Temporary Residency for France

Permanent residency for France

Citizenship for France:

You may apply for French citizenship if any of your parents are French or if you were born in France (apply at either 16 or 18 years old, even if your parents aren’t French). Also, if you have lived there for long enough, through your marriage to a French citizen or through some other exceptional conditions.

No matter what you have to fulfill certain basic requirements to be eligible. You must show that you have become a member of French society, personally and professionally, and that you have reached a good level of French.

You’ll also have to present your good moral character which usually means a clean police statement, although you might also be asked to attend interviews to reassure officials of your intent.

French citizen by naturalization:

Depending on your personal circumstances there are many different ways you can claim French citizenship. Aside from those outlined below which are considered to be the standard and fixed ones, there are some special points on the way to the naturalization processes for refugees, especially those qualifying on humanitarian grounds.

Naturalization is a process to become a citizen if you don’t qualify under any of the specific routes laid out above (origin, marriage, etc.). To manage naturalization you must have usually lived legally in France for the last five years. Exceptions are made, for example: you might need a shorter wait time if you’ve studied in a French higher educational institution, if you’ve completed military service with the French army or provided in some exceptional way to the French state, or if you’re from a country in which French is an official language and have been studying French language for the last five years.

How to apply for French citizenship:

The basic layout for applying for citizenship is the same, despite the grounds for your application. First, you’ll need to create your dossier which means to collect a wide range of documents needed for your application and complete the correct application form.

If you’re applying for French citizenship through naturalization, you must present your dossier at the local prefecture offices, or at the French embassy in the country of your origin.

After getting the receipt for your dossier depending on your exact circumstances you might need to attend an interview or to provide additional paperwork.

From the moment of becoming a French citizen, you are granted the right to live, work and vote in France on a permanent basis without any restrictions, as well as enjoy all the government-offered public benefits. In addition to that, French citizenship has the added bonus of entitling you and giving the opportunity to live and work in other European Union (EU) countries. Also, you don’t have to give up your own nationality if you become a French citizen: you can have French dual citizenship.

Dual nationality

Dual citizenship or nationality is not directly provided for in French law but is recognized. Thus a child born abroad in a country which applies and recognizes the rights of nationality depending on the place of birth, where such child may also claim nationality through parentage will have double nationality. Dual nationality may also be acquired through naturalization.

When a foreigner becomes French citizen the French law does not force him/her to refuse his original nationality, the same thing applies to a French person with French nationality when he/she obtains foreign nationality. This draft has been formulated and approved by a 1993 amendment signed between France, Italy and the Netherlands, which provides that dual nationality shall be allowed under certain conditions.

Family immigration

The France Family visa is a French long stay that has been established in order to permit foreigners to visit France and visit their family members, spouse, child or parent, for more than three months, up to a year. If your family is in France, you can apply for a French family reunification visa to join a relative or partner living in France, only after satisfying the needed conditions. These will depend on plenty of factors, such as nationality, the type of French permit your relative holds, and how long he or she has been residing there.

• The main criteria and requirements for those who wish to join a family member that is permanently or temporarily living in France, besides the fixed supporting documents, is that this relative residing in France must be:
• A national of the European Union or the European Economic Area
• A French National
• A foreign national legally residing in France.

Your family situation determines the procedure that you must follow to temporarily or permanently join your family member, so it is important to figure out under which category the visa type you need falls:

• Spouse of the French national
• Child of the French national
• A dependent older relative of French national or of his/her foreign spouse
• Foreign parent of minor French national

Work Permit for France

France is surely one of the most desirable and preferable places in the world to work as one of the world’s wealthiest countries with a very high quality of living. France has always been considered as a centrally influential cultural, economic, and political force in European affairs. Working in France can truly be the experience of a lifetime whatever your field of interest.

Citizens of EU/EEA or Switzerland, you are free to work in France without a work permit. Most of the people of other nationalities will have to pass the process of obtaining work permit visa before taking up employment in France. But first the applicant has to seek a France Residence Visa:

• If you hold a permanent residence permit in France, you have the right to work in France.
• If you hold a provisional stay permit or short-stay visa you have to apply for permission to work. If successful, you will receive one of the following:
• Temporary residency permit pointing out the type of work permitted, such as employee, self-employed, scientific, cultural and artistic profession’ or ‘trader’ as well as where you can do it
• Temporary work permit which applies to certain cases, e.g. where the employee continues the payroll of an overseas company
• Seasonal work contract which will determine the type of work, its location, and validity.
• Required documents:
• A letter explaining the employee’s role and nature of work detailing the duties they will be performing.
• Completed work permit application form
• A copy of the employee’s passport or national identity document.
• For future employees already residing in France, a copy of the residence permit authorizing them to stay in France.
• The employee’s CV/résumé or other evidence of their skills, knowledge, and experience.
• A copy of any qualifications or certificates required for the position in question if applicable
• In case the position in question is subject to specific regulatory conditions, evidence that these conditions are met.

Note: These are the main ones depending on personal conditions other documents may also be required.

Types of work visas in France :

• The new “Talent Passport” permit
• ‘Employed’ or ‘salaried’ and temporary workers’ permit
• EU Blue Card for highly skilled/educated workers
• Employees on assignment (also called ‘expatriate employee’) permit
• ‘Exceptional economic contribution’ permit
• Students and graduates
• Student Interns
• Seasonal workers permit
• Scientists/researchers permit

Visa for France

The type of visa required depends both on the duration and aim of your visit to France: tourism, professional plans, studies, family purposes. The category of visa essentially depends on the duration of and reason for your stay.

The first step towards acquiring a visa is actually finding out whether you need a France visa or not, which all depends on three factors:

• Your nationality.
• The length of your stay.
• The part of France you wish to visit.

Entry visas in France broken down into two main categories:

A short-stay visa allows foreign citizens to enter and stay in French territory for up to 3 months. Short-stay visas can be single-entry for one short stay or multiple-entry for several short stays. There are many types of French visas, the first being the short-term visa, but as France is one of 26 countries making up the ‘Schengen‘ area: Austria, Belgium,Malta, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania,Spain, Luxembourg, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland they have one common visa and no border controls between them.

You must apply at the French embassy or consulate in your country of residence if you need to obtain a Schengen visa. You need to hold a passport or national ID document issued within the previous 10 years and with validation of at least three months after you intend to leave France.

This type of visa is usually issued for tourism, business trips or family visits.

This type of visa is also claimed for simple transit through France, once outside “international zone” at an airport:

• If you need to change airports to continue your travel;
• If you are waiting for a transfer flight at a hotel or at an acquaintance’s home.

A long-stay visa This category of visa also known as “national visas” or “D visas are issued to foreigners who want to enter and stay in French territory for more than three months and up to 1 year with a possibility to later obtain a residence permit so they can live in France for a mentioned period.

• There are different types of long-stay visas, depending on one’s purpose of entry:
• Involvement in studies
• Getting a paid job
• Visiting family members already living in French territory (family reunion)
• Settling permanently in the French territory
• General required documents for a France Visa Application:
• A completed Visa application form
• Two recently taken passport photos 2 photos with a light background and which includes the applicant’s whole face.
• The passport with at least two blank pages and copies of your previous visas
• A copy of the return-ticket reservation. No need to purchase a ticket visa confirmation
• Travel visa insurance of minimum 30,000 € coverage within France and the entire Schengen area. In order to apply for a French visa, the French embassy/consulate claims a Schengen travel insurance policy with validation in all Schengen countries.
• A cover letter explaining the purpose of a visit to France
• Online hotel reservation
• Proof of civil status (marriage certificate, birth certificate of children, death certificate of a spouse)
• Means of subsistence – Proof of sufficient financial means for the period of stay, so that the applicant can support himself/herself during the travel
• Visa application fee- When applying for France Visa must be ably attesting to the France Embassy or Consulate possessing the daily money amount of 120€ if holding no proof of prepaid accommodation.

As seen the application process for French visa is similar to any other type of visa. It is very important to fulfill visa requirements, set by the relevant French Embassy or Consulate, so make sure to provide all the information and documents necessary or else this might lead to rejection.

Also, it is important to remember that depending on the personal situation and status of the applicant, additional or other particular visa application criteria for a French visa might be asked. The documents must be submitted only during the interview and the candidate has to be present alone except for under-age children who should attend the interview accompanied by their parents. Visa processing time can be different, depending on which visa the candidate is applying.