CARTE DE SEJOUR

CARTE DE SEJOUR — Updated as of March 1, 2012

If you are a student, getting your carte de séjour (student resident card):

Before you leave home to come to France, go to the French Consulate nearest to you and get a Long Term Visa. Bring a copy of your acceptance letter to the program in which you will be studying.

Student visas are given out in Paris at the Prefecture at 92 blvd Ney in the 18ème, 1^st floor (which is the second floor for us North Americans). This is near Porte de Clignancourt at the top of Line 4.

Within the first two months of your arrival in Paris, you need to go to the Prefecture in person and ask for a rendezvous (rdv). If you cannot yet speak French, it is going to be a little challenging even frustrating because the clerks are not going to speak English to you; at least it’s very unlikely. Go in prepared with your questions written out, have your passport in hand. You need a rdv for your first carte de séjour (« J’ai besoin rdv pour la première demande de mon carte de séjour »).

Once you have finished the first rdv, they will have you take a medical exam with a government doctor. This is no big deal. They do an x-ray to make sure you don’t have Tuberculosis and ask you a bunch of questions. This exam is mandatory.

Once you finish all these steps, you’ll be given a rdv to pick up your official carte de séjour. You will need to pay at this step. Payment is made in France by les timbres fiscaux which are stamps you buy from a TABAC. The person handling your file will tell you which ones to buy (it will total approx 77€ for students). If your French isn’t great, just show the paper from the Prefecture to the Tabac vender and say “les timbres, carte de séjour, s’il vous plaît.”

If you already have a student carte de séjour, to renew you must make an appointment at the Prefecture by going on their website.

You need to choose the case that corresponds to your situation:

• The first option is for those wishing to renew their existing carte de séjour.
• The second option is for those who are students but who wish to change their status, for instance, to get married or beginning to work.
• The third option is for those who wish to change their address on an existing carte de séjour. Remember you have a very short window in order to update your address. This step must be done ASAP.
• The fourth and final option is for those who have lost their carte de séjour.

Once you’ve made your choice, you enter the information they ask for on the site and then choice a date for the rdv. Remember, these rdv are given out over a month in advance, so be sure get your appointment well in advance of the expiration of your carte de sejour.

In both cases:

Keep in mind that once you have a rdv, this just gives you the right to wait in line beginning at a certain time. So to avoid tremendous waiting times, be early for the specified time. About 100 other students have your same rdv.

*These rdv can take several hours, so my advice is to bring some work with you, a book, anything that will help you pass several hours of waiting.

You will need to have the originals and two photocopies of each of the documents that they ask for on this site.

Essentially, you must be able to prove the following:

• You are registered in an academic program (inscription letter, inscription payment)
• You have sufficient funds to live on while you are in France (approx 620€/month)
• Proof of your residence in Paris (this can be a lease, a gas or electricity bill or if you are staying with someone an Attestation sur L’honneur stating that they are taking care of you, you live with them, etc, along with their ID and proof they own or rent their lodging.)
• You will need to bring your passport with your visa in it and a copy of both
• Three ID pictures you can have taken in the booths in the metro.
• If you are renewing your carte de séjour, you will need to prove you passed the previous semester/year, so bring your final grades.

*Remember that most documents such as gas and electricity bills, Attestations must be less than 3 months old to be valid proof.

*As a student you have authorization to work 19 hours a week in France (part time).

*As a student, you cannot exchange your driver’s license for a French one.  You are authorized to drive with your student carte de séjour and your home driver’s license.

If you are married to a French person (or are getting married), the process to obtain your carte de séjour is a little different from that of a student:

You’ll  need to get a carte de résidence vie privée et familial.  You must already have a long term visa issued by the French Consulate in your home State/Province. This is a visa to stay in France for longer than 3 months.  If you are already a student in France, for example, your student carte de séjour** is sufficient as your long term visa. Once you are in Paris under your long term visa, go to the Prefecture associated with the arrondissement in Paris without a rdv to make your first demand.

Which Prefecture you will have to go to depends on where you live within Paris. So, for those who live in the 1er-10ème, 15ème-18ème, you go to 19 rue Truffant 75017 Paris (near Place de Clichy). For those of you who live in the 11ème-14ème, 19ème, 20ème, you need to go to 114 ave du Maine 75014 Paris (near Metro Gaîté).

**Note that if you already have a student visa when you decide to marry, you are deemed to be renewing your carte de sejour instead of demanding one for the first time. Therefore, you must make a rdv. To do this, you can either go online or call 01.53.21.25.50. You will need to enter/give your carte de sejour number to get the rdv, do have your carte handy. These appointments are given months in advance. You should make this appointment well before the date limit of your carte de sejour (no less than 2 months!). You will have to present in person and with your French spouse for the rdv at 9 blvd du Palais, 75004 Paris (near Metro Cité).

Once you have your rdv, assemble the documents you’ll need to bring with you. They can be found here.

*Remember that most documents such as gas and electricity bills, Attestations must be less than 3 months old to be valid proof.

The process takes several months. You will have to prove your marriage (marriage certificate and if it was preformed outside France the translation), joint back accounts, the fact that you live together on a permanent basis (joint bills etc). You will also have to prove that you are covered by the health insurance either by your own work or by your spouse. The latter status is called Ayant Droit and you will have to apply to the CPAM (government health care service) to make this declaration. (Details below under HEALTH CARE).

You will have to pay for your carte de résidence with les timbres fiscaux which you can buy at a Tabac. The 2012 price is 162€ for those who marry a French person.

Once you have your first carte de résidence vie privée et familial, you will have to renew it every year for the next three years. To do so, you must make a rdv either online or by calling 01.53.21.25.50 within the last four months before your carte expires (not less than two months). The documentation you’ll need can be found here. Again, the appointments are given well in advance so make yours as close to four months before the expiry date as possible. If you call, note that they are very busy and it can take several tries before you reach someone. It is best to call early in the morning around 8:30am.

You can also find the documents you will need to supply for your renewal listed in more detail on this document: http://www.prefecturedepolice.interieur.gouv.fr/content/download/10900/93699/file/renouv_conjoint.pdf

If you need to update your status or change information regarding your carte de residence, make a rdv here.

For more information in French, read here and here.