Banking in France for Russian nationals in 2026: accounts, sanctions, droit au compte

A Russian national can open a bank account in France in 2026, and what matters is not the passport but an EU residence permit. With a validated VLS-TS visa or a residence card, the €100,000 sanctions cap and the ban on new cards fall away. Without one, an EU bank will not hold more than €100,000 and will not issue a card. Everyone goes through source-of-funds checks.

A bank may still refuse without giving reasons, and close an open account on two months’ notice. Against a refusal there is a legal remedy, the droit au compte: the Banque de France names a bank that must open a basic account. Against a closure on suspicion of money laundering there is none, so the money and the paperwork behind it are prepared before the move, not after the bank’s first letter.

EU sanctions in 2026: what is banned and what a residence permit lifts

Every banking restriction on Russian nationals sits in Article 5b of EU Regulation 833/2014 (consolidated text as at 24 July 2026). There is no separate French ban: a French bank applies the regulation directly.

• Deposits. An EU bank may not accept deposits from Russian nationals or people living in Russia if their total at that bank exceeds €100,000. The cap applies per bank, not per account.
• Cards, e-money and crypto. Under the 19th package (Regulation 2025/2033 of 23 October 2025) the same people may not be issued payment instruments, meaning cards, or be provided with acquiring, payment initiation, e-money issuance or any crypto-asset services. Reissuing an old card counts as issuing one. That is where refusals from neobanks operating on an e-money licence come from.
• The exemption. The bans do not apply to nationals of the EU, the EEA or Switzerland, or to anyone holding a temporary or permanent residence permit in one of those countries.

The question every mover asks is whether a type D visa counts as a residence permit. The European Commission answered it in its guidance of 13 March 2026: holders of a long-stay type D visa who have completed registration where they live are typically considered legally resident and are covered by the exemption. In France that registration is the validation of the VLS-TS on ANEF, explained in the article on what to do after arriving on a type D visa. Two more points from the same guidance: a card is issued only for the life of the residence permit, and if the permit expires without renewal the bank stops the prohibited services, although the regulation does not require the account to be closed.

The 20th package of 23 April 2026 (European Commission) left Article 5b untouched: it widened the ban on dealings with banks and crypto platforms. How sanctions affect buying a flat is covered in the article on buying property in France.

Why banks refuse and close accounts

Sanctions explain only part of the refusals. The other part is anti-money-laundering law. Since 29 January 2026 Russia has been on the EU list of high-risk third countries (Delegated Regulation 2026/46), so for relationships linked to Russia a bank must apply enhanced due diligence. For many banks that is expensive, and they prefer not to take the client on.

What a bank may do under French law was set out by the Ministry for the Economy in its answer to the Senate of 23 July 2026:

• Close without a reason. A bank may close an account unilaterally without stating its reasons, on at least two months’ notice (Article L312-1-1 V of the Monetary and Financial Code).
• Close on suspicion. A bank that suspects money laundering may close the account, and it is forbidden to tell the client about a report to Tracfin (Article L561-18). So you will not be told why.
• Close because it must. If a client does not provide the information needed for due diligence, the bank must end the relationship (Article L561-8). An unanswered source-of-funds request leads straight to closure.

In practice, judging by movers’ chats, both banks and neobanks close accounts of Russian nationals, sometimes a few weeks after opening. That is why it makes sense to hold two accounts with different institutions.

How to open an account in France: documents and choice of bank

The basic set is the same everywhere: a passport, a residence permit or validated VLS-TS, proof of address in France, a tax number if you already have one, and information on income and the source of funds. Proof of address is a common problem in the first weeks: a landlord wants an account, a bank wants an address. How to break that loop is covered in the article on renting a home in France.

Any institution’s status can be checked in the REGAFI register, which shows whether it is a bank, a payment institution or an e-money issuer. We do not rank banks that will “definitely” open an account for a Russian national: the decision is taken by a compliance team on a specific file, and it changes faster than any list. In practice, neobanks open accounts on a validated VLS-TS faster than traditional banks, while a mortgage, a large purchase or a share capital deposit still needs a French bank. The €30,000 deposit for the talent passport is covered in the article on the talent passport for entrepreneurs.

Droit au compte: when every bank says no

The right to an account belongs to everyone living in France, with no nationality condition (service-public, Banque de France). You can use it if you hold no other deposit account in France.

• The refusal. Apply to open an account in writing. If the bank stays silent for 15 days, that is a refusal. The bank must give you a refusal letter and tell you that you may turn to the Banque de France.
• The file. The application form, an identity document, proof of address less than three months old, the refusal letter or proof of an application more than 15 days old, and a statement that you hold no other account.
• Filing. Online in your personal space, at a Banque de France branch, by post, or through the bank that refused you.
• Deadlines. The Banque de France names a bank within one working day. That bank sends the list of documents within three working days and opens the account within three working days of receiving them.
• What you get. A free basic account: a RIB, SEPA transfers and direct debits, incoming transfers and cheques, online access to the balance, cash at the counter, one card and two bank cheques a month.
• Protection against closure. The bank may close such an account only on grounds set by law, by a reasoned letter and on two months’ notice.

This is a minimum account for daily life, not a place for capital. In practice the procedure works, but the designated bank sometimes drags its feet, and a second approach to the Banque de France helps.

Source of funds: what is asked and how to prepare

The bank is not asking where your money comes from in general: it wants each sum explained by a document and by a chain of transfers from your own account to your own account. It usually asks for:

• the contract for the sale of a flat, a stake or a business, and a statement showing the money coming in;
• tax returns and proof that tax on the sale or the dividends was paid;
• income certificates and statements for 6 to 12 months, not for the week before you apply;
• a gift or loan agreement if relatives provided the money, with the sender’s statement.

An example. A family sells a flat in Moscow for the equivalent of €450,000 and moves on a talent passport. Selling before the move is also simpler for tax: until you become French tax resident, the sale does not touch French tax, as explained in the article on taxes in France. The money arrives in the seller’s account at a Russian bank and goes from there to the seller’s own account at a bank not on any sanctions list. It moves to the French bank after the VLS-TS is validated, when the €100,000 cap no longer applies, and the first transfer comes with the sale contract, the statement showing the proceeds, the tax return and statements for the whole chain. The same set of documents shows living funds for a visiteur, see the article on the visiteur visa.

Moving money from Russia: what is lawful in 2026

• Banned banks. Article 5h of the regulation bans any transaction with the banks in Annex XIV: they include Sberbank, VTB, Alfa-Bank, T-Bank, Yandex Bank, Ozon Bank, Post Bank and Russian Standard, and in 2026 the list grew by dozens more. A French bank will not accept a transfer from them.
• SBP and Mir. Since 25 January 2026 EU entities may not connect to Bank of Russia systems or to Russian financial messaging systems, including SBP and Mir (Article 5ac).
• If your bank was listed recently. For banks added to Annex XIV on or after 24 July 2026, a holder of an EU residence permit may, within three months, ask the French sanctions authority for permission to withdraw the money and close the account, provided the funds go to an EU bank (Article 5h(3)).
• The Russian side. Since 8 December 2025 the Bank of Russia has lifted its limits on foreign currency transfers abroad for Russian nationals (cbr.ru).
• Through a bank in a third country. A transfer from your own account at a bank in a third country is lawful if the money is backed by documents and no link in the chain breaches sanctions. Knowingly circumventing the regulation is banned by its Article 12. In practice a French bank or notary sometimes refuses a transfer from a bank it considers risky, so the route of the money is agreed with the recipient in advance.

Crypto, transfers through strangers (P2P), other people’s cards and split payments may technically get money to France, but to a bank this is the picture that leads to a request, an account closure and a report to Tracfin.

Cash at the border and accounts abroad

Cash. If you bring €10,000 or more into France, counting currency, gold, cheques and bearer securities, declare it to customs: online through the Dalia service no earlier than 30 days before the trip, on a paper form, or at the border. From €50,000 the declaration needs a document showing where the money came from, such as a contract for the sale of property. Failing to declare means a fine of 50% of the sum and confiscation of all of it (service-public). Even declared cash is hard to pay into a bank afterwards: it faces the same source-of-funds check.

Form 3916. Once you are French tax resident, you declare every account held abroad each year, Russian ones, accounts at banks in third countries and neobank accounts with a foreign IBAN, together with your income tax return, including accounts opened or closed during the year. The fine is €1,500 for each undeclared account, and €10,000 where the country has no information exchange agreement with France; a crypto account on form 3916-bis carries €750 (notice 3916). How the first return works and what happened to the France–Russia tax treaty is covered in the article on taxes in France.

Common mistakes

• Moving large sums before the VLS-TS is validated and hitting the €100,000 cap at one bank.
• Holding a single account: when it is closed, salary, rent and taxes stop.
• Ignoring the bank’s source-of-funds request: under Article L561-8 that is a ground for closing the account.
• Topping up the account with crypto, through P2P or in cash, with no documents for the chain.
• Expecting the bank to explain a closure: where the reason is a suspicion, it is forbidden to explain.
• Forgetting form 3916 for Russian and other foreign accounts, and paying €1,500 for each.

If you are moving with capital and want to map the route of the money in advance, from the sale and the transfers to the first French account, describe your situation and we will go through it in a consultation. The whole move is covered in the article on how to move to France.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Russian national open a bank account in France in 2026?

Yes. Opening an account is not banned, but without an EU residence permit a bank will not hold more than €100,000 or issue a card. A validated VLS-TS visa or a residence card lifts these limits. A bank may refuse without giving reasons, and if every bank refuses, the Banque de France will name a bank that must open a basic account under the droit au compte procedure.

Will a bank in France open an account on a type D visa?

In its guidance of 13 March 2026 the European Commission treats type D visa holders who have completed registration where they live as legally resident, so the sanctions restrictions do not apply to them. In France that means a validated VLS-TS. Without validation a bank may apply the €100,000 cap and refuse a card.

What is a RIB?

A RIB (relevé d’identité bancaire) is the sheet with your French account details: the holder’s name, the bank, the bank and branch codes, the account number with its key, the IBAN and the BIC. Your employer asks for it to pay your salary, CAF and CPAM to pay benefits and refunds, your landlord and utilities to set up direct debits, and the tax office for debits and refunds. You download it in your bank’s app or online space, get it at a branch, and it is also printed in the cheque book.

Why did a French bank close my account without giving a reason?

French law allows a bank to close an account without stating its reasons on two months’ notice. If the bank suspects money laundering, it is forbidden to tell the client about a report to Tracfin, and it must cut off a client who does not provide information for due diligence. Since 29 January 2026 Russia has been on the EU high-risk list, so checks on Russian nationals are stricter.

What can I do if every bank in France refuses me an account?

Use the droit au compte. You need a refusal letter or 15 days of silence from the bank, an identity document and proof of address. The Banque de France names a bank within one working day, and that bank opens the account within three working days of receiving the documents. The basic account with a card is free.

How do I transfer the proceeds from selling a flat in Russia to France?

Lawfully, from your own account to your own account, through a bank not on any sanctions list, with documents for the whole chain: the sale contract, a statement showing the proceeds and the tax return. Sberbank, VTB, Alfa-Bank, T-Bank and dozens of other banks are on the EU transaction ban list. A large sum is easier to move after the VLS-TS is validated, when the €100,000 cap no longer applies.

Do I have to declare accounts at Russian banks in France?

Yes. A French tax resident reports every account held abroad each year on form 3916 together with the income tax return, including neobank accounts with a foreign IBAN. The fine is €1,500 for each undeclared account, and €10,000 for countries with no information exchange agreement.

How much cash can I bring into France?

Any amount, but from €10,000 it must be declared to customs, for example online through the Dalia service, and from €50,000 a document showing the source of the money must be attached. Without a declaration the fine is 50% of the sum and all of the cash is confiscated.

Official sources

• EU Regulation 833/2014, consolidated text as at 24 July 2026: Articles 5b, 5c, 5h, 5ac, 12, Annex XIV; Regulation 2025/2033 (19th package); European Commission: the 20th package
• European Commission: guidance on Article 5b(2) of 13 March 2026; Delegated Regulation 2026/46: Russia on the high-risk list
• French Senate: question No. 06054 and the ministry’s answer of 23 July 2026 on account closures
• service-public: droit au compte; Banque de France: the droit au compte procedure; REGAFI: register of financial institutions
• service-public: bringing money into France; impots.gouv.fr: notice for forms 3916 and 3916-bis; Bank of Russia: transfer limits lifted from 8 December 2025