I am once again legal to live and work in France for another year. I am set until December of 2009. This time around I worried a bit because I was changing my statute. It was quite easy and painless. This time there were no special circumstances and I could provide all the things they asked for, plus about 25 more pieces of paper they didn’t ask for, but seemed quite content to add to my dossier. this picture was too dark to use however.
It is not very pleasant to benefit from racism but that is exactly what happened to me. I think the 10 people ahead of me were from various points all over North Africa. Each one of them was missing one or more documents and had even more amusing stories to tell about why their dossiers were not complete, amusing to them but not to the poor civil servant who had to endure these “amusing” stories all day long. When she saw me, my pile of papers, and did not have to listen to some story about how my passport had been destroyed in an unfortunate tagine accident involving mint, I think she decided I would get my carte de sejour, even if my name were Osama bin Laden, which it isn’t.
So here I am getting ready to apply for my French drivers license. Guess what, my last license came from PA which has full reciprocity with France so all I have to do is apply, no École for me, and I will get both my motorcycle and car licenses. Not that I plan to drive too much but it’s nice to rub it in the faces of those of you who have to endure French driving school. I have had my share of bad news lately so sorry to gloat!
Popularity: 81% [?]
… ah, sounds so familiar (but I’m good for 5 years.) I applied for residency via the mail … it took nearly a 8 months for the application to be processed (and so I was w/o a passport that whole time.)
when I applied for my national insurance card (like getting a social security card … allowedme to work) I experienced the same sort of “advantage” you did. The case worker who interviewed me and went over the application was just happy to be speaking English and said as much.
For the longest time I thought my American drivers license was no go over here but I’m now on the insurance so I’m pretending it is … technically I need to start over from scratch and get a learner’s permit, then license (Reciprocity? Ha! I wish!)
Hey Owen,
Sounds like racism is alive and well and although the States wasn’t treating you well, it is still providing that good old American privilege. I like France and hope to visit soon. Many African Americans relocated to France during Jim Crow, especially artists. I will be sure to look you up since you aren’t going anywhere
@Stu
What is even harder to accept was that all the North Africans ahead of me were speaking perfect French. You could just see it in her eyes, she was thinking, finally someone without a story, maybe finally someone white, even if my French was imperfect. Maybe she preferred that my French was imperfect because I wasn’t going to argue with her at each step. And yes, there is reciprocity so I get a French driver’s license and have to pay nothing for it and better yet no driving school which is longer and harder than getting a license in the states.
@Lanette
Oh yes racism is alive and well here in France, just a different form, North Africans occupy the bottom rung not the Sub Saharan black Africans. I think White privilege is a better word than American privilege because here in France it is not sure you will be treated better or worse because you are an American. I think though that even a black African would have been more welcome by this civil servant, certainly I would have been treated better but they would have been better treated than another “Mahgrebain” as they refer to the people of North Africa. Certainly African Americans who were involved in culture at some level that came to France were more respected and better treated than if they had stayed in the US, but if they had just been average Joes and come to France, would their lives have been much better? Who knows? The French like to think they treat African Americans better than Americans do so they are beside themselves that Obama actually won, I don’t think they believed it could happen. I’ve said it a million times but the French are nowhere near ready to elect someone from their former colonies as a president so how far advanced in this respect are they really.
Anyway, I love living here and plan to stay as long as I can. Look me up when you come.
Well congratulations first for your new “carte du séjours”.
I wanted just to comment about racism in France. I think it has something to do with the French Supremacy problem (Complexe de superieurité as they call it in europe and even in France). I remember whenever I went to France, at first I always got a cold reception from people here mainly because of my appearance (being half-Tunisian) but once they find out that I’m from Norway (and got the Canadian citizenship too) they change completely their attitudes and start an infinite number of questions (imagine one lady asked me: why we have only bad Maghrebins in France??). I think it has to do with the big number of immigrants coming from former colonies especially North Africa (add to that the suburbs riots and high unemployment).
I think being Maghrebin to got a residency in an English-speaking country would be definitely different may be beneficial: it is always about being special (for instance finding a Maghrebin in the US is very rare; never seen one in my case).
But beside the hypocrisy of some people here, the country isn’t bad just it has a very long way to accept a coloured president for example (the right always ruled France with the exception of François Mitterand).
Thanks for your comments. I think the cultural superiority is diminishing in the younger generation here in France, although it still exists, and people are beginning to see how much more interesting people from different places with different stories are. Not just in an exotic way, but in a way the adds something to our lives. I’m glad you have had good experiences in France, me too that is why I am staying for a while. France is an enigma, while it appears very left, it closely guards its heritage and traditions which makes it feel very conservative on some levels, and I find the French to be much more open about certain things than Americans but definitely more closed about certain other things. That may be true of the world but I think the French like to think of themselves as being open minded and not “coincée” when in fact they are no more open minded or less “coincée” than most nations. Anyway, glad you stopped by.
Hi… I was looking for some insights on the titre de sejour thing and I landed here…
I’m waiting for my first appointment in January, and I’m wondering: how long will I have to wait between the first appointment (when I will deposit the dossier) and finally getting the CDS? An also, someone told me that after getting the receipt (after the depot du dossier) I wont be able to leave french territory until I get the CDS… is that true??
You have an appointment? I have only gone to the Prefecture as a walk in. Do you mean for your VISA appointment? Where are you going?
For me I gave my dossier and if you have all the items they give you a recipissé immediately which entitles you to everything that your CDS does, the recipissé even has your picture on it so I think you can travel with it. If you want to travel you travel on your US passport, assuming you are from the US, and you can come and go in France as you please. They won’t ask you for your CDS when you travel if you leave France, there won’t be anything in your passport about it, you just travel on your passport as normal.
For me both times it took about 2-3 months from the acceptance of my dossier to the receiving of my CDS, but the recipissé allows you to do everything so the actual CDS doesn’t really matter.
How long it will take depends on how complete your dossier is the first time you go. Get the list in advance and get the yellow packet, that gives you priority somehow, it lets them know you have already come to the prefecture and gotten the list and your dossier should be complete when you have come back. I got to skip the whole line because of that yellow folder thing. Don’t ask why do they need a document, just provide it and provide multiple examples if necessary, they love the paper work. Do not skip anything. It is better to go back and ask about something than try to explain when you are there why you don’t have something. I have never complained in my appointments and have had complete dossiers and have had no problems. I know many people have had troubles but when you scratch the surface you can understand why.
If you have specific questions you can also send me a message on the contact us page and I can try to help. It is a burdon, but if you follow the steps it is completely do-able.
Congratulations. It seems to be a LOT easier in Toulouse than in Paris. I like the clean-shaven you.
Thanks for your very complete answer.
Actually I’m from Venezuela, and I’m a doctoral student (asking for a carte de sejour etudiant).
I arrived in Toulouse in october 20th, but couldn’t ask right away for the appointment (the one where you first deposit the dossier), because now students can only do that on Internet, and they asked for the University registration number (wich I still don’t have). I went down to CROUS, and they told me I should put in any number, that it wasn’t so important, and then they told me I wouldn’t be able to leave France after the deposit of the dossier. As I obviously want to go out for Christmas, they advised me to take the appointment for january, which I did.
By the way, I find it very awful that they take so long just to give you the appointment… e.g. in order to have the appointment in january I had to ask for it (on Internet) the first week of november!
Anyway… my problem at the moment is that I most probably will have to go to Italy in February. My entry visa (Schengen type D, three months multiple entries student visa) will be expired by then, and I will only have the recepisse. I read there’s a new law that forbids foreigners to leave France before receiving the carte de sejour. So, my fear was confirmed.
Fortunately, I also found that in my situation (entitled only with the recepisse for the first carte de sejour) one can ask for a visa de retour, that will allow you to re-enter France without a carte de sejour or a valid visa.
Being a venezuelan, my passport allows me to come and go in Europe as I please, for short time visits (less than three months). So technically I could go out and in to France without any problems, UNLESS they ask me to prove that I wont stay longer than three months. Obviously I wont be able to do that. In conclusion, I’m asking for the visa de retour for my travel to Italy in february.
As for the long waiting time between the recepisse and the carte de sejour, that’s actually a problem for me:
1) I opened a bank account, but it’s a very restricted one: I don’t have a checkbook, I don’t have a carte bleu, and I can’t subscribe all of my expenses to it (by direct debit). They will change that to a fully functional checking account once I have the carte de sejour.
2) I want to apply for the CAF (they would help me with the rent), but they ask for the carte de sejour.
3) In Venezuela we have currencies control, wich means that I cannot freely buy things here because I have a limit (I can only spend $5000 a year for normal traveling), and they will only raise that limit after I send them a copy of the carte de sejour.
This last thing is maybe the worst, but it comes from the fact that I come from a very special country with a very special president. Putting that aside, the other things may not be to die for, but I find them actually rather important.
Still, I’m loving to being here, and I will just have to learn to wait patiently for my fisrt appointment to give them a really thick dossier (as you wisely advise me to), and then I will patiently wait for the carte de sejour.
I understand a lot better now. My first time for my CDS was more complicated like you, I wanted to work a little so I came on a student VISA although I am not a typical student, I am PACSed to a French person but that didn’t help for working, etc. When I first got my CDS at CROUS it was much better than going to the Prefecture. All they do is deal with students so they know how everything works and the special circumstances of students. I was in French class last year with a girl from Venezuela who was taking a year of French before enrolling in business school here in Toulouse. Her process was very different from mine even though we were on the same path. I guess it is not the same for everyone. En tout cas, bon courage et si tu veux, envoye-moi un message avec mon “Contact Form” si tu veux rencontrer pour un café.
I’m looking for some information on what you need to bring to get a carte de sejour to work and live in france. we’re going to Toulon and I’m not quite sure what I need for the dossier. can you give me a little advice? my trip is in 2 weeks :S
You need to get a VISA in your home country before you come, otherwise it will be IMPOSSIBLE to get your Carte De Sejour in France. It takes a couple of months to gather all the necessary documents so I don’t think it will be possible for you, unless you have some special situation. Here is the link for the French Embassy in the US, assuming you are from the US, the rules change a bit for each country.
http://www.consulfrance-washington.org/spip.php?rubrique98
Once you have your VISA then you have 3 months to apply for your Carte De Sejour. You just go to the Prefecture in the region where you will live and they give you a dossier with a list of all the required documents, many of which will be the same you had to provide for the VISA. It is not that difficult but you cannot wait until the last minute otherwise you will not get everything done and you will be in a bad shape.
Oui, je pense que c’est bonne idee de nous rancontrer pour un cafe. Je t’enverrai un message, mais en janvier… cette semaine je part en Italie avec ma famille qui est venue me rendre visite
Joyeux Noel pour toi et pour ta copine!
You must have lost your mind! Another year in France? I couldn’t stand another minute so I divorced my nut-case French wife and got out of that miserable country of peacocks, backstabbers, sluts, elitist snobs and socialist peasants. I now live in Germany and couldn’t be more happy. Good luck!
We miss you here in France already, enjoy the food in Germany, and the sun too!
hi Owen, great to reconnect! I confess that for a while I have been confused by your blog changes and really couldn’t tell if you were actually blogging or ‘feeding’ information. So then I hadn’t been by for awhile.
I’ll have to take some time to get reacclimated! Sorry to hear you’ve had some challenges but so glad to hear you are going to remain in France and persevere. I do hope that we get to meet in 2009!
best, kim
Well I was trying to feed info to my blog in the short term, news from around France, until things settled and I could get back into a regular blogging schedule but obviously it took longer than I thought. I am almost ready to get back to it regularly. How is your house and your new life in France?
I’m really glad you manage to stay in France. And I have to admit that I miss one of the best teacher I have ever met
I don’t know if you’re still working at the ENAC, but before the end of january, I’m taking this opportunity to wish you a happy new year.
All the best,
Rico
Happy New Year Rico, have a great 2009.
*blushes* Thanks for the compliments, are you still maintaining the travel blog you started in class? I have to go and check. Are you still planning your big trip to South America?
Hi,
I was hoping to get some help and guidance because the consulate here is not picking up the phone!
I am a US citizen and plan on moving to France in April 2009. I applied for my student long-stay visa on Friday and received it today via Express Mail. Really fast! But, of course, now I have some questions.
Originally, I applied for a year visa and the language school I have enrolled in gave me a letter stating that I was enrolled for one year from April 2009 until April 2010. My visa in my passport though says the following: Valid for FRANCE (+1 TRANSIT SCHENGEN), from 25-03-09 until 23-06-09, Number of entries MULT, Duration of Stay XXX. On the remarks section is says the following: CARTE DE SEJOUR A SOLLICITER DANS LES DEUX MOIS SUIVANT L’ARRIVEE
What does this mean?? Does my student visa expire in less then three months (less then the US non-mandatory tourist visa??) and then I have to leave the country? Or does it just mean that the Carte de Sejour will trump the visa in my passport? I’m so confused!! To make matters worse I might have to come back in the summer of 2009 (June 19th) for personal matters and I’ve been reading of the government taking your passport. AHHHH!
Please help.
I remember being confused about that one, I too came originally on a student VISA. Your VISA is valid for only 3 months and you have 2 months once you arrive in France to apply for your Carte de Sejour. That is all it means. Your VISA is only the device to get you into the country legally, it is the carte de sejour that allows you to stay.
My advice is to apply for your CDS immediately. Once you apply they give you a recipissé, a receipt, and then you can come and go as you please. They don’t take your passport and you don’t have to wait for your actual carte de sejour. The papers needed for the carte de sejour are nearly the same as for the VISA so I hope you kept a folder with all the papers for the VISA, just trot out that folder, make a few additions, and then you should have no problem with the carte de sejour.
Where are you going to be? In Toulouse now there is an office called CROUS which handles the CDS’s for students. That is great because you don’t have to wait in a long line at the Prefecture and also they are used to dealing with the intricacies of international students. At the prefecture they treat everyone as if they are all coming from North Africa and want to steal their jobs and women. CROUS is much better and you can ask questions and even get correct answers, not so likely at the Prefe.
Your situation sounds just like my situation was. You are fine. Everything is as it should be. Just get the ball rolling on your carte de sejour immediately after you arrive! Don’t hesitate to ask more questions here, I am becoming an expert.
hello or coucou,
i am an american citizen and I was just offered a CDI in Paris and I am waiting. Can you please tell me how long it took you to get it. I was born there but my parents never applied for the citizenship, oh well!!
I had to come back to the States, in order to wait. I really need advice from an American.
Merci
Well you aren’t specific enough. You were offered a CDI and then you had to go back to the US, what for?
Did you go back to apply for a VISA?
You must apply for a VISA and then you can legally enter the country. Then once here you must apply for your carte de sejour.
You get your VISA immediately at your appointment but it might take a couple of weeks to get your appointment.
When you bring your documents for your CDS when you are in France if you have everything then you get a recipissé and it takes about 2 months to get the CDS, but I’ve been waiting for 6 months. The recipissé is valid for just about everything you need a CDS for so the important thing is the appointment when they accept your documents. Getting your CDS is kind of a formality if you have your recipissé.
It’s complicated but worth it.
thanks,
let me be specific, sorry, i was offered a cdi, then my 90 days were up, therefore I came back. I was told that I would be contacted in order to get my long stay visa. Once that is given to me then I can come back to France and have a visite medicale, the recepisse and later on the card.
i am completely lost now, I understand that the recepisse comes before the CDS, but I was told by the DDTEPF that the employer would be contacted and given the next step to follow.
I am freaking out now!
As far as I know you must do the work yourself to get your VISA, maybe it is different when you have a work contract. I’d get started with your VISA documents now. At least start collecting the documents that way if your employer has agreed to help you get your VISA you will have everything ready when the time comes. When you get the VISA you can come to France and apply for the CDS. Don’t worry about the visite medicale, you will receive a letter and an appointment and you just go, it is nothing, not even as comprehensive as a physical. Then bring all your stuff to your CDS appointment, you’ll get your recipissé immediately, and then some months later your card will magically appear at the Prefecture and you’ll get a letter telling you to go get it. It really is that simple, everything jsut takes a long time. Why don’t you contact your employer and see what they have done?
hello owen – was wondering if you can help – have trawled the internet looking for info – i am south african married to a british citizen – in possession of a carte de sjour – does this entitle me to travel to any of the other schengen states without a visa? would be gratefull for any info, kind regards – allison
If you have a French carte de sejour you can travel to other Schengen countries without a VISA. Travel on your carte de sejour otherwise they might try to make you pay, if you would have to pay to travel there from South Africa. Once I was in line and showed my passport to board a plane and I could tell there was going to be problem and then I asked if it were easier if I showed my carte de sejour. They said yes and I showed it and had no problems. Never knew why but ti worked, now I only show my US passport if I have to.
Hey Owen!
Ha I bet you never thought you would become a Cd’S guru huh? Well since you have successfully received yours, it puts you way ahead of us other confused dummies.
Anyway, I have a couple of questions for you. I’m an American married to a French citizen and I am getting ready to apply for my Cd’S as a spouse. I have not seen any mention of the cost of obtaining the Cd’S, but now my husband tells me it will cost 300 euros! Do you think that could be true? It seems high for the French government to charge this since everything else is usually cheap or free. How much did you pay?
Secondly, I have my long stay visa from the US as a spouse already so at this point I am able to apply. However I’m confused about the medical exam, am I supposed to get it BEFORE I apply and have the results as part of my application documents? My husband called the place which gives the exams and was told that I can need to make an appointment AFTER I get my receipt. I’m confused about the order. Other than this I think I have all the needed docs. (actually is there anyway you can post the list of docs I’ll need or post a link where I can get that list before going to the prefecture?)
Not that I don’t trust my husband but I think his French nature makes him a bit lazy about asking follow-up questions and not very proactive.
Again I’m an American citizen applying for my Cd’S as a spouse of a French citizen. Any info you can give me would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Lucia
I will get back to you quick but you seem fine and like you have everything in order, I too did not trust my partners French nature because he did not like to ask too many questions for fear of upsetting the fonctionnaires.
I paid nothing for my CDS, as a result of being PACSed so I imagine you don’t have to payas being married. I know it says that in the papers but I just picked up my new card, I didn’t pay when I deposed my documents and then I thought they’d make me pay when I picked up the card, but no. When I was back at the Prefecture for something else, there is always something, I thought I’d ask a hypothetical question, and they said CDS’s are free except when your employer is getting it for you, if you get it through your spouse they are free.
The list of documents changes depending on which type of VISA and CDS you are looking to get, that is why it is hard to find the info anywhere on the internet. The best place is an embassy website in the US for Visa’s, often translated in English if you need it, and a prefecture site in France, sometimes you can find English translations if needed. I try to answer questions individually because I can give the most accurate answers.
I don’t know why the controle medicale is so mysterious and why it is hard to find accurate info on it. I think once you begin the process of getting your CDS you will receive a medical appointment, you will receive a certificate after the appt that you need to show at your appt when you give all your documents for your CDS. DO NOT GIVE THE MEDICAL DOCUMENT, you must save it for future applications.
The biggest source of confusion is that the rules change all the time and there is not a great updated site to get the most up to date info. It sounds like everything is progressing as it should and you have nothing to worry about. I used to feel that way about my ex partner, that he was French, a little lazy, and didn’t want to ask follow up questions. The reality is that the prefecture doesn’t answer them accurately and you rarely get any more info than you had before so I understand why the French often don’t ask millions of questions like us Americans, it doesn’t get you anywhere, most of the time.
Bon Courage!
Hello Owen,
Did you finally get your French driving license? We found that even “full reciprocity” isn’t so easy, and it took a couple of different attempts. And, as always, it depends on the mood of the person you’re dealing with at the prefecture.
I did get my licence and with no problems. I turned in my documents and 2 weeks later I received it. I couldn’t believe how fast it was. My renewal for my carte de sejour was much longer. My very own pink card.
[...] I received my new carte de sejour! (32) [...]
[...] I received my new carte de sejour! (32) [...]
[...] I received my new carte de sejour! (32) [...]
[...] I received my new carte de sejour! (32) [...]
Well, I don’t know. I’m French and there is an American privilege.
Let me tell you a story of an African American colleague who went to France, was treated like dirt by a civil servant but when she showed her American passport, the civil cervant was extremely friendly to her.
So I don’t think it’s racism, since her skin color didn’t change during the day, it’s a sort of hostility towards Africans (north and south of the Sahara)
If tomorrow someone from Dubai came into a French office, I’m pretty sure he/she would get a warm welcome.
It’s as you said : no weird stories and the fact that citizens from developed countries don’t have to be in France. If they are here it’s not just to make money or not to make money at all but because they like the country. This can lead to very unfair treatment of North Africans and Africans who are sometimes judged before they say a word, as taking advantage of the system.
But you know, you wouldn’t believe the hassle I went through to get my French identity card because I was born in Germany and my father is German, my mother born in a former German territory. Unbelievable. It probably also depends on the city in which you apply for your carte de séjour.
Of course you are right. I just notice that in Toulouse North Africans are treated much more poorly than Africans. I’m sure African Americans would not be treated so well but when a fontionnairre would see they are American that treatment would change.
There is still a lot of animosity towards Germans in France. We went to a party the other evening at a German friends house and everyone was German except for me, American, and my friend, French. I told my friend who invited us, I didn’t know there were so many Germans around. He told me he doesn’t tell people he has so many German freidns because they judge him so strongly.
I have a German friend who works at a lab here in Toulouse and at first he thought they didn’t like him because they are required to speak in English. His English is perfect and theirs not so good. As his French got better he tried to speak in French, although officially they are to speak in English. Finally someone told him the others were apprehensive about him because he was German, not because of the language.
If life weren’t so pleasant here, it would be easy to leave, sometimes the French are worse than Americans.
Are there any more carte de sejour questions you need answered? Let me know. If you want a bit more privacy, use the contact form here, to contact me directly. Bon courage!
Hi Owen,
I’m American and a student in France. My CDS expires in October. But I’m going to be in the US for 4 months starting in August. I can’t renew my CDS before then. I think I need to get a visa when in the US and then reapply for the CDS in December when I return to France. This is what the prefecture told me (i think, I didn’t fully understand the words of the overworkded staffer). Do you know anything about this?
i am away on vacation and will reply more properly when i return.
I’m not sure, it depends on what kind of CDS you had and what kind you want. If it is just a student CDS that shouldn’t be hard to get. Why didn’t you just renew it while you were in France? You wouldn’t have needed a VISA. Once it expires and you must leave then you need a VISA again to re-enter. The new regulations say that you must do the renewal within the last 2 months of the expiration date, maybe you couldn’t do it then. Let me know if you have other questions, I’ll try to look into it.
Congrats Owen! I hope to have the same real soon!!
Hi Owen I just came from france for a visit and I’m thinking of moving to france. Iam a american citizen, please what are the step that I need to take on obtaining a carte de sejour!
I think if you read some of the comments you will see the steps. It is quite long and complicated. First you will need a Visa, check here to see which one, http://www.consulfrance-washington.org/spip.php?rubrique98.
I can’t possibly say more without knowing whether it is to work or go to school, if you are married or not, with a French person or not, etc. Provide more details and I might be able to provide more info.
Hi! Interesting stuff here. I recently received my titre de sejour for three years (under the new ‘competences et talents’ section). I have encountered every stereotype known to foreigners in France, sometimes I laugh, sometimes I cry and sometimes I truly am an UGLY American. I didn’t think I would ever cross over that line, but I have, and more than once.
I have a quick question you might know the answer to. With a 1 or 3 year visa, do you know what the rule is for travel outside of France? I am in the States right now and plan to come back to Paris but I am wondering if I have to go back within 3 months. I was sort of hoping it might be 6. Any ideas?
Thanks!
I don’t know anything about the 3 year CDS, what is it? Yes it is funny, I am so not proud of the US, not patriotic, etc but there are times when I think what the fuck is wrong here in France. I’m not sure if I have ever crossed the ugly American line but sometimes I feel like it. I have never considered being outside of France so long so I don’t know. I’m a bit afraid of doing something to jeopardize my status in France so I don’t leave often and not for long. I’d say check a consulate website but last time I checked I didn’t see anything about this 3 year VISA so I don’t know if you could even find the rules related to travel for it. Bon courage, let us know what you find though, we’d be interested in it.
I was born in the USA of spanish parents….I have an EU passport thus…..My wife is brazilian and we would like to immigrate to france as I just retired this year at age of 60 years with enough pension to support us…..We have medical insurance that pays foreign claims…..What must we do to live permanently in france? …… Also,If we would like to work or start a business, what must we do? ……..Thanks!
Patricio
P.S.
Je parle aussi beaucoup francais et etais le premier dans ma classe de ecole secondaire ici,,,,,Je pratique le francais toujours quand possible et travaillais en banque internacionale qui a autre banque en paris……..
I was born in USA of spanish parents and thus have an EU passport……..My wife is brazilian and we would like to move permanently to france but also travel back and forth to spain and portugal from time to time….I just retired at age 60 and have enough pension to support us…….In addition, we have medical insurance that pays foreign claims unlike medicare which will not…….What do we have to live permanently there in france?……..Also,if we want to work or start a business there in france (more probably), what must we do?……By the way, to respond to the question about recognizing US driver licenses, I read that it depends on what state issued it in the USA ,,,Mine is from new york and is not recognized Thanks for you help.
Sincerely,
Patricio
P.S.
Je parle aussi beaucoup francais et j’etais le premier dans ma classe en ecole secondaire mais j’ai oublie beacoup…..Mais je sais que je peux retourner a parler bien de nouveau en france…..Je travaillais pour une banque en new york qui a outra banque en paris.
Thanks for stopping by Patricio. Since my readers mainly speak English I will respond in English. Your situation seems pretty easy. Although nothing in France is as easy as it appears. If you have an EU passport there is nothing you really need to do to live in France special. Even if you did not, if you are retired and have an income and have medical insurance, you can apply for a carte de sejour that doesn’t allow you to work. No one is really denied since you would have minimal impact on the system in France other than spending money here. Now for your wife, I have no idea how that would work. What EU country do you have citizenship in, Spain. Is your marriage recognized in Spain? That might be the easiest way to have her become a Spanish citizen and then she could live anywhere in Europe she wanted. You could also look into the retirement CDS also.
I have started a business here under the new regime fiscal Auto Entrepreneur. It is the easiest and least risky way to start, it’s good you speak French because most of the information about it is in French. It is a simple process to get started, but doesn’t apply to all kinds of businesses, certain ones. You might even be able to do this if you have a CDS that doesn’t entitle you to work because the statut is designed to prevent you from taking a job from a French person but if you start your own business you contribute to the economy and may possibly hire workers in the future, check into it.
As for driver licenses, I last lived in Philadelphia and PA is a state with the agreement. I checked wikipedia, not always the most reliable source but
“US driver’s license can be exchanged from the 14 states below during the first year of legal residence in France: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia.”
I bet it is accurate because for insurance purposes I didn’t receive the best rate possible even though I “qualify” for it. I lived in PA for 5 years but in CA for 15. Before that NY. I have many years of experience but they could only count 5 because neither CA nor NY count so my driving time there was excluded, crazy but true. Since the wiipedia article doesn’t list CA or NY and lists PA I think it is fairly accurate.
It would be nice if you commented again further along in your process to let us know what happens, my readers are always asking questions like this. Good luck and as you know the French prefer to say bon courage!
One can also apply for an International Driver’s License which I see france recognizes….Can one use this in lieu of having to apply, take classes,and a road test in france?…Thanks!
Well luckily I just had to fill out a few forms and wait a few months and then I had my French licence. I’m not sure about the international licence. I know it is valid but I am not sure if there is a limit of time before you have to get a French one, but then at the same time, if you will be traveling between Spain, France, and Portugal maybe that is the best solution anyway. If you have Spanish citizenship, it might be easier to get a licence in Spain, I think EU licences are good in EU countries. The problem or potential problem will be insurance. Will your insurance company give you enough credit for the years you have been driving? It all depends on which states you drove in. Let us know what happens.
What are the tax consequences or obligations of EU citizens or non-EU residents of france (cartes de sejours holders) on income from external sources, e.g., social security, foreign pensions, etc.?………Thanks!
if you “work” while in France even if the “work” is outside of France and you are paid in another currency you must pay taxes on it. Retirement income is not subject to tax, and neither is rental income from outside of France. There is a tax treaty between the US and France that basically states you have to pay your taxes in one or the other country. If you pay in one country but your tax burdon in the other is higher, you have to pay the difference to the other country. Well realistically it will be higher in France, so if you work and earn money in France, you should pay your taxes in France, if you pay them to the US then you will have to calculate what you would have had to pay to France and pay the difference. That is all I want to say about taxes because from here it gets quite complicated and I would advise getting an accountant if your needs exceed this info.
I heard about this type of tax situation before, for example,in brazil (although all the expats there whom I know tell me that they pay no tax nor even bother to file a tax return)…….Panama has a treaty with USA where neither taxes foreign source income…..But I understand that the first 96000 us$ for expats is not taxed by the USA for the simple reason of being an expat…….Thus if one has to pay tax on foreign source income to france or any country where he or she decides to move and/or retire, I believe it would constitute a good reason to consider other countries especially if one is not entitled to any benefits………..I do not mean to belabor this point but I have researched this point before and get conflicting info from time to time Thanks!
P.S.
In any case, I am definitely going to check with an accountant or other expert on this matter for reasons cited already
Well since I don’t earn much money here in France, except for advertising on my blog hint hint, it is not a big worry of mine. I have never had to find out except that I have a rental property in the US and know that I do not have to pay or declare my income in France for it. I declare it in the US and I declare my French income here, and then do a supplemental form on my US taxes to show I declared and paid my taxes here for the work I do here and then I am exempt.
Welcome to the world of French bureaucracy, you will get conflicting answers for everything. Just this week I received a demand from the Prefecture for another document for my carte de sejour renewal, for 2009. I put all my documents in during September, someone took all my docs and gave me the recipissé, so that means I fulfilled their demands. Now I get a demand for something called a contrat d’integration. It’s a pain because certainly I would have done it if it were on the list of things they wanted and/or when I turned in my forms someone had bothered to tell me that I still needed this form. 2 months later, I call the prefecture to see why I haven’t received my CDS yet and they say, oh you are missing a document. No one called to tell me this. How long would it sit undone? Who knows. How would I have known to do it if they don’t call me?
Even if you are the kind of person to cross your t’s and dot your i’s, like me, you will have “fun” doing the paperwork. It might be true of most countries, but France seems to specialize in paper shuffling. I don’t even mind having to get a bunch of nearly useless papers, if that is what is required, I will do it. But i hate when they give me a list, I bring everything on the list, and then they require something else at the last minute because this can complicate travel, insurance, and a whole bunch of other things.
Bon Courage!
You and I seem to see eye to eye on these matters.as you set the tone very well pointing out that just when you thinks it’s over, it isn’t….At the most inconvenient time (though not to sound pessimistic), there is some other bureaucratic detail to attend to though you should have been apprised by the functionnaires much before hand……I , at 60 years old, am well familiar with government red tape in several countries and have to learned that it is useless to fight them as they are virtually immune to discipline…..You would not want to know my experiences with social security employee incompetents, insolent and disrespectful. police, unreasonable customs and airline personnel , unjust tax agents, and others both here and abroad!…….You are hereby giving invaluable advice to all in this website and to whom they pass this wisdom on to as you very articulately put it, do not expect things to work there as they should!!……Thanks again!
Patricio
Just this morning I went to the prefecture to straighten it out. I got there and the employee didn’t know what a contrat d’integration was. She had to ask someone else. Then they told me I had to sign one in order to make my medical appointment. I had my contrôle medicale recipissé so I asked, how would I have received this without doing it, they shrugged their shoulders. I asked why it was never asked for in my preivous renewals. No answer. I said I didn’t mind doing whatever it was but that I found it strange no one asked until now. Eventually no one knew exactly what it entailed and they made me sign some photocopied blue paper that asked my date of entry, passport number, and if I spoke French. That was it, but I think because no one knew what to do. I guess I have integrated into French society.
Save every paper, ask every question you have, although nicely, and check the laws each year as they change.
I think it is time for a new post about CDS’s, some things have changed and certainly my knowledge of how to do it.