PACS visa

[eiren8]

Hi there, I just joined up because I can' t seem to find the answer to what should be a really simple question...

I got PACS'd with my french bf in August, and was planning on going home to Washington, DC soon to apply for my long-stay spousal visa at that time. However, am I eligible for a spousal visa with just a PACS?

What I'm concerned about is this phrase on the French consulate website: "A foreign citizen married to a French citizen, or to one of the EU, is exempt of the processing fees. (This facility is only valid for married spouses, not for registered partners of "PACS".)"

I assume this means I can still apply for a long-stay spousal visa, just that I have to pay for it, right? Not that I am ineligible for the visa..I hope

As always with the french bureaucracy I just want to make sure I have everything lined up properly before I make my appointment.

So, does anyone have information of if I'm allowed a long-stay visa with just a PACS?

Thanks!

[Bevdeforges]

If you've got a legally binding PACS in France, you should be able to apply for a visa. I think that phrase on the consulate website just means you have to pay for your visa.

Legally, you are required to maintain a household with your PACS partner, and that is a part of your PACS contract. Make sure you have copies of all that for your visa application - take a copy of whatever lease you may have signed (if you did) and any other documents directly related to the PACS, as well as all the usual visa docs (birth certificate, passport, etc. etc). It should be reasonably straight-forward (at least as much as these things ever are when the French administration is involved).
Cheers,
Bev

[eiren8]

Thank you Bev! That's pretty much what I thought, I just wanted to double check. In the middle of signing up for my appointment I was struck by the thought that perhaps I had invented the PACS visa, resulting in, of course, a fit of panic. It is SO nice, and so calming to have someone like you out there, will all of the answers!

[Bevdeforges]

As far as I know, there isn't actually a "PACS visa" per se. It's simply a long-stay visa with your reason being to join your PACS partner. Just stay calm, even if the consulate starts fussing about "this won't fly" or any such thing. I suspect it's their way of testing you.
Cheers,
Bev

[Squeaker]

Hi, Eiren8, were you able to PACS on a tourist visa? I'm planning on doing the same thing and am also trying to get some preliminary info.

[frogblogger]

These two government responses on the PACS subject - from 2003 and 2008 - are revealing.

The government considers itself to be under no obligation to provide a reason for the refusal of a visa to someone applying on the strength of a PACS relationship, whereas it accepts that it has to do so for a spouse (married).

A spouse and a PACS'd partner are not considered equal in terms of immigration rights. France uses European Directive 2004/38, Article 2 clause 2(b) to support this differentiation.

France considers itself only obliged to "favour" PACS'd applicants (in accordance with Article 3 of the same Directive).

The 'private and family life' visa takes into account only the time spent together in France, so those who have PACS'd abroad without spending a minimum period of a year (?) together in the Hexagon are not eligible (hence the complaints raised that the latter have only been issued with visitor visas/residence permits).

Caveat - especially with regard to the 2003 response, I'm not sure how, or if at all, the recent June changes in legislation with respect to visa regulations has affected the PACS situation.

[Bevdeforges]

What Frogblogger said. Be careful, too, in that per my skim of the texts in question, they seem to be talking about visas for people who already have a PACS in place. I've seen vague references to visas for those going to France in order to get PACS'd, but nothing terribly definitive.

The local tribunals (who are the office that establishes the PACS) may have their own interpretations of the identity and residence documents required to conclude a PACS. Some tribunals may require a "titre de séjour" (which you won't get on a tourist visa). Best to check with the source first.
Cheers,
Bev