Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ing documents explaining your stay in France for an extended period; recent passport-size
photos; a completed visa form; and the visa fee. Check
www.france.diplomatie.fr
for the
latest visa regulations and the closest French embassy to your current residence.
Titre de Séjour
If you are issued a long-stay visa valid for six months or longer, you may need to apply for a
titre de séjour
(residence permit; also called a
carte de séjour
) after arrival in France. Regu-
lations have been relaxed in recent years; if you are only staying in France for up to 12
months you probably won't need it, but you will need to register with the French Office of
Immigration and Integration. Check the website of the
Préfecture de Police
(
www.prefecturedepolice.interieur.gouv.fr
)
first for instructions for all possible situations.
Those holding a passport from one of 31 European countries and seeking to take up residen-
ce in France no longer need to acquire a
titre de séjour;
their passport or national ID card is
sufficient. Check the website given above to see which countries are included.
Foreigners with non-European passports should check the website of the Préfecture de Po-
lice or call 01 58 80 80 58.
Visa Extensions
Tourist visas
cannot
be extended except in emergencies (such as medical problems). If you
have an urgent problem, contact the Service Étranger (Foreigner Service) at the Préfecture
de Police for guidance. If you entered France on the 90-day visa-waiver program (ie you are
Australian, Kiwi or American) and you have stayed for 90 days, you must leave the Schen-
gen area for an additional 90 days before you can re-enter.
Work & Student Visas
If you would like to work, study or stay in France for longer than three months, apply to the
French embassy or consulate nearest to you for the appropriate
long séjour
(long-stay) visa.
Au pairs are granted student visas: they must be arranged
before
you leave home (unless
you're an EU resident); the same goes for the year-long working holiday visa
(permis va-
cances travail)
.
Unless you hold an EU passport or are married to a French national, it's extremely difficult
to get a visa that will allow you to work in France. For any sort of long-stay visa, begin the
paperwork in your home country several months before you plan to leave. Applications usu-
ally cannot be made in a third country nor can tourist visas be turned into student visas after
