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Australian Moving to France

996 views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  Bevdeforges 
#1 ·
Hi,

I have read lots of forums and immigration website regarding to different France visa repeatedly but I cannot find a best way to apply for a visa that allows me to work & stay permanently.

I am planning to move to France as recently my boyfriend has proposed. However, I am not too sure which visa to apply for. I am hoping to have a visa that allows to me work, study French and stay permanently. But it seems that the max staying period is 1 year (long stay visa) and I cannot work under this visa. Can someone please advise which visa I should be looking for? Also the required documents?

Help ~~ :(

Thank you
 
#2 ·
There is no such thing as a visa that allows you to work, study French and stay "permanently." Normally you get a one-year long-stay visa and you renew it (or rather renew your carte de séjour) one year at a time until you qualify either for French nationality or for a 5 or 10 year carte de residente.

Depending on the nationality of your boyfriend, you can get either a dependent visa to whatever visa he has (which may or may not allow you to work), a carte de séjour (if he has an EU nationality other than French), or you have to get married to him (if he is French) to qualify for a spouse visa.
Cheers,
Bev
 
#3 ·
Hi Bev,

Thank you for your prompt respond. My boyfriend is a French citizen, we are not too sure which is the way is the way easier to get me a visa to live permanently. I will be going to France this August for 2 weeks. What do you think we should do that allows me to stay permanently in France?(well 1 yr, and then renew) is a long stay visa better or a carte de séjour? With long visa, I need to states my reason right? But how do I proof our relationship as we met 2 yrs ago in Australia but he return to France last yr and we are having long distance relationship. So far I have only visited France once and the 2nd trip ll be in aug. what is the requirement of carte de séjour? Do I need to states my reason too?

For a spouse visa, I ll have to get married in France correct? What do I need to be married to the French? As I ll be in France in August, do you think we ll be able to get married and when I return to Australia I apply for the spouse visa? Sorry that I have ask so many questions.. I really appreciate your help and time. Thank you. Hope to hear from you soon :)
 
#4 ·
Whoa, there, you're confusing things.

A visa is a document that allows you to ENTER France legally for some specific term and reason. Once you get to France you then have to apply for a "titre de séjour" (which is basically a residence permit). Your "titre de séjour" may be an actual card (hence, "carte de séjour") or it may just be a sticker in your passport for the first year you are there. It depends on the type of visa on which you entered France in the first place.

Having been with your French boyfriend for however many years gets you nothing in the visa game. France doesn't recognize "de facto" relationships. To qualify for a spouse visa, you need to be married to him. (Whether you get married in France or elsewhere is irrelevant - though if you get married outside of France, you should make sure to follow the procedure for the French consulate so that you can get your marriage "registered" in France and get a Livret de Famille, which will get you a spouse visa.

The other option is to apply for a long-stay "visitor" visa, which is what they use as a "fiancé" visa. You will have to get married within the first six months or so of your arrival in France. On a visitor visa, you will not be able to work. When your visitor visa comes up for renewal, you apply for a change in status to a spouse visa. At that point, you'll have to go through the OFII stuff you missed - which includes a couple of day-long classes, formal evaluation of your French (and possibly assignment to French classes) and some other details. Once that is all completed, you'll get a carte de séjour as the spouse of a French national, and then you'll be able to work (or at least look for work - jobs are scarce here at the moment).

But basically, unless you have plans to marry, you're kind of out of luck on moving to France. Getting PACS'd is a option, but it's a much riskier route if what you are interested in is a long-stay visa with working privileges.
Cheers,
Bev
 
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