Has anyone ever heard of a visiteur visa that is given for 3 months with a possible one year extension? I didn't think there was any type of 3 month visa given to Americans since we can be there for 3 months without a visa.

Appreciatively, Anne Drolet

Your husband can apply for his on Long Stay Visa as an individual. He need not apply as an addition to your work Visa. That is probably another reason the French Consulate laughed when you told them your encounter.

Don't worry. If your husband wishes to live in France with you, just have him fill out the necessary Long Stay Visa application with the Consulate. I am confident he won't have any problems. The process normally takes about 2 months. Once he is in France, he will need to go to his local Mairie (town hall) and apply for a Temporary Carte de Sejour (residency card). This is not difficult either. They will ask questions about ability to surivie (income) and health insurance. Your employer Visa will probably offer you health insurance, but your husband will probably find it difficult to use the French system. Once you are here, he can apply to be added to your coverage. This can get complicated, but there are also private policies (not too expensive - we used one for a year once) he can get if he finds he can't get added to yours.

Let me know if I can be of any further help.

Thanks so much for your reply. My experience in obtaining a work visa has been terrible. I have a work contract with a B&B one hour north of Lyon. We went through all the steps to get my work visa - we posted the job for 5 weeks and then my file was approved by the Direction Departmentale du Travaille and then ANAEM in Lyon. However, in the approval letter that ANAEM sent to the LA Consulate, they did not include my husband's information (despite having our marriage license and his other pertinent documents). When questioned, they said that my husband is not entitled for a famille accompagnent visa if I am making less than 4500 euro a month! The consulate in LA actually laughed at this and said that in the 100 visa applications they process each day, they have never heard of a salary stipulation (especially one so high) in order to bring one's spouse. The rep at the consulate actually suggested that my husband just go back to the US every three months!!! When our legal rep pressed the ANAEM further, they said that my husband should get a "visiteur visa" which is good for three months with a possible one year extension. I, like you, did not think Americans need any sort of visa to be in the country for three months so I wanted to see if anyone on this forum has heard of such a thing.

Honestly, this whole thing has been a nightmare. I finally get approved for a work visa and my husband can not come with me!

Thanks for any insight, Anne

If you are American (American Forum) and wish to come to France for 3 months or less, you do not need a Visa. Long stay Visas (for those expecting to be in France more than 3 months) are to be obtained prior to your arrival in France. If you arrive in France to an expected stay of 3 months or less and then decide you want to stay longer, you would need to approach the authorities PRIOR to the end of the 3 months to request a Long Stay Visa. Many who have tried this have been refused as you will be questioned at length as to the reason you didn't get a Long Stay Visa in the first place. That is not to say it is impossible to do.

Could this be the Visa for your husband? Do you expect your work assignment to be less than 3 months? Normally, your employer contract would state your dates of employment. If you think it could last longer than 3 months or if you know it will last longer than 3 months, you are best advised to get your husband a Long Stay Visa in order for him to legally reside with you for the duration of your stay here.

However, if your husband is not sure if he can stay in France this long - perhaps needs to get back to his work at home or take care of personal things at home, he is not obligated to stay in France for any set amount of time. If he has a long stay Visa, he can still leave France and go back home. The problem comes in when he decides to stay longer than 3 months and doesn't have the legal paperwork to allow his stay.

It is always better to obtain the necessary paperwork and then perhaps not need it than be in the reverse situation.

Visas are not that hard to obtain. Not having one when you need it is getting more and more intolerable to the French authorities.

HomeBack

Contact

Newletter

Classifieds

About

Search Site


Travel Store

Apartments

Auto Rentals

B&B's

Hotels

Phone Card

Sightseeing

Workshops

Terms &
Conditions

Terms of Service

Other

RSS Feed

Support this Site

Testimonials

Follow me
on Twitter.

Americans in France

Promote Your Page Too