OFII Form (MUST be stamped by Consulate!) & Residence Permit

[Nadjezhda]

Even though some consulate websites do not include the OFII form in their required documents for applying for the long-stay visa, you definitely need to print it and fill out the top section. The consulate will stamp the form when they issue your visa, so do not forget to bring it to your appointment!

Download the Demande d'attestation OFII form

When you arrive in France, make sure to get your passport stamped so that you can prove your date of entry. You have 3 months to send the stamped OFII form, as well as copies of your passport, visa, and entry stamp, recommandée avec accusé de réception to the OFII office near where you live. (The offices are listed on the 2nd page of the above PDF.)

Then you will be summoned for the validation of your visa and the medical visit. You will need to bring your passport, justificatif de domicile (proof of housing), and one ID photo with you. After this validation, your visa will officially serve as your residence permit for the duration of your stay.

OFII's website has official information on these new procedures: http://www.ofii.fr/visa_long_sejour_tit ... r_915.html

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1. Do I need to apply for a residence permit in France ?

From the 1st of June 2009, long stay visa holders will be allowed to reside in France for up to 12 months according to the validity of their visa and purpose of stay. They will no longer be required to obtain a residence permit (carte de séjour) from the French local authorities (préfecture) as long as their visa is valid. However, they will have to apply for a carte de séjour at the préfecture if they intend to stay for more than a year or if they are renewing a resident permit such as vie privée et familiale.

Long stay visa holders will have to register to the French Office of Immigration and Integration (OFII) during the first three months of their stay in France. These visa holders will be able to travel freely within the Schengen area during the valid duration of their visa, with a maximum duration of three months outside of France.

These terms apply to French Departments, overseas and major cities, and Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. However, they do not apply to people traveling to New Caledonia in French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna Islands, and Mayotte Island.

Please note that the new regulations applicable from the 1st of June 2009 will require a longer processing time to issue long stay visas that will serve as first residence permits.

2. How do I register in France ?

As soon as you arrive in France, you will have to send by registered mail to the local offices of the OFII:

A. the residence form, that you included with your visa application, stamped by the consulate when they granted your visa and completed with

* your visa number,

* your date of entry in France or the Schengen area,

* and your address in France.

B. a copy of the ID pages of your passport and of the immigration stamp received at the border.

You will then be requested to appear for an interview and medical examination with :

* your passport,

* a proof of accommodation in France,

* one ID picture,

* means of payment for the processing fees of 55 € for workers and students or 300 € for visitors. [This should still be free for assistants as the rectorat pays for it.]

When the file is complete, a registration stamp will be added to your passport.

3. Does it concern all long stay visas ?

No. These new regulations only concern :

* long stay visa to work in France (assistants, lecteurs, salarié, temporary workers)

* long stay visa to study in France (student, au pair, internship with a "convention de stage")

* long stay visa for visitors

* long stay visa for spouses of French nationals (NOT spouses of other EU nationals, who do not need visas to settle in France)

4. Does it concern all nationalities ?

No. It does not concern the citizens of :

* the European Economic Area

* Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra and Vatican

* Algeria. France has a bilateral agreement with this country regarding immigration matters.

5. What shall I do when my long stay visa expires ?

* If the purpose of your stay is extended, you should apply for a renewal of your residence permit at the local French administration called "préfecture" two months before the expiration of your visa.

* If the purpose of your stay in France has ended, you should leave France before the expiration of your visa.

* If the purpose of your stay has changed, you should contact the local French administration called "préfecture" to apply for a residence permit according to your situation two months before the expiration of your visa. Please be aware that a change of status might be refused.

[Nadjezhda]

Here are the official texts about the changes:

décret du 27 avril

arrêté du 19 mai

[Nadjezhda]

And a document that summarizes what you need to do after arrival in France: http://www.ofii.fr/IMG/pdf/Notice_d_inf ... n_OFII.pdf

[miaou]

Hi Nadjezhda,

Thanks so much for the information about the new OFII procedures...very helpful!

I don't know if you might be able to give me some insight since you seem to be quite familiar with the long-stay visa/CDS process, but in any case, I am in French bureaucracy hell and I need to vent!!

I am an assistant alum (Academie de Lille '04-'05), but now married to a French citizen. I sent in my completed and stamped Demande d'Attestation via registered mail to the proper OFII office based on my lieu de résidence, but I never got the Avis de Réception! I think this is because my name wasn't on my husband's mailbox, and perhaps the postman figured that it was undeliverable.

For the past three weeks, I've been calling the OFII office without any luck. They do not pick up the phone! (And recently, they set up a new "voicemail" system, which says that the number does not have a voicemail box!!) The email address listed on the OFII website bounced back my email. I'm highly tempted to actually go to the OFII office in person to see if they actually receied my Demande d'attestation, despite the website saying that I shouldn't go there in person.

I'm feeling quite anxious and powerless in this situation, and I really don't know what to do. I need to start working right away, and I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to work with my visa de long sejour. It's not clear on the website (or anywhere for that matter!) if I am allowed to work now, or if I must have my visa validated first. It's already been one month since I've arrived in France, and no sign of response from OFII...they have up to 3 months to contact me, but 1 month to wait is too long...

It's just not fair!!

/end rant

[kldavis]

If you're married to a French citizen don't you already have a CdS vie privee et familiale? Just get that one instead!

[Nadjezhda]

I'm not sure what else to tell you except to wait until they send you a convocation for the interview/medical visit. It's possible that they haven't sent the avis de reception yet though. It is summer after all...

I'm not positive about being able to work right away though. People who have jobs before coming to France are able to work right away (like the assistants), but if you're trying to get hired somewhere, it's probably going to depend on the company. But no one really knows the new rules, so I can't say for certain that you do have the right to work immediately.

Karina, she can't get a CDS until she's had her first residence permit for one year. When she goes to renew it next summer, then she'll have to go to the prefecture and apply for the CDS vie privee.

[kldavis]

oh i understood that she was applying to be an assistant again (but had stayed in France since her first time as an assistant) and therefore didn't understand why she was trying to get an assistant visa again
i think i understand now.. seems complicated!

[dklodowski]

Hi there,

I have a pretty simple question. I was an assistant last year and am a holder of a valid CDS until this September. I was planning on simply renewing it once I get back (I've been renewed for 2009-2010). Can I just do this so I don't have to go to the consulate and all that jazz?

Merci d'avance!

[Nadjezhda]

It will entirely depend on your prefecture if they allow you to renew your CDS without needing a new visa.

[Candi]

Hi there,

I have a pretty simple question. I was an assistant last year and am a holder of a valid CDS until this September. I was planning on simply renewing it once I get back (I've been renewed for 2009-2010). Can I just do this so I don't have to go to the consulate and all that jazz?

Merci d'avance!

Jennie is right, it will depend.

However, I think it'd just be easier for you if you would re-do the paperwork at the Embassy/Consulate while you're home this summer. Renewing a CDS can be an extreme hassle if you get an unfriendly worker or someone who just doesn't have time to look up how to take care of it for you. Been there, done that!

[Klio]

When you arrive in France, make sure to get your passport stamped so that you can prove your date of entry

I will be entering France from a neighboring country by train or bus. How can I prove my date of entry? - or is is proof of date of entry to the Schengen space enough?

[paraplupitre]

I will be entering France from a neighboring country by train or bus. How can I prove my date of entry? - or is is proof of date of entry to the Schengen space enough?

When I went from France to Switzerland by train last year, border control came through the cabin and randomly checked passports. So when they come by, you can ask them to stamp it for you.

And if you travel by bus, perhaps the bus will stop at the check point and you can request that your passport be stamped.

And if you don't run into any passport checkers... then I'm not sure.

[julie_in_the_88]

Maybe this will work, I came in through Frankfurt. I told my embassy that when applying for my visa and they gave me a visa which says "valid for France (+ 1 transit schengen)" which authorised me to come in through a country other than France and the stamp from Frankfurt was taken as my entry date. I don't know if this would still work, but that's a question to ask at your consulate/embassy when you go for the visa.

[dklodowski]

Thanks Jennie and Candi for your careful attention!

[ebeep]

I have a question.

So, now that the OFII can allow us to stay for "up to one year," does that mean that when filling out the long-stay visa form for the consulate, we can just write "one year" for the amount of time we'll be staying (as opposed to writing 7 months or 9 months or whatever, based on our contract)?

I, for one, would definitely like to stay a full 12 months, and if this new type of registration means that our Visa will actually list our dates in France instead of our Carte de Sejour, I want to make sure that I ask for a full year-long stay. Or... maybe it's the stamp that OFII puts next to our visa that states our dates in France, after we've had the medical visit and jumped through all of the hoops. Does anyone know?