Change visa de long séjour status

[mnegrete]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum and although I tried to find information for my specific case, sadly I haven't found anything.

I'm a mexican with a "visa de long séjour - visiteur" and I'm able to stay in France for one year but I'm not able to work. I've been extremely happy here and now I want to stay here for more time but I have not the financial resources to live here on my own for more time than the original 1 year period (you know that the life here is not "cheap").

So my question is if there's any way I can change my visa status to be able to work here, I don't care if I have to go back to my country in order to do that, I just want to be able to work and stay in France for as long as possible because it really is a great place to live and I love being here.

Thank you very much in advance for your help!

[Bevdeforges]

The official way to do what you want to do is to find a job with an employer willing and able to sponsor you for a visa. Then you go back to your country and wait for the employer's sponsorship paperwork to come through. (This involves the employer getting approval to hire a foreigner, among other things.) Once the consulate has the paperwork from the employer, they will contact you to make your application for a visa de long sejour with working privileges (though you'll be limited to working for that employer).

The chances of finding a job where the employer is willing and able to sponsor your visa application depend largely on your line of work and your qualifications. It will probably go better if you stick to larger, international employers, because small employers often have no idea of the requirements and sometimes will offer you a job, not realizing the role they must play in getting a visa.
Cheers,
Bev

[mnegrete]

Hi Bev,

Thank you for your quick response. As I can see it is really complicated to get the visa, right? Do you have any idea about how much time does it takes until the consulate (and the whole government) processes the paperwork and authorizes the visa?

Thanks again,
Mauricio

[Bevdeforges]

I don't have any experience with work visas myself, but I suspect it is related to the employer involved. A large, international employer with lots of experience hiring from abroad can probably get things processed and the visa issued in far less time than an employer doing it for the first time and just learning the process. The larger employer will also have a better idea what sorts of jobs can be justified for hiring a foreigner from outside the EU.
Cheers,
Bev

[mnegrete]

Hello again,

I have one more question and I hope you can help me. As I've told you before, I have the "Visa de Long Séjour" as a "Visitant" (Sabbatical visitor) valid for one year and one of the requirements was for me to sign a letter saying that I'm committed to don't work in France (anyway, the visa doesn't allow me to get a job).

In a recent talk with somebody I worked with several years ago, he offered me a job whenever the France government allowed me to work (he says the process to get me a visa from zero is extremely painful and slow). The point is that I've found information saying that if I have a contract or a company willing to contract me I can change my visa status, yet, I can't find any information on the OFII or any other government-owned site.

As a side note, I went to my "mairie" but they didn't answered my question, they just told me that my current visa doesn't allows me to work. Period. :S (But another person who works with immigrants told me, again, that I can change my status).

Do you have any information or advise you can give me?

Thank you very very very much,
Mauricio

[Bevdeforges]

The issue of whether or not you can change your visa status is a very complicated one. The law has been changing over the last couple of years, so it's no wonder that you may be getting conflicting advice.

IF it is possible to change your visa without returning to Mexico to do so, chances are it will be the préfecture that would do the deed for you. You probably need to head for the préfecture and ask the question there. I wouldn't hold your breath, as changing from a non-working visa to a working visa is probably one of the more difficult changes to make - but if you don't ask the question, you won't find out. I suspect the préfecture may ask you to provide proof that your future-employer has gotten approval from the government to hire a foreigner before they'll agree to the change in status.

According to the Service Public website the only sort of visa change you can make these days without going back home is if you are legally resident on a long-stay visa in France and you marry a French national - at that point you can get a spouse visa (which carries work privileges) without returning home. But this is France and you never know.
Cheers,
Bev

[expatfor]

Hello,

I also have a visa de long séjour - visiteur, and I would like to know if anyone has advice on changing my status from visitor to student, family member, or even intern. Preferably, I'd like to keep the "visa de long séjour" but change the visitor status to something allowing me to work, if that is possible?

student - I am enrolled long-term in a French language school so I believe I am elligible, and I hear the student visa allows for 20 hours/week of work. My concern is that my current one-year visa may be better (longer) than a student visa; I am not sure if language school visas tend to be shorter term.

family - I am in a PACS with my French partner and we have a lease to prove that we've lived together for the past 2 years (mostly in Egypt, and now 3 months in Paris). I am just concerned that this process takes a long time, especially as I heard that the Paris préfecture is overrun and backed up.

intern - I believe there is a visa de long séjour - intern, but according to the last email I received from OFII, this would still not allow me to earn any money from an internship (ie, unpaid)

I am planning to email the préfecture but as the OFII website was limited, I'm asking for general information here first to get an introduction.

Your help is greatly appreciated!
Best,
Tori

[Bevdeforges]

The prefectures don't always respond very well to e-mails. You'd do better to go in in person to ask the question.

Officially, the only change of status that is regularly granted is from a "visitor" visa to a spouse carte de séjour. For most other changes in status, they normally ask you to return back home and re-apply for a new visa. A student visa will only last for the period of time that your school program does. If you're already PACS'd, you should probably try that approach first, as it's a better deal than your other options and can be renewed more easily.
Cheers,
Bev