hi all;
this is my first post to the expat forum, and no doubt there has been many and varied queries about getting PACS and/or married in France (i read so many of them that my head is swimming with information!) there has been many contradictions in information from what i have been read and told; it seems that everyoe has a different experience with the application process!
what i was wondering is this:
i am currently here in Paris on a working holiday visa and have been living with my boyfriend since i arrived. he is a french citizen. i know that we can get PACS'd and if I can prove we have been living together for more than a year i should be able to get a carte de sejour (should being the operative word; as apparently getting PACS'd just influenced their decision rather than definitely giving it to you; which would be the case if you get married). my first question is this:
1 does this carte de sejour mean that I can work here; or is it the same as having a long stay visitor visa without work?
my visa runs out in july and i must return to australia at this time, so technically we will have lived in france for just under one year; and could probably only prove that we were living together for 10 months or so at the most. I will go back to australia for about 6 weeks and then return to france after this. my second question is:
2 does this mean that i will have to prove a whole more year after this time of living together in france because i interrupted it by going back to my home country; or will the 6 weeks that i spent out of the country be included in the one yr living together?
3 i have heard that you must have a translator present when you apply for a PACS or carte de sejour; it cannot be your french partner, but an approved translator. these cost about 200 euro an hour i have heard; and you also have to pay them if you are waiting in line at the mairie before you get your application interview (i have heard that people can wait for 3 hours of so; which is a pricey sum to pay for a translator to wait around for you!). if you dont speak well enough french; is this the case?
4 in order to re-enter France to apply for a PACS; should i get a long stay visitor visa; or is it ok just to have the 3 months normal visiting time? seeing as the process seems to take a long time and can have many rejections and retries; i dont want to have to fly home in the middle of the process because the process took longer than expected! (however i also dont want to waste a lot of time and money going through the process of a long stay visitor visa if it is not necessary)
if anyone has some links to english instructions for getting a PACS application done that would be much appreciated; i am not confident enough in my french to understand the numerous websites on this topic in french!
sorry for the ridiculously long set of questions; its very hard to be clear and concise on such a confusing and stressful topic!
this is my first post to the expat forum, and no doubt there has been many and varied queries about getting PACS and/or married in France (i read so many of them that my head is swimming with information!) there has been many contradictions in information from what i have been read and told; it seems that everyoe has a different experience with the application process!
what i was wondering is this:
i am currently here in Paris on a working holiday visa and have been living with my boyfriend since i arrived. he is a french citizen. i know that we can get PACS'd and if I can prove we have been living together for more than a year i should be able to get a carte de sejour (should being the operative word; as apparently getting PACS'd just influenced their decision rather than definitely giving it to you; which would be the case if you get married). my first question is this:
1 does this carte de sejour mean that I can work here; or is it the same as having a long stay visitor visa without work?
my visa runs out in july and i must return to australia at this time, so technically we will have lived in france for just under one year; and could probably only prove that we were living together for 10 months or so at the most. I will go back to australia for about 6 weeks and then return to france after this. my second question is:
2 does this mean that i will have to prove a whole more year after this time of living together in france because i interrupted it by going back to my home country; or will the 6 weeks that i spent out of the country be included in the one yr living together?
3 i have heard that you must have a translator present when you apply for a PACS or carte de sejour; it cannot be your french partner, but an approved translator. these cost about 200 euro an hour i have heard; and you also have to pay them if you are waiting in line at the mairie before you get your application interview (i have heard that people can wait for 3 hours of so; which is a pricey sum to pay for a translator to wait around for you!). if you dont speak well enough french; is this the case?
4 in order to re-enter France to apply for a PACS; should i get a long stay visitor visa; or is it ok just to have the 3 months normal visiting time? seeing as the process seems to take a long time and can have many rejections and retries; i dont want to have to fly home in the middle of the process because the process took longer than expected! (however i also dont want to waste a lot of time and money going through the process of a long stay visitor visa if it is not necessary)
if anyone has some links to english instructions for getting a PACS application done that would be much appreciated; i am not confident enough in my french to understand the numerous websites on this topic in french!
sorry for the ridiculously long set of questions; its very hard to be clear and concise on such a confusing and stressful topic!
