Gettin' legal

Unless you've gone through the process, you really have no idea how difficult it is to stay in France--or any other country in the EU, for that matter--for longer than three months. I say three months because that's the length of time foreigners (most, if not all) can stay here without a visa. For those of us wanting to stay longer, we have a whole list of things to do, documents to prepare and processes to go through for a few lousy--but priceless--stickers.

I think I outlined the process Josh and I went through when we were still in the States to get our visas. Because Josh is a student, he was applying for a student visa. That was a feat in itself. To obtain one of these coveted visas, one must first register with an agency called Campus France. For this you need your official acceptance letter to school you plan to attend, you must create a user profile on the agency's website, complete with photograph and resume, and then you fork over $120 and get an email certifying your registration in return. This is one of the many documents you must show to the consulate when you show up for your visa appointment.

Here's what Josh had to show:

1. Copy of the official acceptance from ENSP
2. Copy of the Campus France emails confirming registration and payment
3. Application form
4. Photo
5. Passport plus a copy of ID page
6. Processing fee (50 euro)
7. Proof that he had sufficient funds to live in France
8. Airline reservation info
9. Proof of residence while in France
10. French immigration (OFII) form filled out
11. A self-addressed, stamped express envelope

Here's what I had to show to apply for a long-stay visitor visa:

1. Application form, filled out
2. ID photo
3. Passport plus copy of ID page
4. Copy of my drivers license to prove U.S. address
5. Notarized letter promising not to seek employment while in France
6. Proof of income or available funds to support me while in France
7. Proof of medical insurance
8. Marriage certificate
9. Proof of residence while in France
10. Processing fee (99 euros)
11. French immigration (OFII) form, filled out
12. Airline reservation
13. Self-addressed, stamped express envelope

Oh, and note that we were required to prepare each document plus a photocopy, in the order specified. Then we made an appointment at the French Consulate of San Francisco (the closest to us) and show up early so as not to miss the appointment. The appointment can't be more than two months before you plan to leave, but the visas can take up to 21 days to be approved or denied.

On the day of our appointment, we woke up early, drove the 3 1/2 hours to SF, waited around for about an hour for our appointment, and signed in. We went through a metal detector, they checked my purse, and let us in to a room with a bunch of chairs and a couple of cashier-type windows. We were greeted almost immediately and the guy called us up together. We handed him the documents he asked for (about half of what we prepared), answered his questions and were sent on our way in less than half an hour.

We received our passports, complete with visas, and stamped OFII applications that same week. Phew!

If that wasn't enough, we were instructed that upon arriving in France we would have to follow up with OFII within three months. Luckily the school helped out a lot for this step--if they hadn't we'd have been stressed. They photocopied our passports, with visa pages and entry stamps. They also took our OFII forms and sent it all to OFII and set up appointments for us at our local office, which is in Clermont-Ferrand, two hours from Yssingeaux. But before those appointments we needed to gather a few more things, including buying stamps--from the local tabac--to pay our processing fees. For a student visa, the cost is 58 euros; for visitors, it's 349 euros.

The school arranged a minibus for the group a few weeks ago to go to Clermont-Ferrand. A friendly chef's assistant from ENSP agreed to accompany us as our French translator.

We first went to a clinic where we got chest X-rays. Let's just say the French are not as modest as Americans--no robes were provided--but they did bring us in each individually.

Then we brought those X-rays to another clinic, where we had health exams. Height, weight, vision, breathing, etc. We peed in cups--plastic cups like you'd drink from, no lids, very strange. Those of us who couldn't remember when we had our last inoculations were given boosters for tetanus and Hepatitis. After a short physical we were issued official documents affirming our health.


Next we stopped for lunch, then we were off to the OFII office. One by one, we stepped up to the window and presented our passports, stamps, an ID photo, the health certificate and OFII forms. We were supposed to have proof of residency but the school ended up having to send that later. Then one by one they affixed stickers to our passports affirming our legal status. Unfortunately one of the girls in the group grabbed her old, expired passport and instead of leaving with her sticker ended up leaving in tears. She had to go back on her own a few days later, missing class, to get her visa finalized.


So .... I won't even get into the process of getting the dogs here. Maybe in another post. Until then, we're all legal! At least until the end of the year. Woohoo!