Moving to France in 2010 for almost five months -- question about visa and vaccines

[LoisL]

Hello,

We are Americans living and working in Canada who will be moving to France for part of my husband's sabbatical next year. We will likely be renting a house in a village near Dijon, where I studied French a zillion years ago. We have three children -- a son who will be 7.5 (who attends French immersion school here in Canada) and twin daughters who will be 4.5.

I am hoping you can help me with a few questions. My husband will be primarily writing (and what better place to write than in France) but he will also be meeting with colleagues at universities throughout France and in Switzerland, and using libraries and institutes in Paris. We will likely be in France for 4.5 months, and then will spend a few weeks in England before heading home.

We have heard from friends here who have had sabbaticals in France that applying for a long stay visa for such a short trip is just a waste of effort, as those who have stayed in France for 6 months didn't receive them until after they returned home, and those who stayed a year received it at the end of the stay. If my husband is not technically "working" (bringing in an income in France), is there anything to prevent us from arriving in France on a 3 month tourist visa, going to Switzerland after 2.5 months and trying to get our passports stamped, and returning for the rest of our stay? From all I have been able to dig up, I don't see that it would prevent the kids from going to school, and we will have our Blue Cross health insurance reimburse any doctor costs once we return.

If you have any thoughts on that, I would appreciate it.

Also, does anyone know what the vaccine requirements are for children the ages of my kids? I have found that only DTP(olio) are mandated for school (but I haven't been able to find how many are required), and many many others are recommended, and TB is not longer required. Does that sound right? One of my girls had an terrible reaction to her shots as a baby, and we have been delaying her and her sister's vaccines (and not continuing the DTaP, as the doctors believe that is what causes the reaction). I would like to be sure what the minimum requirements are for school. Also, our doctor here is bilingual. If he wrote a note explaining her reaction, do you think that would that be accepted for some kind of waiver?

Thanks for your help! I have enjoyed reading this forum!

[Bevdeforges]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

If you're going next year for sabbatical, there is still plenty of time to apply for and get your visas. OK, once over there, you may not get your cartes de séjour until too late, but as long as you have your recippissée (receipt) you're fine. They are cracking down a bit on these things - and you may find you have trouble renting a place to live if you don't have at least that receipt that says you're going through the process.

The old trick of leaving France to get your passport stamped doesn't work anymore, as in these days of Schengen, it is darned near impossible to find anyone at the borders. (And besides, the 90 day tourist visa - aka the Schengen visa - is valid for 90 days within the whole Schengen region. You actually need to go back home to revalidate it.)

As far as I know, there is no way around the vaccination requirements for school. It's not for your kids - it's to protect all the other kids. If you are looking for a waiver, better to get it from a French doctor in France, as they will have the proper forms and procedures. The note in French would be useful to show a French doctor to let him advise you the appropriate process here.
Cheers,
Bev

[LoisL]

Thanks for your quick reply. I had forgotten Switzerland signed up in Dec. 2008, and wasn't thinking of the 180 days part. We'll go ahead and get that paperwork (nightmarish!) collected and translated now and submitted five months before we leave.

I think I will have our doctor write up the reaction and hope for the best. We think we have found a good place to live -- and we are getting SO excited.

Any other advice or things to know about the application for the long term visa? If not, thanks for your help again!

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

Hi and welcome to the forum.

If you're going next year for sabbatical, there is still plenty of time to apply for and get your visas. OK, once over there, you may not get your cartes de séjour until too late, but as long as you have your recippissée (receipt) you're fine. They are cracking down a bit on these things - and you may find you have trouble renting a place to live if you don't have at least that receipt that says you're going through the process.

The old trick of leaving France to get your passport stamped doesn't work anymore, as in these days of Schengen, it is darned near impossible to find anyone at the borders. (And besides, the 90 day tourist visa - aka the Schengen visa - is valid for 90 days within the whole Schengen region. You actually need to go back home to revalidate it.)

As far as I know, there is no way around the vaccination requirements for school. It's not for your kids - it's to protect all the other kids. If you are looking for a waiver, better to get it from a French doctor in France, as they will have the proper forms and procedures. The note in French would be useful to show a French doctor to let him advise you the appropriate process here.
Cheers,
Bev

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by LoisL

Thanks for your quick reply. I had forgotten Switzerland signed up in Dec. 2008, and wasn't thinking of the 180 days part. We'll go ahead and get that paperwork (nightmarish!) collected and translated now and submitted five months before we leave.

I think I will have our doctor write up the reaction and hope for the best. We think we have found a good place to live -- and we are getting SO excited.

Any other advice or things to know about the application for the long term visa? If not, thanks for your help again!

One trick for the paperwork - Plan on it taking at least two to three trips to the consulate (and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised) - but even if you have everything on the list, they will normally find something else they suddenly "need." It seems to be part of the game. Keep your cool when dealing with the authorities, answer only the questions they actually ask you (don't volunteer any information they don't ask about - it just gets you in trouble) but be just as cooperative as you possibly can be. (Fake it if you have to. ) Attempt to speak French if you possibly can (no matter how badly - let them suggest switching to English, at least you tried). And you may just find that things go better than you expect.

The same thing may help with the doctor when you get here. Take the note from your doctor to a doctor in France and simply ask him (or her) what he (or she) thinks you should do. Drop the problem on them without suggesting that you want a dispensation or anything else specific. You might find they have their own approach that could be better than what you were looking for.

"Courage" as they say here. With the right attitude, these things often go fairly smoothly - and if they don't, try to find the funny side. Getting all mad and frustrated usually just messes you up.
Cheers,
Bev

[vbarretto]

did you make it out to Dijon yet? Im an American living here in Dijon

[LoisL]

Originally Posted by vbarretto

did you make it out to Dijon yet? Im an American living here in Dijon

We'll be coming in mid-January 2010. How are you liking it there? Any tips/advice about the move?

[vbarretto]

I really love Dijon! I used to live in Lyon for 8 months and prefer Dijon a lot more! It is is a lively city with lots of culture and amazing things to do here. It is such an aesthetically pleasing place to be as well. The city puts on so many wonderful things for the people here. And at the same time it is small enough to feel relaxed and comfortable! If you have any questions, feel free to let me know. Hope everything goes well with sorting things out to get here safely and carefree! - Vero

[Matou]

Hello LoisL,
When I was kid TB never worked on me; after many vaccination tries I showed no reaction to the patch.
As we were living in France and TB was mandatory my mum went to our doctor and explained him the circumstances.
He just wrote a “certificate” according to which I was “naturally immune” to tuberculosis and it worked like a charm.
Some 20 years later a tuberculaosis case was diagnosed in the company I was working and we all had to pass serious exams. They actually found that I was immune so the doctor finally did not lie…