[Azur]

Hello,

I am having some problems with getting my Carte de Sejour and would be very grateful for any help and advice.

I have a US passport and I am married to a British citizen. Before moving to France in July 2012 we were living in England (I have a Permanent Resident Permit for the UK). I checked with the French consulate to see if I would need an entry Visa for France if I intended to relocate here and was told that since I was married to an EU passport holder that I would not need to obtain a visa before coming to France. I was also told that I would only need to apply for a Carte de Sejour if I intended to work in France.

I would like to now work here so I applied for my Carte de Sejour the end of July 2013 at the Police station where I lived and they forwarded my application to the main Prefecture. At the police station I was given an Attestation de Depot de Dossier for my application and was told that I would be contacted in one to two months. As I had not heard anything I recently emailed the Prefecture for an update. I have now had a message back from them asking what type of Entry Visa I have and also asking for the date that I entered France.

After having done some more research online I realise that I should have received a Reciprisse and also I am worried now that I should have applied for my Carte de Sejour much earlier. I don't think that I needed an entry Visa so I am not sure why they are asking me for one. Also, we have now just moved to a new Departement from the one where I originally lodged the application.

My husband is working here and I want to as well once I get this sorted out. I do now have a Cart Vital on my husband's account. I would be grateful for any advice on what to do. Should I request to have my Dossier transfered to the Prefecture for the Department where I am now living? And then what should I do to fix this situation.

Thank you very much for your help and advice.

 

[Bevdeforges]

You were apparently misadvised by the French consulate (which is more common than anyone would like to admit). Technically, you must apply within two months of your entry to France in order to get a carte de séjour as the spouse of an EU national. And yes, you are required to get one, not only if you want to work. (Hey, I was an illegal alien for almost two years after I married a French national thanks to dodgy information from the French Consulate in Stuttgart.)

The issue is that the Consulates have no idea how things work at the prefectures in France - in large part because they report to a different ministry.

But, for your situation, the easiest thing for you to do is to make a run (even a day trip) up to the UK. Return to France and make sure you get a Schengen visa stamp in your passport on your return (it's the 90 day stamp in the passport thing).

Go to your new préfecture and start from scratch. Don't mention your having applied for a carte de séjour anywhere else unless you are specifically asked about it. Use the new stamp in your passport as your entry visa (which will show that you are well within two months of your latest entry into France) and everything should go as smoothly as any of these things ever do in France.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[Azur]

Thank you so much for your help and advice. I am sorry for the delay in responding ( I have just had a crazy week!)

 

[Azur]

Long Stay Visa for US married to UK

Hello again,

Sorry that I forgot to ask if I was also supposed to get a Long Stay Visa before coming to France to apply for the Carte de Sejour or was that information from the Consulat correct? I thought that I had read that as the spouse of an EU citizen that it wasn't necessary for me to get a long stay visa before coming to France.

Thank you again for all of your help.

 

[Bevdeforges]

As the spouse of an EU national all you need is to have entered France legally - which means you need a stamp in your passport showing when you entered. But no, you do not need a long-stay visa. The 90 day Schengen thing is fine.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[Azur]

Hello Bev,

I can't thank you enough for all of your help. I wish that I had found you earlier!!

 

[Azur]

Hello Bev,
I am sorry to bother you again...just a quick question. I am going to take the trip back to the UK early in January to get my passport stamped on my return to France so that I can apply for the Carte de Sejour.

I wanted to check to see if you think that there will be a problem with a quick day trip since I will also have a very recent stamp in my passport showing when I left France when I make my application at the Prefecture in January. Or is the the entry stamp all that they are really concerned with for the Carte de Sejour application?

Thank you again for all of your help!

 

[Bevdeforges]

It can depend on how much of a pain in the butt the prefecture wants to be. But just go through the process and see how far you get. Many fonctionnaires simply want to follow the procedures they have been given and get done whatever it is they have to do.

Chances are, they won't go back and trace through all your entry and exit stamps. They generally just look for the latest entry stamp and get on with things.

No guarantees, but play it that way and don't answer any questions that aren't asked.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[Azur]

Thank you again for all of your help.
I will get my stamp and then think very positively!

 

[conky2]

Sorry but I have not read this thread closely enough. My wife is a US citizen and she showed her stamp at the sous prefecture. But here in 03 in Montlucon we were given an attestation form to confirm the date we entered france which we filled in ourselves.

This was enough to satisfy the date of entry requirements.

 

[Azur]

Thank you very much for your reply.
I was just wondering if the sous prefecture was in Montlucon or was it that you found there were different requirements for confirming the entry date in different prefectures.

 

[conky2]

We went first tour Mairie, who in turn directed us to the sous prefecture in Montlucon. I believe that different departments may have differing requirements so it would be best to check first locally.

 

[Azur]

Thank you very much for your additional help. I will check with my local prefecture.