Help needed. Titre de séjour refused

[ChristinaM]

Hi- I'm hoping someone can give me some much needed advice. I'm american and my boyfriend is french. I moved to France in Sept 06 with a tourist visa then received a student visa from Jan-July 07. We PACSd in Feb 07. I worked outside of france with an NGO from April-Nov 07 but continued to pay rent, charges, etc and when I came back I applied for the titre de séjour. When I applied they said I didn't need a long stay visa and the récépissé was enough. I recevied the right to work end of April 08 and have been working since but yesterday (Oct 20th), I received a letter that I have to leave in one month because I don't have a visa; because I'm "single" and don't have children, etc. What can I do??

I called the US embassy this morning and they said I needed a long stay visa to apply for a titre de séjour and I don't know what to do. We have an appt to see a lawyer next Monday but any advice, info, etc would be of enormous help.

Thank you so much in advance.

[Bevdeforges]

Hi there and welcome to French bureaucracy!

I bet they haven't changed the text on that letter asking you to leave in 30 days since I got one of those, 12 years ago.

Technically you do need a visa to apply for a carte de séjour, but I didn't have one, either. (I'm betting it was the French consulate somewhere that said you didn't need a visa. They told me the same thing - and boy, were they wrong!) I'll warn you though that it took me nearly two years to get this straightened out - and I was married to a Frenchman.

How did you receive the right to work without a carte de séjour? Normally your right to work is indicated on the carte de séjour. Do you have a French social security number and are you paying into the French benefits system? That would be a huge plus. If you're not paying French cotisations, I'd be suspicious of your "right to work." Have you filed a tax return with your partner yet? (That would definitely be another point in your favor, though I'm not sure how the PACS rules work there.)

The US embassy will do nothing for you (and in fact can do nothing for you) on this one. See what the lawyer tells you. (I've had only bad experiences here in France with lawyers, especially in this area, so I'll warn you not to hold your breath - but maybe you've found someone good.)

In any event, take a look on the Service Public website here: Visas de long séjour - Service-public.fr

There is a procedure for the foreign spouse of a French person to apply for a visa at their local préfecture. I don't know if this applies to couples who are PACS'ed, but you should probably at least ask the question.

The laws have changed (and gotten tougher) since my problems, but what I did was to sit tight and just start working things through the system. Be ready to tell people exactly what office told you you didn't need a visa and who told you you had the right to work (especially if there is a problem with that). Ultimately it comes down to the complete lack of communication between the various ministries, but you (as a foreigner) dare not criticize anything overtly.

I'm living proof that there is a way around this. But it will take a long time to sort out. Hang in there - and keep us posted on your progress.
Cheers,
Bev

[ChristinaM]

Hi Bev- Thank you so much for your post! I finally have some hope. Just to answer your questions- it was the prefecture that told me I didn't need a visa and I had the right to work with the récépissé while waiting for the carte de séjour. I have a social security number and make french cotisations and have a mutuelle. As a couple we have filed a tax return even though for 2007 my income was zero since I couldn't work in France. As for the lawyer, apparently he's a specialist in this area and I'll pass along his info for anyone who is in the the region of Toulouse if we find he's good . Bev, thanks again. I read many of your posts this morning and you're a wealth of knowledge. We expats definitely need someone like you!!

One final question for my part- we're planning to go to the US for Christmas. Now, we're wondering if it would be a good idea and more importantly if they'll let me return. What are your thoughts on this?
Thank you again
Christina

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by ChristinaM

Hi Bev- Thank you so much for your post! I finally have some hope. Just to answer your questions- it was the prefecture that told me I didn't need a visa and I had the right to work with the récépissé while waiting for the carte de séjour. I have a social security number and make french cotisations and have a mutuelle. As a couple we have filed a tax return even though for 2007 my income was zero since I couldn't work in France. As for the lawyer, apparently he's a specialist in this area and I'll pass along his info for anyone who is in the the region of Toulouse if we find he's good . Bev, thanks again. I read many of your posts this morning and you're a wealth of knowledge. We expats definitely need someone like you!!

One final question for my part- we're planning to go to the US for Christmas. Now, we're wondering if it would be a good idea and more importantly if they'll let me return. What are your thoughts on this?
Thank you again
Christina

Wow, what cheek - it's the préfecture that ultimately issues your carte de séjour. I would hold as a trump card the fact that they "may have" made a mistake in advising you as they did. (And then denying you the carte de séjour because you believed what they told you.)

Don't worry about going home for Christmas. They have no way to track you coming into the country. I left to visit my parents 10 days after the end of the 30 day period in which I was supposed to have left the country. Returned two weeks later and just gave them my passport like any other little tourist. Border control here is nothing like in the US.

It's ultimately their mistake here. (Ooh, I just LOVE it! ) Don't ever say that to someone at the préfecture, but use the phrase that "someone seems to have made a mistake here."

Do you have anything indicating why the carte de séjour was denied? (It could be buried deep in the wording of the letter telling you to get the heck out within 30 days.)
Cheers,
Bev

[ChristinaM]

Hi Bev- Thank you again for your reassuring words. It helps just knowing other people have gone/are going through the same thing!!
cheers,
Christina