Your VLS-TS Vie Privée et Familiale Will Be Coming to an End, Now What?
Like all things, nothing lasts forever, and your VLS-TS is one of them. It feels like just yesterday you were receiving your first convocation from the OFII (probably because you did). While today you realized your visa will be expiring in just a few short months.
Get ready to re-live your most favorite experience in France so far, French administration! Now you get to experience it at a different level of the system (lucky you!)
For this round of administrative actions, you will be applying for a carte de séjour pluriannuelle vie privée et familiale. This is called “renouvellement” or renewing your VLS-TS. I know, the jargon is so confusing because in reality you’re not really renewing the visa itself.
The carte de séjour pluriannuelle is what will replace your VLS-TS. It acts as your proof of legal residency in France as well as your proof to work. It is valid for a period of two years, unlike the VLS-TS, which is valid for only one.
My Situation
Already in possession of a VLS-TS that I received while living in England, I was eligible for a carte de séjour pluriannuelle. Because of moving, COVID, and closures, I was unable to complete my OFII process before my visa’s expiration in September. With both the OFII and the prefecture closed, I went into a slight panic. And every time I contacted them, they never had an answer. Nonetheless, I applied for my visa renewal earlier than 2 months before its expiry date, just in case.
As always, this is my personal experience with this application process. It began in May of 2020 at the prefecture of the Aube. The information listed below may not be relevant to you, your situation, your visa type, or the way your local prefecture handles visa renewals. Please check the Etrangers en France website for the information relevant to you.
The Application Process
As suggested by the government, you should plan to submit your request to renew your visa (e.g. apply for your carte de séjour) at least two-four months before your visa expiry date. In my case with COVID/OFII issues, I applied about three months before by visa’s expiry date of 1st of September.
As stated by the government, you must apply at your local prefecture or sous-prefecture; if you are not sure where your prefecture is located, please use this search tool. The tool will direct you to your prefecture’s homepage. From there, look under the heading “Démarches Administratives,” then for something similar to “accueil des étrangers” or “séjour des étrangers.” There, you should find some type of information about the application process or how to make an appointment.
Every process is different depending on the prefecture you apply at, but the documents that you need stay the same.
The Application
I can only speak about my experience with the prefecture of the Aube. After looking at a few different prefecture websites, this seems to be an almost uncommon application procedure . Their process takes the form of 3 steps.
In order to get an appointment with the prefecture of the Aube, I first had to email. The email consisted of requesting the list of documents to provide for the application as well as any supplementary forms. I am very glad I did this; the person who responded clarified the whole process. As well, they made documents available to me that I did not have access to online.
What I received in the response email:
- a “page de garde” (cover page) with information on the entire application process
- a questionnaire
- a list of documents to provide (detailed below)
The 3-Step Process at the Prefecture of the Aube
The cover page included all of the information I needed to know in order to submit my application. At the prefecture of the Aube, the process takes 3 steps. These are: initial dossier submission, final dossier submission and retrieval of the carte de séjour.
As part of the initial dossier submission, I submitted a cover page, a questionnaire and 2 pre-paid self-addressed envelopes. Along with those, copies of all documents necessary for the application (listed below). They specified an order in which they would like the documents to be arranged, so I did this too.
Once everything was together, I had the option to either send the initial application by post or deposit it in person. Because I lived in Troyes at the time, I deposited it in the prefecture’s mailbox and crossed my fingers.
The good part about this 3-step procedure is that I would know if my dossier was incomplete beforehand. If so, it would be returned by mail in one of the self-addressed envelopes. Luckily, the envelope I received back contained a summons to finalize my application. This was held in person a few days before the visa expiry date.
Documents to Provide
For your application, no matter which prefecture you apply at, you must provide a copy and the original of the below documents. If you have children, the application process is a bit different, so please check on that. As well, the information found on the Service Publique website is not the same as that provided by the Ministère de l’Intérieur (site may not be working). During my application, I followed the information provided by the Ministère de l’Intérieur and that of my prefecture.
Please note that any legal documents not written in French must be accompanied by a translation. These must be done by a “traducteur assermenté” and may also need to be legalized or apostilled.
List of Documents:
- VLS-TS
- Passport (and entry stamps for France)
- Full copy of birth certificate with translation (by a “traducteur assermenté”)
- ID card of spouse (or certificate of French nationality less than 6 months old)
- Marriage certificate less than 3 months old (I gave them a full copy from a year ago- this is because I followed the info on the accueil des étrangers website and that given to me from my prefecture which had not specified this)
- Proof of cohabitation: declaration of joint honor of the couple attesting to their cohabitation (you can type this up yourselves and sign it) and all documents enabling the cohabitation to be established (lease contract, electricity receipt, bank statement, etc.), unless the cohabitation has been broken off due to death or conjugal/family violence, which may be justified (death certificate, filing of a complaint, divorce judgment for fault, conviction of the spouse for violence, testimonials, medical certificates, etc.)
- Proof of residence less than 6 months old: Electricity, gas, water, landline, or internet bill; or rental lease less than 3 months old or receipt of rent (if tenant); or housing tax
- If hotel accommodation: certificate from the hotel owner and invoice for the last month
- In case of accommodation with a private individual: attestation d’hébergement from the host dated and signed, copy of the host’s identity card or residence permit and property deed (or housing tax statement, copy of the host’s rental lease, or electricity, gas, water, landline telephone or internet access bill)
- 3 recent identity photographs, all identical (35 mm x 45 mm format – ISO/IEC 19794 – 5: 2005 standard)
- Certificate from the OFII of closure or follow-up of the actions provided for in the Republican Integration Contract (CIR) (at the time of my application, I did not finish my CIR obligations, so I sent them a copy of my signed CIR to prove that I had at least begun the process)
- Medical certificate issued by the OFII
- Declaration on honor that the foreigner does not live in France in a state of polygamy (if the applicant is a national of a State authorizing polygamy)
The Meeting: Finalizing My Application
After submitting my initial application in mid-May, I received my summons around mid-July. My meeting took place the 20th of August, 11 short days before the expiry of my visa.
Because of COVID, I had to come alone at the exact time of my appointment, bring a blue/black pen, wear a mask, and of course, bring all originals of my documents. On the Service Publique website, it specifies that when you submit your application, or appear at your appointment, you are expected to be accompanied by your spouse. COVID has since changed the procedure a bit and my prefecture did not tell me to bring him along. Instead, I just brought the original of his ID.
I got there early and checked in with a person outside. Not more than five minutes later, they called my name and it was my turn. I checked in officially with my convocation and passport; they gave me a number and I waited to be called.
Both counters were occupied and I was up next. The woman asked me first for my passport and then for all the originals of the documents I had submitted. She then compared them to all of the copies in my original application. After, she looked at my ID photographs and asked me if this is me. She gave me one of the photos back, attached one of the others to the biometrics application, and the last to my “récépissé” (receipt).
Once finished with the photographs, she took my fingerprints for biometrics and had me verify the information on the biometrics application which I then signed.
I then received my “récépissé” and was told I would be summoned to pick up the carte de séjour when it is ready. The whole process took about 15-20 minutes.
What Is a Récépissé and What Does It Do?
A récépissé is a provisional document allowing its holder to legally reside in France after the expiry of their visa. This is an extremely important document because it is proof that the visa holder has applied for a renewal; it works in conjunction with the expired visa and is only valid when accompanied by it. It is valid for a period of 4 to 6 months, allowing the prefecture the time to examine a dossier and create a carte de séjour. The récépissé may be exceptionally renewed for a maximum of 3 months, if necessary.
The VLS-TS and the récépissé work in tandem during this period as proof of your legal residency in France (and your ability to work).
Your Carte de Séjour is Ready!
You have waited who knows how long and finally your convocation has arrived!
Unfortunately for me, my convocation actually came too late in the mail and I missed the pickup (oops). Thankfully, though, they soon sent me a new one. It arrived a few weeks before the date of the appointment and they also called just in case.
What happens next?
You go to pick it up at the date and time specified.
You Must Bring, According to the Accueil des Étrangers:
- Convocation
- Passport
- Carte de Séjour/Visa
- Récépissé
- Proof of payment of the tax (225€) in timbres fiscaux
- One of your medical certificates given by the OFII
(I first registered in Chartres when I began my OFII process, so I had to send the original to the prefecture of Eure-et-Loir; I am not sure if this is still applicable for everyone. My convocation did not require me to bring the original to be surrendered, but it is better to be safe than sorry!)
The Meeting: Retrieving my Carte de Séjour
After submitting my official application in August, I received my summons around late September for a meeting taking place the 2nd of October. It took about a month between the submission of my application and the retrieval of my carte de séjour.
Like before, I had to come alone at the exact time of my appointment, bring a blue/black pen, wear a mask, and of course, bring all the requested documents.
I arrived on time and checked in with a person outside who directed me to the reception desk. Here, I checked in officially with my convocation and my timbre fiscal. Again, I was given a number and waited to be called.
After a short time, it was my turn. I gave her all necessary documents, including the timbre for 225€ that she scanned and destroyed. After this, I signed a few different papers, one of which I received a copy of, and then she gave me my carte. I was free to go. FREE FOR A WHOLE 2 YEARS!!! As I previously stated, I they never asked for the original of the medical certificate from the OFII when I went to retrieve my carte.
Like with the application submission, this process was super quick and took about 15 minutes.
I hope you found this information to be useful or just interesting to read.
If you have applied for a visa renewal, how did it go? Please share your experience in the comments below.
Bisous,
Rose
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