[blackrabbit]

:confused2:I am an American who has lived with my Dutch partner on the southcoast of Turkey for the past 4 years and recently arrived in France because my girlfriends parents [who are Dutch] live here and due to the deteriorating health of her mother need living assistance. Her father is in his 70's and cannot cope with all the demands of taking care of his wife who is suffering the early stages of Alzheimers.

So, we came here last summer and I applied for staying permission which was denied because the Prefecture said I needed a different visa than the simple entry visa I got in my passport at the airport in Brussels. Now I am told that the only way to obtain this visa is to apply for it from the USA which have never intended to return to as well as cannot afford the expense of tickets and living expenses there while waiting for a response to my longstay visa application that may or may not even be granted.

Is there any option or different approach to obtain permission to be in France that takes into account the financial burden that having to travel and be in the US while seeking the visa imposes upon us? Or will marraige between my EU national girlfriend and I assure my ability to recieve permission?

To be denied the ability to stay in France after incurring such expenses would be a foolish waste of our money and time and I'd like to feel I had some reasonable chance of succeeding.

Thanks. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

 

[Bevdeforges]

I've spun your post out into a thread of its own in the hope of getting a bit more response.

Technically, what you've been told is correct - except that, if you were resident in Turkey legally and still are, you should be able to apply for a visa from there rather than having to go all the way back to the US. Problem is that, you have to apply through the consulate covering the area in which you are resident - and at the moment, you aren't resident anywhere in the US.

Marrying your Dutch girlfriend should enable you to stay in France - and according to recent folks bringing non-EU spouses into France, is actually easier than if she were a French national. (Go figure.) If you get married in France, you'll both have to submit all the paperwork for foreigners, which can be a bit more of a pain (and expense) than if you were French nationals - but nowhere near the expense of going back to either the US or Turkey.
Cheers,
Bev

 

[blackrabbit]

I've spun your post out into a thread of its own in the hope of getting a bit more response.

Technically, what you've been told is correct - except that, if you were resident in Turkey legally and still are, you should be able to apply for a visa from there rather than having to go all the way back to the US. Problem is that, you have to apply through the consulate covering the area in which you are resident - and at the moment, you aren't resident anywhere in the US.

Marrying your Dutch girlfriend should enable you to stay in France - and according to recent folks bringing non-EU spouses into France, is actually easier than if she were a French national. (Go figure.) If you get married in France, you'll both have to submit all the paperwork for foreigners, which can be a bit more of a pain (and expense) than if you were French nationals - but nowhere near the expense of going back to either the US or Turkey.
Cheers,
Bev

Bev-

First of all, thanks for taking your time to answer my questions. I appreciate it.

I have heard of what is called a Pacte civil de solidarité [ pacsé ] which seems to be a declaration of partnership in leiu of a marraige certificate. Will this work in the same way as a legal marraige as far as obtaining legal residency?

I arrived here last May and applied for residency and was refused on the grounds that I did not have the correct visa for applying for residency. By the time this decision was made my 90 day visa was almost expired and they gave me a short extension.

I flew to Turkey to take care of some loose ends and returned recieving another 90 day stamp in my passport figuring I could make another application under different circumstances such as being married to an EU resident. [ my Dutch girlfriend ] My current 90 day visa will expire on January 11 2010 and I wonder whether there will be enough time to accomplish a pacsé or a regular marraige before it expires? Or will it matter if it is expired before the process is completed?

Thanks again for your time and consideration.
Cheers
Ken

 

[Bevdeforges]

You need to figure on a good month to 6 weeks of collecting, translating and validating documents for either a marriage or a PACS. Problem with a PACS is going to be that where neither of you is French, it will be open to much closer scrutiny. It's kind of a grey area, but I've heard tell that you may need a long stay visa in order to conclude a PACS.

You can marry on a 90 day "Schengen" visa and then just apply for the carte de séjour. You need to go down to the mairie and ask for their list of required documents for a marriage for a foreigner. At the same time, you might want to check into what openings they have on their marriage schedule for the January/February timeframe. Technically, they probably will marry you even if your visa has expired, but the rules changed last summer and some mairies are stricter about following the rules exactly as written than others.
Cheers,
Bev