Skills and Talent Card: Whose "Compétences" Should We Use?

[oeufmayonnaise]

This is my very first post on this board, but I've been reading your conversations for months now and have learned a tremendous amount. I'd appreciate any feedback.

Within the next 12 months, my wife and I are planning on moving to Paris for at least a year. Naturally, the compétences et talents visa is appealing to us, since it offers the most flexibility. I am an independent statistician, consulting with a number of non-profit research groups, and I do a lot of work based on economic surveys in countries all around the world, including in france. i could easily tailor a research "project" on the french workforce using data my organization already collects; it would very much complement my work, and i could prove, based on past publications, that it would have a good chance of being printed in a business journal. furthermore, it could, in theory, be of some use to policymakers and economists in france. Meanwhile, my wife is a writer on the staff of a magazine. She's very interested in the history of the expatriate experience in paris, and is working on a book proposal about one of its less known aspects. (She will quit her job when we move.) She's never written a book before, but has published many articles and could furnish letters of recommendation from established writers living in France as to her ability to pull of this project. My question for you is this: Who should apply for the visa? With her byline, my wife has more of a digital footprint on Google and such, and her project is more culturally prestigious than mine, although it's less a story about the "glory" of France than the experience of outsiders there. On the other hand, my work might have a more obvious impact on the country, especially considering its difficult economic situation at the moment.

Thank you again for your feedback.

[RayRay]

Originally Posted by oeufmayonnaise

This is my very first post on this board, but I've been reading your conversations for months now and have learned a tremendous amount. I'd appreciate any feedback.

Within the next 12 months, my wife and I are planning on moving to Paris for at least a year. Naturally, the compétences et talents visa is appealing to us, since it offers the most flexibility. I am an independent statistician, consulting with a number of non-profit research groups, and I do a lot of work based on economic surveys in countries all around the world, including in france. i could easily tailor a research "project" on the french workforce using data my organization already collects; it would very much complement my work, and i could prove, based on past publications, that it would have a good chance of being printed in a business journal. furthermore, it could, in theory, be of some use to policymakers and economists in france. Meanwhile, my wife is a writer on the staff of a magazine. She's very interested in the history of the expatriate experience in paris, and is working on a book proposal about one of its less known aspects. (She will quit her job when we move.) She's never written a book before, but has published many articles and could furnish letters of recommendation from established writers living in France as to her ability to pull of this project. My question for you is this: Who should apply for the visa? With her byline, my wife has more of a digital footprint on Google and such, and her project is more culturally prestigious than mine, although it's less a story about the "glory" of France than the experience of outsiders there. On the other hand, my work might have a more obvious impact on the country, especially considering its difficult economic situation at the moment.

Thank you again for your feedback.

The good news about a Talents & Competencies Visa is that it allows both partners to work, the successful applicant and the spouse! So... consider the following:

• C&T Visas are for 3 years: Whomever of you has a project that will take 3 years or longer to complete should apply. Remember, as well, that 3 years down the line you will have to renew the C&T Visa and you will want your project to still be going on, if at all possible. After 5 years, you can apply for citizenship, which would mean you don't need to keep renewing your visa.
• Best Chance: You'll need to write the application, support it with the simple things (photos, forms, birth certificates, diplomas, & marriage license), and also recommendations, publications... basically any sort of attachments that demonstrates your expertise and the likelihood you'll complete the project. Having assembled and thought about the application, one of you may have a stronger presentation.

It may be possible for you both to apply. I've not seen anything that prohibits it, but I am not willing to say that there's no such prohibition.

I wonder if the Consulate staff might think it "odd" if you both apply (or maybe that's just my built-in bias <s>). It might be worth it for one of you to apply and during the interview ask the interviewer whether it's possible and OK for you both to apply, to maximize your chances.

Best of luck.

Ray