I received my new carte de sejour!
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!
… 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!