My French Visa Process
Bienvenue, darling!
No matter where you are in the world, my goal is to be a resource for all Francophiles.
I first fell in love with Paris, then with all of France. Each time I returned, I stayed longer, eventually maxing out my Schengen travel waiver. I then pulled a long-stay tourism visa. During that time, my husband and I got serious about making France our long-term strategy.
I returned to the States to apply for (what I hope to be) my final visa: the Skills & Talents visa that allows me to work legally in France. It took me six months to build my 4-inch thick dossier. I was on a plane to France two weeks later and haven't returned to the U.S. since. I work and live here full-time with my two French bulldogs, Rose and Pearl.
France is the most incredible country in the world! I am absolutely in love with this dream I'm living every day.
How It All Started...
Over ten years ago, a client flew me out to Paris from the United States for "creative inspiration" on a project we were working on. As they say, I had a "coup de cœur" moment. I first fell in love with Paris, then with all of France. I stayed longer every time I returned to the country, maxing out my Schengen travel waiver.
I then applied for a long-stay tourism visa. During that time, my husband and I got serious about making France our long-term strategy. I acquired bank accounts, a permanent mobile phone number, and our first apartment. It was a big moment to receive utility bills in our name!
inally, I returned to the States to apply for (what I hope to be) my final visa: the "Skills & Talents," which allows me to work legally in France. It took six months to build my 4-inch thick dossier. After two very long months, my passport was returned to me in the mail with that magical visa affixed to a page inside.
I believe that my many years of owning and operating my business in the States and the previous years of investing in a life in France earned me French residency.
I was on a plane to France two weeks later and haven't returned to the U.S. since. I work and live here full-time; I own a house, a car, a business, and two petite French bulldogs (Rose and Pearl) and have since earned my multi-year residency card.
My French Entrepreneur Visa & Immigration Process in France.
Yesterday I spoke with a nice man from South Carolina. He and his family want to relocate to France. As a real estate agent in the States, he was curious about how I made the leap from the U.S. to France. We chatted about my long journey. It is rather indirect and complicated. I explained how difficult it is to get a work visa to be an entrepreneur here in France. And the fundamental reasoning behind that is your skills, talents, financial background, and capabilities have to be greater than the average French citizen.
Because the concept is that you are potentially taking another French citizen's space, job, business, access, or client. Aside from the colossal dossier I submitted, I also presented to the consulate a business plan, project proposal, financial projections, and a comprehensive CV (in total, almost 100 pages PLUS the regular dossier submission). Generally speaking, for an entrepreneur project, you must show that you will invest at least 30,000 euros into the program. You must have at least one year's savings in addition to your business outlay, established housing, and private insurance. Plus, an existing, stable monthly revenue that, at the very least, meets the French minimum wage.
I have owned my P.R. & marketing business since 2005. I still work in branding, marketing, and public relations. But now I can only work as a consultant and must also have French-origin business and clients. With this visa (now a multi-year residency card), I will never have the opportunity to work for another company or hire employees. It is forbidden. As long as I am in this category, I must always remain independent. At this point in my career, that is fine by me.
My Immigration Experience.
The immigration process is just the beginning of your uphill battle. If you remember, I received my profession libérale visa to start a new work project in France.
Not only did I have to follow through on that promise, but I had to do it in nine months. Why? Because your visa is valid for only one year. You have to start the application process all over again at the nine-month mark because of the long processing times at the prefecture. And if you don't, everything you've done up to this point is a waste. Your visa expires, and you go back to your country of origin.
No different than the consulate process that I described in earlier posts, your dossier must prove your worthiness to earn a residency permit and that you have met the minimum qualifications and expectations for your project and ex-pat life (including business formation in France, accountant, revenues, you've accessed the healthcare system, & completed all of the OFII immigration processes).
My dossier was 4 inches thick, and I built it as I would for my nationality application, including cultural and integration documents, to show that I was going above and beyond within the previous year. I joined associations, and I had friends and business partners write attestations. I volunteered and donated.
My in-take representative offered to submit my dossier for a multi-year CDS. This was HUGE. It means that I don't have to return annually for the next four years, but it also tees me up to apply for a ten-year CDS at the next session, which buys me time for the nationality process.
I left the prefecture anxious but hopeful. I was notified that my CDS was ready to pick up a few weeks later. With tax payment in hand, I arrived back at the prefecture and waited my turn. I handed over my attestation, proof of I.D., and timbre. And in turn, the gentleman at the window slipped my card into an envelope, asked for my signature, and then said, "Felicitations." I almost started to cry! I couldn't leave the building fast enough and rushed outside, ripping open the envelope. And there she was—my four-year residency card.
France is the most incredible country in the world! I am absolutely in love with this dream I'm living every day.
Whether you want to visit for one day or live here permanently, my goal is to be a resource to all of you who want to come to France.
Courses & Integration.
After you complete the sessions I mentioned above, the next step is to complete the convocation courses. You are assigned the schedule by the OFII office, and the classes are held from 9 AM to 5 PM each day. The meetings are not consecutive. I had months between my second and third sessions. This class purports to teach you about liberté, egalité, fraternité, laïcité, solidarité, the mechanisms of the French state, and how to live and gain employment in France. In all four classes, I was the only person from the Americas.
Many people who immigrate to France are from French-speaking countries (such as North African countries Morocco, Tunisia, etc.), so if you are not somewhat fluent in French, the classes can be overwhelming. There was a strong emphasis on women and children’s rights, anti-racism, pro-LGBTQ, the practice of religion, and access to education. At the end of each convocation class, you receive an officially stamped document, an attestation, that you completed the course.
You MUST keep these documents along with your health examination certificate, the French language test, and a copy of the ‘timbre’ (stamp) that you would have paid as part of your OFII appointment. Why? Because within nine months of your arrival in France, you have to go through “almost” the exact same process you did at the consulate in the States to get your visa. You see, your visa is only valid for 12 months! You must renew it at the prefecture each year unless you qualify for a multi-year residency card.
You have to repeat the application process (not the immigration), proving that you are meeting the requirements, year after year, while living in France as an ex-pat. This also applies to retirement visas.
Carte de Séjour.
The immigration process is just the beginning of your uphill battle. If you remember, the reason why I received my profession libérale visa was to start a new work project in France. Not only did I have to follow through on that promise, but I had to do it in nine months. Why? Because your visa is valid for only 1 year. You have to start the application process all over again at the nine month mark because of the long processing times at the prefecture. And if you don’t, everything you’ve done up to this point is a waste. Your visa expires, you go back to the States.
No different than the consulate process that I described in earlier posts, your dossier must prove your worthiness to earn a residency permit and that you have met the minimum qualifications and expectations for your project and expat life (including business formation in France, accountant, revenues, you’ve accessed the healthcare system, & completed all of the OFII immigration process).
My dossier was 4-inches thick and I built it as I would for my nationality application, including cultural and integration documents to show that I was going above and beyond within the previous year. I joined associations, I had friends and business partners write attestations, I volunteered, and donated.
My in-take representative offered to submit my dossier for a multi-year CDS. This was HUGE. Not only does it mean that I don’t have to return annually for the next four years, but it also tees me up to apply for a ten-year CDS at the next session. Which buys me time for the nationality process.
I left the prefecture anxious but hopeful. A few weeks later, I received a notification that my CDS was ready to pick up. With tax payment in hand, I arrived back at the prefecture and waited my turn. I handed over my attestation, proof of ID, and timbre. And in turn, the gentleman at the window slipped me my card in an envelope, asked for my signature, and then said “congratulations.” I almost started to cry! I couldn’t leave the building fast enough and rushed outside, ripping open the envelope. And there she was. My 4 year residency card.
I believe that France is the most incredible country in the world! I am absolutely in love with this dream I’m living every day. No matter if you want to visit for one day or live here permanently, my goal is to be a resource to all of you who want to come to France.