[lmoore954]

When I went to the préfecture last year, the fonctionnaire who handled my file seemed a bit displeased that my partner and I presented copies of our cable, electricity, and phone bills that were printed from the Internet. For us, it's easier just to get electronic copies from our online accounts.

With each copy she looked at, she asked if we had the original to which we responded "no". I was convinced that this was going to be a problem. :smash:

But in the end, everything worked out and the mission was accomplished: carte de séjour was received with only minor psychological scarring.

For those having done a renewal (or renewals) of a carte de séjour (vie privée et familiale), is it better to try to get original copies of utility bills from the service providers? If so, what is the most efficient way to get this done? Do the providers charge you for such a service?

Or, could one dare to assume that since many people prefer to receive their bills electronically, copies printed from a home computer might be acceptable for this kind of endeavor?

 

[95995]

When I went to the préfecture last year, the fonctionnaire who handled my file seemed a bit displeased that my partner and I presented copies of our cable, electricity, and phone bills that were printed from the Internet. For us, it's easier just to get electronic copies from our online accounts.

With each copy she looked at, she asked if we had the original to which we responded "no". I was convinced that this was going to be a problem. :smash:

But in the end, everything worked out and the mission was accomplished: carte de séjour was received with only minor psychological scarring.

For those having done a renewal (or renewals) of a carte de séjour (vie privée et familiale), is it better to try to get original copies of utility bills from the service providers? If so, what is the most efficient way to get this done? Do the providers charge you for such a service?

Or, could one dare to assume that since many people prefer to receive their bills electronically, copies printed from a home computer might be acceptable for this kind of endeavor?

Printing out in colour the pdf version of your utility bills and bank statements is just fine - they are considered originals and you should not say that they are not.

 

[Bevdeforges]

Actually, the government is getting much better about accepting print-outs of online bills. It's the "private sector" where they seem to be a problem. Printing the bills in color does definitely seem to help.

But given that the government is now insisting that folks file their taxes online and such, it seems reasonable that they will pretty much have to accept online printouts of utility bills. And I would have no qualms about simply stating that "I only receive my bill online" should you get hassled about it. (Develop an innocent, wide-eyed look when you say such things. It helps! <g>)
Cheers,
Bev

 

[95995]

Actually, come to think of it, I have been asked on several occasions whether bills are originals and it was because if they were, they wanted to take a copy and return the original to me (stamping and signing the copy to indicate that the fonctionnaire had seen the original).

 

[mohsel]

adding to all the above, with my electricity provider, they have on the online account an option if I want to receive the real bill by mail or lets say they have it the other way round that I chose to only get the online notification and the bill is in my account to access anytime.
so you can check in the account settings for a similar choice if you want an original bill.