting bored of Vancouver. I have been to France twice now and I would love to spend a year living there. I am able to do all my work through a laptop and have no need to look for a job in France. My question is what sort of paperwork do I need to find an apartment and live there. In the future if I find an opportunity for a good job there I know that is a different situation but at the moment those issues Have not yet presented themselves. Thank you in advanced for and help! Merci!

 

[Bevdeforges]

First the "bad news" - you are considered to be working in whatever country you are physically located in whilst doing the work. So although you won't need to look for a job in France, you will be working in France if you're working through a laptop and thus you'll need to be registered and paying into the French cotisation system.

As far as visas are concerned, it may depend a bit on what kind of work you are doing and whether you're "freelance" or telecommuting to a job back home. There are visas for entrepreneurs - though since you wouldn't really be establishing a branch of your family's company in France, that may not apply.

And that does play into your question about finding an apartment, because normally you need a French bank account and evidence of your salary or other steady source of income to satisfy the landlord's "credit requirements."
Cheers,
Bev