[dolcee39]

I arrived in France on February 23rd with a titre de sejour. My connecting flight was in Spain so my visa was stamped in Spain. When I arrived in France customs refused to stamp my visa because Spain stamped it. I remember reading on this forum to make sure that your visa is stamped with your entry date. Is that going to create a problem for me because the entry date was stamped in spain? Also what documents do I need to send to the perfecture for my cds ? I have the application that was stamped by the French consulate but don't know what else is needed. I am a US citizen married to my French citizen.

Thanks for your help.

 

[_Sarah_]

You need to send your form into the OFII, not the prefecture. You don't get a carte de sejour the first year.

Once you've mailed in the correct things to the OFII (not sure where the list is), they will give you an appointment: you get a medical, you sign an integration contract, you do a civics class, ect. Then they stamp your visa which is your titre de sejour for the first year. Around 2 months before your visa expires, you apply for your first carte de sejour at the prefecture.

Maybe Bev or someone else remembers all the documents you need to send to the ofii.

 

[dolcee39]

You need to send your form into the OFII, not the prefecture. You don't get a carte de sejour the first year.

Once you've mailed in the correct things to the OFII (not sure where the list is), they will give you an appointment: you get a medical, you sign an integration contract, you do a civics class, ect. Then they stamp your visa which is your titre de sejour for the first year. Around 2 months before your visa expires, you apply for your first carte de sejour at the prefecture.

Maybe Bev or someone else remembers all the documents you need to send to the ofii.

Sarah,
Thank you for your quick response.

 

[_Sarah_]

Sorry it was a bit rushed, that was just a rundown. I can't remember where you know which things you need to mail to the OFII - may it's on the form that you filled in (the one that's half-done by th consulate)? I just remember one of the things is a photocopy of your passport with the entry stamp, we'll see what someone else says about the Spain issue.

 

[Bevdeforges]

First of all, what you entered on is not yet a titre de séjour - it's just a visa. Visas allow you to enter the EU and/or France. A titre de séjour is just a generic version of a carte de séjour (or residence permit).

You need to send the papers you got at the Consulate along with a photocopy of your passport to the OFII in the departement where you are living. (There are some parts for you to fill out on the forms, I believe, before you send them in.) The copy of the stamp in your passport (the one from the spanish immigration people) is probably only necessary if the Spanish immigration didn't stamp the papers from the Consulate - but it wouldn't hurt to send a copy of your visa anyhow.

Locate yourself on this map to find your OFII office.

Oh, and welcome to France!
Cheers,
Bev

 

[dolcee39]

Sorry it was a bit rushed, that was just a rundown. I can't remember where you know which things you need to mail to the OFII - may it's on the form that you filled in (the one that's half-done by th consulate)? I just remember one of the things is a photocopy of your passport with the entry stamp, we'll see what someone else says about the Spain issue.

Thank you Sarah.

 

[dolcee39]

First of all, what you entered on is not yet a titre de séjour - it's just a visa. Visas allow you to enter the EU and/or France. A titre de séjour is just a generic version of a carte de séjour (or residence permit).

You need to send the papers you got at the Consulate along with a photocopy of your passport to the OFII in the departement where you are living. (There are some parts for you to fill out on the forms, I believe, before you send them in.) The copy of the stamp in your passport (the one from the spanish immigration people) is probably only necessary if the Spanish immigration didn't stamp the papers from the Consulate - but it wouldn't hurt to send a copy of your visa anyhow.

Locate yourself on this map to find your OFII office.

Oh, and welcome to France!
Cheers,
Bev

Bev,

Thank you. I will send the immigration form along with a copy of my passport to the OFII. I was a bit worried because immigration in Spain put the stamp directly on my visa. Its a relief to hear that it's not going to create a problem for me.

Thanks again Bev.

 

[geeky]

I came to france with a french VISA and went to the prefecture to apply for a tirte de sejour (The visa is for 3 months and it says in the VISA that i need to go to the prefecture upon my entry)
I came here from Switzerland (although I am a non EU citizen and hence needed a VISA) and so my VISA was not stamped at all. But it was not a problem while submitting the papers at the prefecture.
At the prefecture, I was told that i need to wait for a letter from them which will have the details about my OFII appointment but from what i read here in this post, it seems i need to contact OFII myself ? Can someone please clarify ? I applied in Rennes and I was given the recepisse on the day of the application itself..

 

[Bevdeforges]

It's going to be a different process for you, since you got your visa in Switzerland (I'm assuming) and so would not have an entry stamp on your visa.

As long as they gave you a recippissee, you're ok for the time being. If you don't hear anything from the OFII in a month or two, stop by the prefecture and ask if there is any sort of problem. Each prefecture has its own version of how things work - and if they've started the process, let them see it through for you.
Cheers,
Bev