r/Expats_In_France

Bonjour everyone,

I have made the decision to return home (Mexico) at the end of my titre de sejour in mid February. I will continue to work til the end of January and plan to use February as a sort of vacation. However my titre de sejour expires on the 12th. I was wondering if I would face any trouble if I left a few days afterwards, my plan is to leave on the 28th of the month (02/28).

Is there a grace period to leave after a titre sejour expires? Mexico is a visa exempt country for the Schengen area, I don’t know if that influences anything but I have heard from people talking about entering the tourist 90 day period.

Has anyone done this before/know if it will I have problems when leaving France?

Thanks in advance.

Pretty much the title. My partner and I live together and our next door neighbor tends to have parties pretty late at night, well into the morning. He's very loud, loves to scream with his pals, blast music and even trash the building hallways when he's in the mood for it.

We tried to reach out to him and settle this amicably, he just ignored us. We tried to reach out to our landlord and building "syndic", they turned us down saying this wasn't their problem to settle and we should call the police. We've called the police countless times and no one ever showed up. At this point I'm at my wit's ends as to what to do and even moving is not a move that's worth it to me if it means the same thing will happen again.

Has anyone been in a similar situation and found what's the best thing to do?

Hello! I've asked questions about getting married to a French Citizen with intent to move to France here before and would like to quickly thank everybody who lent advice!

We just got married last week and I intend to fly back to apply for a VLS-TS "Vie Privee et Familiale" and the ability to work via a titre de sejour per the advice of those in this sub.

I'd love to know about anybody else's experience with the process and wait times! As well as what documents I should have prepared for my application. I've got a copy of our marriage documents for example but is there anything else I should prepare here before I depart and start my application? happy to explain my situation more if needed down below.

tldr: What documents do I need to apply for VLS-TS "Vie Privee et Familiale" from within the USA?

Maybe someone might have a solution for my problem. I've been married to my French husband for 18 years, and legally changed my name to his surname 18 years ago. It has been my legal name ever since in both the US and Canada. Now that I'm in France, all of my documents are in my maiden name (driver's license, health card). I find it incredibly upsetting for 2 reasons. First, I feel like my name and identity have been taken away from me. Secondly, I grew up in an abusive household, and my birth name is a cruel reminder of that. Is there anything that I can do?

Hi everyone,

My friend has been living in France for 7.5 years and is currently a postdoc. His application for a 10-year residence card was rejected. The prefecture said it was because he received unemployment benefits through Pôle emploi for 8 months in 2023.

They told him they would give him a Talent Passport instead. Could he get a 4-year card, or would it only be valid until the end of his postdoc contract?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Thanks.

Hello I am an Indian student here in Paris and I have got my internship in Spain and for the visa the Spain consulate is asking for the indian police clearance certificate apostilled or legalized but I received my certificate from the Indian consulate in Paris and they said they can't do apostille,what to do please guide,

Hello I’m looking for anyone who knows information about this. I currently hold a Visitor Visa V1-VLSTS and it expires in February 2027.
I am going to change my status to a Carte de séjour de membre de la famille d'un citoyen de l'Union eyropéenne. I know the rule is to renew the visa it has to be 4-2 month before the expiration date. Does that still apply if I’m changing my status? I’m waiting for some documents from the States and I don’t think they will arrive before December. What should I do? Can I still apply for the CdS after the 2 month cut off? Does that still apply if I’m not renewing the same visa I currently hold? Any advice will help

In January we'll hopefully be moving into our new home near Sourdeval in the Manche department in Normandy. Before our arrival I'm trying to get as much done as possible and one of the tasks is to get fibre internet hooked up. I'm getting mixed signals with regard to whether is is actually available at the house. The nationwide fibre map at https://cartefibre.arcep.fr has our house marked with:

• Adresse : XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
• Code postal : 50150
• Commune : Beauficel
• Identifiant immeuble IPE : IMB-XXXXXX-XXXXXX
• État immeuble : Déployé (raccordable)
• PM de rattachement : XXXXXXXX_XXXX
• État PM : Déployé
• Mise à disposition du PM : 2017-07-28
• Début délai complétude : 2017-07-28
• Opérateur d’infrastructure : Manche fibre
• Nombre de locaux : individuel

I'm wondering of anyone here has had experience with getting fibre set up and can explain what "Deployed (connectable)" means? Our house has a 300m long driveway so I don't yet know if that means that the fibre is available at the end of our driveway or has it actually been pulled all the way to the house?

I live in eastern France, close to the border with Switzerland, and I often see cars with Swiss licence plates driving around, including parked in people's driveways. I assume the owners have somehow registered the vehicle in Switzerland although they live in France. I have two questions:

1. How have they managed to do this? I understood that you need to be resident in Switzerland in order to register a vehicle there. Of course, some of them may have second homes in Switzerland, but I can't believe they all do.

2. Why would you want to do this anyway? Is it advantageous somehow?

Hello,

I recently received my first carte de sejour and thought I'd share my timeline, in case it is of interest to others who may be in a similar situation. I am based in the Annecy area (74). My wife is an EU citizen, I am not (anymore, Brexit 😢)

• 15th January: Arrived France
• 10th April: Applied CdS
• 30th June: Received follow up questions on evidence provided and responded
• 9th July: Received invitation for fingerprinting
• 21st July: Attended finger printing
• 23rd July: Received attestation de decision favorable
• 13th September: Received notification titre de sejour available
• 16th September: Booked appointment
• 9th October: Picked it up

One thing that threw me off a little bit at the picking up appointment was the woman behind the desk asking for my récépissé - which, since I applied online, I did not have. The convocation of the picking up appointment asks for:

• passeport
• dernier titre de séjour et récépissé
• un timbre fiscal à acheter sur le site https://timbres.impots.gouv.fr, le montant du timbre estindiqué sur le SMS que vous avez reçu.

When I looked through this list, I thought, "passport, yep, last TdS and récépissé, well it's my first so I don't need this, timbre fiscale, i'm EU pathway so this is zero. Great, I just need my passport.". But she was very insistent that I provide her with my numero etrangere / attestation de decision favorable.

So, if you're on an EU-family member path, I would suggest bringing a copy of your attestation de decision favorable in lieu of a previous TdS/récépissé when going to pick up your CdS even though it isn't explicitly mentioned in their communications. Hope this helps someone!

Bonjour à tous,

I’m a teacher from the UK and, assuming everything goes ahead with the work permit and visa process, I’ll be moving to Chaumont in Haute-Marne in the coming months for work. I’ve been to France umpteen times but this will be my first time actually living there.

I’ve accepted a job teaching English at a vocational training centre in Chaumont, so I’m going to be making the move fairly soon. I’m currently working as a supply/substitute teacher in England and have just finished my master's degree on French history, so I’m quite excited about the opportunity to experience France properly rather than just visiting on holiday.

There’s also a bit of a personal connection to the area. Because my MA dissertation focused on rural Haute-Marne, I’ve visited the department almost ten times in the last couple of years and so I’ve become quite attached to the region and made a number of local friends and connections. As such, when the opportunity to work in Chaumont came up, it was a very welcome coincidence. I've been to the town for the E.Leclerc and for a few appointments but I haven't really spent much time exploring it.

I’m therefore hoping to get some advice from people who actually live in Chaumont/Haute-Marne.

A few things I’m particularly interested in:

• What is everyday life in Chaumont actually like? I quite like quiet, rural places, so I’m not looking for a huge amount of nightlife, but I’d obviously still like to have things to do.
• What are the best things to do in and around Chaumont? Particularly places that might not be obvious to a newcomer.
• Are there any bars, cafés, clubs, associations, sports groups, cultural activities etc. where it’s relatively easy to meet people?
• Is there much of an English-speaking/international community in Chaumont or the surrounding area? I speak French reasonably well but definitely wouldn't describe myself as fluent, so I imagine it'll take some time to become completely comfortable.
• Are there any particular social groups or associations that you'd recommend to a young foreigner trying to meet people?
• And finally, if anyone has advice about finding accommodation, dealing with the practicalities of moving, or generally settling into the area, I'd be very grateful.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in rural Haute-Marne already and really like the slower pace of life, countryside and small-town atmosphere, so I’m actually quite excited about moving somewhere that is probably considered 'too quiet' by many.

If anyone from Chaumont or Haute-Marne has any recommendations, stories or general advice, I’d be very grateful. Even if you just want to tell me what I’m getting myself into, feel free.

My 3 weeks at Camping-Car Park (pornic)

I joined Camping-Car Park expecting to contribute to a serious project environment. Instead, my three weeks at the company were an extremely disorganized and ultimately very disappointing experience. For context I was in Canada before as I was helping my mom renovate her house. I flew from Vancouver to Nantes on less than a weeks notice

Week 1:

My first week was primarily onboarding and initiation. During one of the meetings our CTO mentioned that the operations team needed to show

It's value as the team had been active for 6 months without much results.

Week 2:

On Tuesday, I was told that I would be the project lead responsible for implementing PandaDoc into the ERP system that the company was simultaneously implementing. During our first meeting, I was shocked to discover that I was expected to lead the meeting, despite only learning about the project the day before. Nobody had previously told me that I would be leading this meeting. The company had bought the software in June and had not yet started the analysis or implementation process. I actually have no idea why they bought it in the first place or waited three months

Later that week, I delivered a meeting that the CTO felt was too academic and not technical enough. This was despite the fact that I had reviewed my presentation with the Operations team and the Head of Operations beforehand.

Week 3:

I presented again and demonstrated two software solutions, as requested by the CTO. During the meeting, I was asked a large number of questions, including questions that I had not been given the information or preparation to anticipate. The CTO became increasingly frustrated and yelled at me, saying that the company was too far behind and that I was too incompetent to lead the project.

I subsequently had a panic attack in the office next door.

Approximately 30 minutes later, the Head of Operations and CTO informed me that I was being fired. The reasons given were that they "needed someone to go the extra mile" and someone "more senior." This was confirmed by the Head of Operations, who, during my time there, spent a significant amount of his time vaping and using the company computer to make AI music.

What makes this experience particularly difficult is that I had missed my grandmother's funeral and flown across the world to take this position.

The biggest issue for me was not simply being let go. It was the lack of communication and expectations throughout the process.

TL;DR: I missed my grandmother's funeral and flew across the world for a company that ultimately treated me as disposable. I would strongly discourage anyone from applying there. If anyone has any uplifting or similar stories and how they got back on their feet feel free to share as I'm quite demoralized.

I'm prepping for a relocation in 4 months and I just heard landlords will not rent to those who have any sort of dog? Is this true? Does it matter if the dog is small or larger? I'll be arriving in early December specifically to have more opportunities to rent long term. This is very concerning news. Is it true? Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I’d really appreciate some advice/experiences regarding the renewal of my titre de séjour salarié and the new civic exam requirement.
Here’s my situation:
I originally came to France as a student.
I completed my Master’s degree in France.
I then changed my status from student → salarié.
I currently have a 1-year temporary “salarié” residence permit.
This is my first renewal.
I’m applying through ANEF with the Hauts-de-Seine (Nanterre) prefecture.
My current residence permit expires in about 4 months.
In my ANEF document checklist, they ask for an attestation of passing the civic exam, with wording saying that without it, you cannot obtain a first carte de séjour pluriannuelle.
My questions are:
If I decide not to take the civic exam, can I still renew my salarié residence permit and get another 1-year temporary card, instead of a first 4-year pluriannual card?
Does the fact that I completed a Master’s degree in France change anything regarding the civic exam or the CIR? I never completed any OFII civic training.
If I decide to take the civic exam, how long did it take you to receive the certificate after passing? Is it issued quickly, or does it take several days/weeks?
Regarding my job: I’m currently employed on a permanent contract (CDI), but I’ve decided to leave my current job. I have a 2-month notice period, and my residence permit expires in about 4 months. I would like to submit my renewal application now.
Should I submit the application using my current job/employer, since that is my employment at the time I apply? Or would it be better to wait until I have my next job and submit the application with the new employer?

If anyone has been in a similar situation, especially student → salarié → first renewal in 2026, and even better if you went through the Nanterre prefecture, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience.
Thanks!

My wife has received a ‘ convocation ‘ for fingerprinting in connection with a carte de sejour application at the prefecture in Istres. 1 hours drive out side of Marseille Can that be right. Why can it not be done in Marseille where we live?

Hi, I’m currently applying for a Passeport Talent through ANEF, and the application asks for an “Attestation employeur” and provides a specific template.

If you are employed on a CDI, do I need to ask my HR department to complete this specific template provided by them (link attached), or would a letter confirming that I am still employed by the company be sufficient if I submit it together with my employment contract, which already states my salary and meets the required salary threshold?

And if I need to fill up the template, what did you fill in for the section referring to the “Futur salarié”? Is that supposed to be my information?

I’m assuming that the “Déclarant” is the HR person who is completing the attestation. Is that correct?

Thank you for any help!

I'm buying a house in cash. We signed the compromis de vente 12 days ago. How could I go about getting keys early so I can get everything all set before winter makes things difficult.

Hey,

We just relocated to Paris a few months ago and want to hire a Filipino woman as our full-time, live-in nanny. She doesn't have work authorization in France yet, so I'm trying to get a law firm to work on her case so we can employ her. She's absolutely lovely so I need to find a way to make this work! Also so I don't get into any trouble.

Can someone recommend a law firm I could reach out to? Is this an immigration case or a employment case? I really don't know so some guidance here would be great. Thanks!