Residence as a French citizen’s spouse (séjour du conjoint de Français)

If you are a non-European foreign national married to a French citizen, you can obtain a residence permit (titre de séjour), subject to conditions, to live together in France. The private and family life residence permit (titre de séjour vie privée et familiale) lets you work and travel abroad. In the general case, apply for your visa through the French consular authorities in your country of residence.

Steps

General case

1. Apply to the French consular authorities in your country of residence for a long-stay visa (visa de long séjour) serving as a residence permit (titre de séjour), marked “vie privée et familiale / conjoint de Français” (VLS-TS).
2. Within 3 months of arriving in France, validate your VLS-TS online and pay the tax, which is additional to the visa fees.
3. After 1 year of residence, you can apply for a multi-year residence card (carte de séjour pluriannuelle) marked “vie privée et familiale”, valid for 2 years, provided you have not stopped living together.
4. After 3 years of residence, you can apply for a 10-year resident card (carte de résident), provided you have not stopped living together.

If you are Algerian

1. Enter France with a visa; a short-stay visa is sufficient.
2. While your visa is valid, apply for a residence certificate (certificat de résidence) for Algerian nationals, valid for 1 year and marked “vie privée et familiale”.
3. After 1 year of marriage, you can obtain a residence certificate (certificat de résidence) for Algerian nationals valid for 10 years, provided you are living together.

If you are Tunisian

1. Apply to the French consular authorities in your country of residence for a long-stay visa (visa de long séjour) serving as a residence permit (titre de séjour), marked “vie privée et familiale / conjoint de Français” (VLS-TS).
2. Within 3 months of arriving in France, validate your VLS-TS online and pay the tax, which is additional to the visa fees.
3. After 1 year of marriage, you can obtain a 10-year resident card (carte de résident), provided you have not stopped living together.

Key facts

• For your marriage to be recognised in France, it must have been celebrated by a French civil registrar or, if celebrated abroad, transcribed into the French registers of the central civil registry service in Nantes.
• You must have continued living together since your marriage, your spouse must have kept French nationality, and you must not be in a polygamous marriage.
• Your private and family life residence permit (titre de séjour vie privée et familiale) allows you to work in France and travel in Europe and abroad.
• In the general case, your VLS-TS usually lasts no more than 1 year and exempts you from applying for a residence card during your first year in France.
• If you are a citizen of a European country, the EEA or Switzerland and married to a French citizen, you follow a different procedure.