If you’re considering moving to France, you may be wondering if knowing French is required for immigration. That’s a great question to ask, as France only has one official language—French! Different levels of French are required at different stages of the immigration process and for certain residence permits. Let’s take a look at the details of the language requirements in France, from your first visa to your carte de séjour to French nationality.
After submitting all your paperwork and applying for your residence permit, you are now ready to pick up your carte de séjour at the Paris préfecture. Hold up—I know you are eager to celebrate (and boy, do you deserve it), but we have a few more steps to follow. Here’s your guide to picking up your residence permit from the préfecture in Paris.
As the spouse of a French citizen, I recently renewed my carte de séjour “vie privée et familiale” (CdS VPF). This residence permit allows me to continue living and working in France and has a duration of two years.
Depending on your visa category, you’ll have different requirements with l’Office Français de l’Immigration et de l’Intégration (OFII). When I switched to the carte de séjour vie privée et familiale (CdS VPF) after marrying my French husband, I had to fulfill more requirements with OFII. Namely, I had to pass a French language test, sign an integration contract (CIR), and attend four civics classes.
Visa, titre de séjour, carte de séjour… What’s the difference? I often hear these terms being used interchangeably, but they’re actually different! Here’s a little guide to visas and residence permits for France.
I arrived in France on a long-stay visitor visa, got married to a Frenchman, and applied for the carte de séjour “vie privée et familiale” (VPF) in Paris. This residence permit provides stability, allowing me to stay in France and work.
Within the first three months following arrival to France on a long-stay visa, you must register with the government in order to make your stay legal. There are a couple of steps to validating a long-stay visa, and the procedure you follow depends on the type of visa that you’ve been granted.
I am writing this post as an American, planning to marry a Frenchman and settle in France. In the summer of 2019, I applied for and received a visa long séjour valant titre de séjour (VLS-TS), a long-stay visa that acts as a temporary residence permit after validation.