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Getting Started

A guide to the French visa system

Getting Started

29/10/2008A guide to the French visa system

Whether it be a residence, entry or student visa you require, Explorer Publishing takes a look at the rules and regulations.

Assurance Vie - An expatriate’s guide

Entry Visa
If you don’t have an EU passport or a contract to work in France and are arriving from North America or Japan you may stay, but not work, in France for 90 days without a visa. If you’re arriving from any other country a tourist visa is compulsory. For these visas you must be able to convince the embassy that you have the appropriate funds to support your trip and that you are travelling for the purposes of tourism, business or a family visit. If you’d like to stay longer you must first obtain the appropriate visa from the French consulate in your home country.

This inevitably requires documentation, some of which may need to be translated into French by a certified translator and then notarised. Visas usually take approximately three weeks to process but may take three months, or in some cases, even longer. Regardless of why you want to come to France, unless you’re planning on staying for less than three months, you should begin the process in your home country. Do not make the mistake of arriving in France without proper documentation; legally, you will not be able to stay and you will not be able to work.

If you have the means to stay in France without working you may apply for a long-term visa (visa de long séjour) which will allow you to stay in France without working.

Residence Visa
To begin the residency process, you are obliged to go to your local préfecture de police office within one week of your arrival in France. If your request is accepted you will be granted a receipt (récépissé). It is likely that you will have to return to the préfecture several times before finally being given your receipt. When you do receive your récépissé you will be legal to either work or study (depending upon your request) for three months. It is possible (even likely) that you will have to return to renew your receipt before your final card is ready.

Under normal circumstances you will be granted a carte de séjour temporaire which is valid for one full year. There are seven variations of these cards – visiteur, salarié, étudiant, vie privée, commerçante, scientifique and artistique. Each, of course, requires different supporting documentation. When your card expires it will be necessary to return to the préfecture and demonstrate that you are continuing to meet the card’s initial requirements.

At the time of your third carte de séjour renewal you may apply for a 10 year carte de resident and after your tenth renewal you have the legal right to that card. Remember that upon arriving in France it is crucial to begin the process immediately.

When you arrive at the préfecture make sure that you have the following documentation:
•   A valid passport
•   A minimum of three passport photos (it is best to have these done in France so that you don’t risk the wrong angle or size.)
•   A justificatif de domicile proving where you live. A utilities bill is preferred.
•   A medical certificate issued by a French doctor.
•   A full translation of your medical insurance. The translation must be made by a traducteur assermenté.
•   Your registration documentation if you’re a student.
•   Proof of resources. For employees this means a copy of your contract (contrat de travail) and, if possible, your three most recent payslips (bulletins de paie).
•   If you are self-employed you must provide evidence such as memberships to trade unions and VAT numbers.
•   If you are retired you must provide evidence that you can support yourself financially. You will need notarised account documents and proof of comprehensive health insurance which covers you in France. Remember that all documents must be translated by an official translator.

It is not necessary to be a citizen or a resident of France to purchase property here. This may change as there is increasing anger over sky-rocketing Paris real-estate prices and many blame wealthy foreign investors for making it impossible for Parisians to buy homes here.

Nationality
Children who are born in France by at least one French parent are French at birth. Children who are born in France by two foreign parents may become French only if by their 18th birthday they have lived in France for at least five years since the age of 11.

You may obtain French nationality if:
• Your spouse is French and you’ve been married for a minimum of one year.
• You were born in France and have lived there for at least five consecutive years.

• Your children are French and you’ve lived in the country for at least five consecutive years.

Student Visas
If you’ve entered France on a student visa and have enrolled at a university or in a study-abroad programme eligible for a carte de séjour, you will most likely avoid much of the complications described above. However, it is essential that you have the required physical examination and pick up your card when you’re asked to. Be certain that before you arrive at the préfecture that you have all university or programme registration documents with you. These documents (along with your student visa) serve as evidence that you have entered France legally and for the specific purpose of studying.

If you’re a returning student you should submit requests for renewal through your university. Most universities have offices that are responsible for making these processes easier for their students.

Reprinted with permission of Explorer Publishing from Paris Complete Residents' Guide.

7 reactions to this article

maryb211 posted: 2009-04-29 12:24:56

The article says "At the time of your third carte de séjour renewal you may apply for a 10 year carte de resident," but this is not the case. According to Article L314-8 of the "Code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile" approved in 2007, you can request the resident card after a minimum of 5 consecutive years in France. More info here: http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle.do;jsessionid=DC294EBB14B2FC0B9214604AE0BD64B5.tpdjo09v_1?idArticle=LEGIARTI000006335105

Holly Poirier posted: 2010-05-13 12:14:25

According to my prefecture (Vaucluse), I only have the right to apply for a residency card after 5 renewals (i.e. - in my 6th year of having a renewable titre de sejour), not after just 3 years as mentioned in your article. Have the laws changed?

Holly posted: 2010-05-13 12:16:29

Just saw maryb211's reply. This is the information i was given as well.

Holly posted: 2010-05-13 12:22:13

do you think the law is still that after 10 years of renewed tittre de sejours, one has the right to a residency card as stated in the article? As i can't see anyone employing me here in France, and I'm not too sure what the advantage is to obtain a residency card over a carte de sejour, i suppose waiting 4 more years for the process to happen is not such a bad thing.

Lucio posted: 2011-08-22 13:25:51

They don´t know what they´re saying.

Most South-American citizens can come to France without a Visa and stay 3 months.
Most North-Americans can come and stay 6 months.
The rules are the same for all countries in the European Union.

Nabanita posted: 2011-12-19 10:43:42

I have a question: I arrived in France in December 2010 and was holding a carte de séjour with Visteur status. I am the wife of a PhD student, and hence my stay here. Now I have started an MS programme at Grenoble Graduate School of Business, Grenoble, France. I went back to the Prefecture for my visa renewal. I explained my situation, gave then the relevant documents asking for a carte de séjour étudiant, but got one for a Visiteur again. Would any of you have any suggestions for me - how I can get a carte de séjour étudiant?

Hank posted: 2013-05-15 06:50:43

MELUN PERFECTURE: What a terribly run office..a disgrace to France's immigration system....people are standing on line at 5am in the morning for a 9am start time. People stand online, outside and cannot get in before they run out of numbers but the people have waited for hours before the announcement. People are saying they are going in for drivers license but in fact go in for Carte de Sejour. I have been there twice last week and got turned away both times before getting inside. I am trying to get my sixth or a 10 years so next week, I will be on line at 6am. This cannot be right. Immigrants come here by choice and are treated like dirt by the people who work there. The inefficiencies of this office need to be looked at. There has to be a better way. Oh, one person will show up at 6am or earlier and at 8:45, some 10 to 15 will show up saying the one guy was holding a spot for them. Try to stop them and you have a confrontation which gets ugly. The inmates are running the asylum.....What a disgrace.

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