A French Citizen’s Spouse: My Visa Experience

I was due to leave for France with my family on 15 August 2023. Just getting my appointment for my visa in San Francisco was like pulling teeth. When I first traveled to France years ago as a college student, all tourists required a visa. I recall walking into the French Consulate with my friend who was traveling with me, and signing a form. That was it. I don’t if we had an appointment but it was far from complicated. That was in 1989 and things have changed since then. 

San Francisco Visa Appointment
Now the French Consulate has delegated the responsibility of visas to VFS Global. The thing is, they don’t just handle visas for France; they handle visas for all countries, so they are incredibly overwhelmed. Just reaching someone was difficult and more than once, the phone would disconnect before I reached the service. Visa appointments are made online only and I found that nothing was available. I’m a person who likes to plan ahead and I was starting to panic because I was checking every day, several times, day and night, and still there were no appointments. Finally, one morning, appointments magically appeared! It was like a holy vision, and with my heart beating, I rushed to make that golden appointment for 19 June 2023. Unsure if there would be a long line ahead of me, I made the first one of the day. 

Being me, I arrived early and VFS Global does not permit people to come in before their appointment. I walked across the street to Crocker Galleria and found a warm place to sit and pass the time for ten minutes.

When I walked into the offices of VFS Global, there were a few other people. I was assigned a number and I sat down. The room wasn’t large and it wasn’t long before my number was called. As a “conjoint”, or spouse of a French national, there was a fair amount of paperwork required but not nearly as much as there is for other types of travelers. 

Schengen Health Insurance
One thing to note is that the Schengen health insurance information is made very prominent on the VHS website and believing that all visa holders require it, I nearly bought it. Thank goodness that I had consulted with a visa expert who informed me that the Schengen health insurance is not for spouses of French or EU citizens because we have the benefit of being able to obtain the health insurance of our spouse’s country.

Even for French nationals with an existing social security number, it takes three months after returning to France to obtain national health insurance. We had to purchase private health insurance during that time. Our daughter is a dual citizen but not having ever lived in France, she still had to apply with me to receive a social security number. We had to make an appointment with our local social security office and bring in all the necessary documentation (birth certificates, passports, our daughter’s French carte d’identité) and fill out their forms.

What Documents to Bring to Your First Visa Appointment

Having owned a restaurant in San Francisco with my husband, Olivier, for 13 years and also having worked for a cultural exchange company for 16 years, organizing paperwork is second nature. I created a cover letter for my documents with an index of the forms included:

Index of Documents:
1. Application
2. Passport
3. Travel document (passport) copies [copies of all pages with stamps]
4. ID photographs
5. Marriage certificate
6. Proof of French nationality of spouse [I included his birth certificate and our Livret de Famille)

VFS Global will take your ID photograph at the office for a fee but not having been informed of that beforehand, I had it done already by AAA auto insurance. (I was having ID photos done for my international driver’s permit anyway, and the nice man gave me the Schengen-sized photos for free.) I wasn’t a member of AAA and it isn’t a requirement for them to take a photo of you. If you have money, they’ll do it.

My passport was taken and a form was signed releasing the responsibility of VFS Global should the passport be lost. It was not without trepidation that I handed over my precious passport but trusted that it would all turn out well. 

The woman who assisted me sighed with relief when I sat down, stating that visas for spouses of EU nationals are the easiest, as there is so much less paperwork. The process was fairly quick. All the necessary forms were in order and promptly checked. The Schengen ID photos that I brought were approved and the employees at VFS Global seemed relieved to have their jobs go faster. The entire process took about an hour. It took about ten days to receive my passport with the shiny new visa fixed onto one of the pages. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life and I could then realize how excited people must feel when they receive their visas to travel to the United States. It’s not just a visa; it’s a life-changing event about to unfold. It represents a new beginning, a chance to explore a new place, meet new people, and experience a different culture. For us, it was also the culmination of years of hard work and sacrifice, and a symbol of hope and possibility. 

Soon After Arrival: Online Registration

It is a requirement to register online with the French government within three months of arrival to France. I attempted to do so about two weeks after arriving in France. All registration, from first arrival to visa renewal is now done on the website, Etrangers en France.

The process of validating the visa turned out to be more complicated than I had anticipated. Not only did I need to register my arrival in France, but I also had to pay a 200€ fee online to receive the “timbre” (stamp). This, however, was easier said than done. We initially attempted to pay using our French bank account, but since it was an older account that hadn’t yet been verified for online transactions, the payment kept getting declined. The same issue arose with my belle-mère’s (mother-in-law’s) card, as she doesn’t use hers for online purchases. Eventually, we used another family member’s card, which was already authorized for online use, and it felt like a small victory when I finally secured the stamp. With that done, I was able to complete the online registration process.

France Immigration Appointment
Silly me for thinking the process ended there—but it didn’t. Despite all my prior research, I never came across the full list of steps required after registering a visa in France. So, imagine my surprise when I received an email—a convocation—from the French government, informing me that I had an appointment with the OFII (French Office for Immigration and Integration) in Lyon. As if that weren’t enough, I was also instructed to bring a chest x-ray from an approved OFII doctor! Thankfully, the process was quick, and I left the office with the x-ray in hand.

On the day of my convocation in Lyon, there was a light drizzle as I arrived to find a small crowd of people from various nationalities, all waiting in line at the entrance. The line moved quickly as our convocation letters and passports were checked before we were admitted into the building. We were initially seated downstairs, waiting until we were called to proceed to another waiting room upstairs. After a brief wait, we were escorted into a small classroom where we were informed that the written French language test was about to begin.

The instructor walked us through each section of the exam, explaining that it would progress from easy to more challenging tasks, aimed at assessing our proficiency in French. The first task was straightforward—filling out a basic form in French with personal details like name, date of birth, address, and phone number. Simple enough. The second task simulated a casual text message exchange with a friend, which I also found easy since it was something I had done frequently.

The next part required writing a formal letter to a landlord, notifying them that the stovetop wasn’t working properly. While I encountered some unfamiliar vocabulary, I did my best to complete it. The final section featured a long text followed by multiple-choice questions. Although I could understand the passage, deciphering the answer options proved to be the most difficult part, and I found myself making educated guesses.

The next step was a one-on-one meeting to assess my oral proficiency in French. I felt at ease, as I had grown accustomed to speaking about myself during my time visiting and living in France. The woman conducting the assessment was kind and reassured me that I spoke French well. While I consider my level to be proficient, but not advanced, it was sufficient for the visa requirements. Fortunately, I passed the language exam and was placed at the A2 level, which is acceptable for obtaining a visa.

After returning to the waiting room, I was called in for another meeting to schedule my civic duty classes. As part of the visa validation process in France, each person must attend four civics classes, all scheduled on the same day of the week. The course is called the “Formation Civique” (Civics Course). I chose to take the classes on Saturdays, with the first session set for December 16 and the others spread across the following Saturdays in early January. Each class would run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. I was given the first three dates and informed that the fourth would be assigned after completing the third session. Since Privas is the capital of the Ardèche department, I would need to wake up early and drive an hour and a half south to arrive by 9:00 a.m.

Shortly afterward, I received an email from OFII notifying me that the English interpreter wouldn’t be available for my first “Formation Civique” class. They offered me the option to reschedule, and given my uncertainty about how difficult the French content might be, I decided to postpone, just in case I missed important information. As a result, I was assigned completely new dates and had to wait another month before my first class could begin.

The Formation Civique (Civics Course)

The Formation Civique took place at the Hôtel la Chaumette in Privas. The first class consisted of about fifteen people from various countries, which immediately put me in my happy place. Having worked in cultural exchange for many years, I love being surrounded by people from different backgrounds. Most attendees were from French-speaking African countries, but there were also a few from Albania, Russia, the Philippines, and Turkey. The two Turkish men had an interpreter who could also translate for English speakers, though I quickly realized I could understand most of the lessons and didn’t need any translation after all.

The class covered the fundamentals of settling in France: information on the French Republic, employment, housing, parenthood, and insurance. The instructor, a relaxed and friendly high school teacher, was highly knowledgeable and approachable. We had a couple of short breaks—a 10-minute one at 11:00 a.m. and another mid-afternoon—along with a longer lunch break of an hour and fifteen minutes at noon. During the break, I met my husband at a nearby kebab shop for a quick bite. (It was also market day, so Olivier picked up some delicious local goat cheese while we were there.)

The third class focused on French history and included a recap of what we had previously covered. At the end, we were assigned the date of our final class, but each person received a different date, so it wasn’t guaranteed that we would see the same group again.

In the fourth class, we were given the choice between two topics: practical job information or French culture. There were about 17 of us, and the votes leaned slightly towards practical job advice, so we spent much of the day discussing employment contracts and even potential job opportunities. Unfortunately, the cultural topic was barely touched upon. Toward the end, we had the option to either explore the town and learn about its history or stay in the classroom to discuss general French culture. Although most of the group wanted to walk around Privas, we were short on time and had to remain in the classroom, where the teacher quickly covered some aspects of French culture.

I had been particularly looking forward to the individual workshop, having heard that past participants enjoyed activities like cooking classes. While I found the entire course surprisingly engaging, the final “workshop” turned out to be a bit underwhelming compared to my expectations.

We all received certification of completion of the Formation Civique, another document to safeguard in the folder. If you need to send the document for any reason, never send the original – always send a copy! My last class was on 28 March and I had to wait until 4 May to register for my “Titre de Séjour” or “Carte de Séjour”. 

Registering for the Titre de Séjour
From that point onward, everything was handled online through Étrangers en France. After selecting “Je valide mon VLS-TS” and following the steps, I was able to register for my Titre de Séjour (residence permit). However, as the weeks and months passed with no updates, I started to worry that my application had somehow slipped through the cracks. With only two weeks left before my visa was set to expire, I sent a message through the Étrangers en France contact page, explaining my situation and requesting an update.

They responded, informing me there was a difficulté de fonctionnement du service—essentially, an issue with their system. I might have been wrong, but to me, this confirmed my suspicion that my application had been overlooked. However, all was not lost, and I was thrilled when they granted me a visa extension until October 14, 2024, giving me an extra three months for processing. It was a huge relief, as it meant I no longer had to worry about my visa status lingering over my head.

The very next day, though, I received another notification: my renewal request had been approved, and I would soon be receiving a two-year Titre de Séjour!

Five weeks later, I received a text confirming that my Titre de Séjour was ready for pickup at the prefecture. Olivier and I made yet another trip to Privas, where I finally collected my Carte de Séjour (residence card). Oh, a happy day! It may seem like a minor administrative milestone, but after navigating so many hurdles to get there, it felt like a significant achievement. I almost—emphasis on almost—felt as if I had just been granted French citizenship.

Things I learned on the side:

Debit cards cannot automatically be used for online purchases. It’s a separate verification process with various codes that will be both texted and mailed to you. It is confusing because you might not know which code is for what online page in the process. When the card is finally verified, you will likely have an additional verification process when you attempt to purchase something online. After clicking on the “Buy” button, a page will appear that prompts you to open the bank app on your phone and verify that it was you who is making the purchase. 

Social security numbers are never associated with employment or payment of any kind in France. They are solely connected to the national health insurance.  

The visa process is constantly evolving. My experience in 2023-2024 differed slightly from what others had described in their blogs. The Formation Civique has been streamlined; as the teacher mentioned, the class once included a fully paid lunch, which later changed to providing sandwiches. By the time I attended, we had to bring our own lunches.

On a positive note, it is no longer necessary to mail paperwork to the prefecture or schedule additional appointments. As mentioned earlier, everything is now done online, and decisions are made without any further meetings. And the happiest thing is that there is a Carte de Séjour at the end! Will I try for dual nationality in two years? Let’s see!