Temporary Residence Permits In France: Explained
Taking the plunge into the French way of life, even if just temporarily?
Navigating the sea of bureaucracy can be as complex as pairing the right wine with cheese. Fear not!
Let’s break down the ins and outs of temporary residence permits in France.
Let’s dive in!
What Is A Foreigner’s Temporary Residence Permit For France?
You can apply for a residency card visitor if you are a foreign national and wish to remain in France for longer than three months while not engaged in any activity.
If you agree not to work in France, this card will be awarded to you subject to resource restrictions.
It specifically refers to foreigners who travel to France to perform religious duties. It is renewable and only good for a year at most.
There are essentially three types of French visas:
- Short-stay visa (uniform Schengen visa), which is for visits to France lasting three months or less.
- Temporary long-stay visa (visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour – VLS-TS), which is for stays of up to a year.
- Long-stay visa (visa de long séjour), which is for stays in France of over one year.
What Are Short-Stay French Visas?
France issues short-stay visas in accordance with the Uniform Schengen category C. This can be used for up to 90 days out of every 180 days. It may be given for travel for business, short-term studies, family visits, medical care, and temporary employment.
You are permitted to move around the Schengen Area while holding a Schengen visa. If you fly from any French airport outside the international terminal, you also require a Schengen visa.
At a French embassy or consulate in your country of residence, you can apply for this French visa. You can also submit an application online. You should visit the French visa wizard to discover what your specific needs are before applying.
Your application should be submitted anywhere from six months to two weeks before your vacation.
You’ll need the following papers:
- A passport for travel that is valid for at least three months after your travel dates.
- Two most recent passport photos
- Supporting documentation, which can vary based on why you’re there. These typically contain evidence of money, health insurance, and justification for the trip (such as a letter of invitation to study abroad).
After that, you will need to show up for a scheduled appointment at the French embassy or consulate in your country of residence to provide your biometric information and pay your visa fees.
The cost of this visa is €80 (free for children under six; €40 for minors aged 6–12). Here is the whole list of costs.
What Is the Short-stay Visa For Non-European French Territories?
You will require a different visa if you intend to visit any of the French overseas territories and are required to obtain one because they are not part of the Schengen Area.
This implies that if you intend to visit France and the overseas territories, you will require two separate visas. This visa’s requirements, procedures, and costs are comparable to those of a typical short-stay visa.
What Is Transit Visa For Airports?
If you are changing flights in France and staying in the international terminal of a French airport, you will require an airport transit visa, commonly known as a category A visa. This holds true if you are traveling by air to and from nations outside of the Schengen Zone.
One-way, return, and multiple entry airport transit visas are the three available options. The same fees apply as they do for a regular Schengen visa.
On this visa, you are not permitted to leave the airport’s international area. A short-stay Schengen visa is required if you need to enter the Schengen Area from outside the zone for any purpose.
What Are Temporary Long-Stay French Visas?
Long-term temporary French visas (VLS-TS) have a maximum one-year validity period and are not extendable.
If you plan to stay in France for more than a year after arriving on a VLS-TS, you must apply for a French residence permit and fulfill the requirements for an extension of stay.
In France, the VLS-TS serves as a temporary residency permit. This permission must be validated within three months of your arrival in France.
As soon as the validation procedure is over, you are free to travel as you like across the Schengen Region as long as your permission is valid.
This visa’s application procedure is comparable to that for short-stay visas. You can submit your application in person at a French embassy or consulate in your home country or online.
The usual documentation needs are:
- A passport for travel that is valid for at least three months after your travel dates.
- Two most recent passport photos
- Supporting documentation, which can vary based on why you’re there. These typically contain evidence of money, health insurance, and justification for the trip (such as a letter of invitation to study abroad).
After that, you will need to show up for a scheduled appointment at the French embassy or consulate in your country of residence to provide your biometric information and pay your visa fees.
The standard charge for this visa is 99 euros. When entering France, you will need to show both your passport and French visa, as well as any necessary supporting documents.
What Are Temporary Worker Visas?
Anyone visiting France to work for a term of less than a year must get a VLS-TS visa. The visa will be labeled “travailleur temporaire” (temporary worker) and may be utilized for a number of things, such as:
- Transfers to an international company’s French branch
- Temporary seasonal employment -Foreign language teaching positions
- Professional medical employment lasting less than a year -To look for highly skilled employment following completion of a master’s degree in France
- Program for young professionals (18 to 30 years old) to trade jobs
You will initially require a work offer or contract for the majority of these French visas. Your employer might also need to apply for a work visa from the French government.
Study And Training Visas
A VLS-TS visa is available for 3–6 month training programs or short-term study. You will typically receive a normal long-stay visa for studies lasting longer than this.
You must have been accepted into a graduate program at a recognized French educational institution in order to obtain this visa.
If you are between the ages of 18 and 30, you can also obtain a temporary training visa to travel to France and serve as an au pair.
To make sure you can study French, you’ll need an au pair placement agreement and lodging with a French family. Up to two years can be added to the au pair visa’s validity.
What Are Special Purpose Visas?
Other short-term French visas fall under the category of special purpose or situation-specific visas. These consist of:
- Volunteering On Projects Lasting Less Than A Year: Such as projects for the European Voluntary Service (EVS),
- Young Adults From 15 Different Nations: Aged 18 to 30 (35 in Argentina, Australia, and Canada), are eligible to participate in the Working Holiday Program.
- Extended Private Stays Lasting Three To Six Months: If you can demonstrate your financial independence and agree not to engage in any professional or work activities
France’s Long-Term Visas
Any visits longer than a year require a general long-stay French visa.
The initial visa is typically issued for a year. Following that, you must request a longer-term residence permit from your neighborhood préfecture.
In some cases, if your stay won’t last more than a year, you may initially be given the temporary VLS-TS. If you decide to stay longer than a year, you can apply for a residence visa if you match the requirements.
Long-stay visa application procedures are largely similar to those for other French visas. In addition to the obligation to visit the French embassy or consulate in your country to pay the costs and provide your biometric information, this also offers the opportunity to apply online.
The standard long-stay visa charge is €99. You must also present all required supporting documentation, including anything pertinent to the reasons for your visit.
You will be permitted to travel inside the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period with your long-stay visa. To be able to stay in France legally, you must submit an application for a French residence permit within two months of your arrival.
The French government offers a number of long-stay visas in four broad categories.
Work Permits in France
In France, you can apply for a long-stay work visa to work or conduct self-employed company.
You often need to have a job offer in order to work. When launching a business or working for yourself, you must demonstrate the project’s economic viability and your financial capacity to launch it.
The majority of French work visas go to highly skilled occupations. Current categories of visas include:
- For highly talented employees and entrepreneurs, there is the multi-year talent passport (passeport talent), which is valid for up to four years and permits you to travel with your spouse and any dependant children.
- Internal transfer for senior management and highly skilled personnel to a French branch of an international ICT corporation. “salarié détaché ICT” (ICT posted employee) is written on the visa.
- Repetitive seasonal work over an extended period of time.
- Traineeships or internships that are long-term. You are listed as a “stagiaire” (trainee) on your visa.
For further information, see the official guide on French study visas.
Study Permits in France
International students who have been offered a placement for a higher education course at a French university or educational institution are eligible for study visas.
Your visa is valid for the duration of your academic program. On this French visa, you are permitted to work up to 964 hours a year, or roughly 60% of a typical workweek.
You can apply for a minor scolarisé visa if your child, who is under the age of 18, wants to attend a French primary or secondary school. Information about your child’s enrollment must be provided.
For further information, see the official guide on French study visas.
Visas For Family in France
In France, you can apply for a family visa to stay with specific relatives permanently. Conditions vary according to the country of origin of the family member you are joining. If a relative of yours lives in France right now:
- You may join if you are an EU/EFTA national (except from France), your spouse, a kid under the age of 21, or a dependant direct relative.
- Within three months of arriving, you must submit an application for a residence permit. For entry into the nation, you might need to obtain a short-stay visa.
- If you are a French national and your spouse, kid, adopted child, or dependant elder relative are all over the age of 21, you may join. To enter France, you typically require a long-stay visa.
- If you are the spouse or child of a non-EU/EFTA citizen who has lived in France for at least 18 months, you are eligible to join.
- For these French visas, you will typically have to provide documentation of your close familial ties. You must provide proof that your non-EU/EFTA family member can assist you financially if you want to apply to join them.
- Parents residing in France who wish to adopt a child from outside the EU/EFTA may also apply for an adoption visa from France.
Long-Term Private Stay Permits in France
If you want to move to France to retire, you can do so by requesting this visa. You’ll need to provide evidence that you have enough money saved up to support yourself in France without using any public resources, such a sizable pension.
If you don’t have a hotel reservation, you must earn €120 per day to meet the current standards.
You will need to show proof of adequate health insurance coverage if you plan to travel to France for a prolonged period of time for medical treatment.
For further information, see the official guide on French study visas.
What Are Refugee And Asylum Seeker Permits In France?
The asylum system in France is comparable to those in Germany and the UK. In France, anyone may apply for asylum. The nation received 103,790 asylum requests in 2021, which was second only to Germany in the EU.
In France, the procedure for requesting asylum varies a little depending on where you request it. If you want to apply, you should do it through the border police at one of the French borders.
If you’re applying from France, you should go to the prefecture that’s closest to you. After providing your fingerprints at a reception area, the OFII will process your application, usually within three working days.
The French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Office Français de Protection des Réfugiés et Apatrides – OFPRA) will then register your case file and issue you an asylum certificate. To file your complete asylum application, you have 21 days.
The processing of applications normally takes a few weeks, although it occasionally takes up to six months. They often involve a meeting with an OFPRA representative.
You will be allowed to stay in an asylum receiving facility during the application procedure or in another suitable setting.
Additionally, you will be given a monthly stipend, the amount of which will depend on the number of applicants. Currently, a single candidate must pay €6.80 per day (or €14.80 if no housing is offered).
In France, asylum seekers also have the right to obtain emergency medical care, legal counsel, and educational opportunities for kids ages 3 to 16. They have six months from the date of application to look for work.
Conclusion
Charting your short-term sojourn in France needn’t be a maze of confusion. With a clear understanding of temporary residence permits, you’re set to savor every French moment. Bon séjour!
Temporary Tenure!
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