Formalities after arrival in France

Once you have come with your visa, in the first two months you must ‘validate’ a VLS-TS, or, for other types (including a talent visa if staying more than a year), apply for a first residency card.

Validation is done at this site clicking Je valide mon VLS-TS.

This site is headed ‘Foreign nationals in France’ but is also referred to as ‘Anef’ short for ‘digital administration for foreign people in France’. It has an option for partial translation to English.

Enter the visa number in the box. This can be found at the top right of the visa. Several details from it are required, including validity dates and the purpose that the visa was issued for. 

When completing this process a fee is due, eg. €200 for a ‘visitor’ or €50 for a student or stagiaire. They are payable with timbres fiscaux obtainable from a tabac shop or here. 

Once validated, the VLS-TS is considered equivalent to a residency card. An attestation de validation will be issued with a reference number or numéro d’étranger to be retained and quoted in correspondence relating to residency. 

People on visas that require them to apply for a residency permit in the first few months, can do so via this same site.

Everyone staying on more than a year will need to apply for a physical card. 

Some first-issue cards are only issued for one year, but are renewable for further years. They are referred to officially as ‘temporary’ cards. In some cases (but not for visitor visas) they can be renewed for a ‘multi-year’ (two to four year) version of the card. 

People with established residency (usually at least five years), can request a 10-year carte de résident allowing all kinds of work. 

Everyone applying for French residency cards is required to sign a contract to say they agree with certain ‘Republican values’ such as gender equality or freedom of speech and belief.

Ofii visit: CIR, civic training and medical

Many people must carry out two further formalities in the early months: a medical check and a visite d’accueil (welcome visit). Both are organized by Ofii, an agency dealing with new immigrants and their integration. Where appropriate you will receive an invitation to one or both after validating your VLSTS or applying for a first residency card. 

The visite d’accueil lasts half a day and there is a language test to check ability against the European language levels. These range from very basic to expert: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2.

You will have an interview with an Ofii agent who will present you with the terms of the Contrat d’intégration républicaine (CIR), that you must sign, saying that you agree with Republican values and agree to undertake some training. 

There are several exemptions from the CIR, essentially people whose visas do not imply they are settling (students, au pairs, people doing work placements…) as well as employees with fixed-term job offers and people on visitor or talent visas.

The CIR commits newcomers to four days of integration training over several months. 

This covers themes such as French institutions, the health and social systems, work, rights and obligations, and housing, plus key points of French history and culture.

The CIR ‘contract’ lasts one year, sometimes renewable once. 

Six to nine months after you start the training, you will be invited back to Ofii to review what you have learned and receive further advice on local services relevant to you.

Respecting the terms of the contract and not being deemed to have disrespected French values are part of requirements for obtaining multi-year residency cards.

Most foreign nationals settling in France (exceptions include talent card holders) also have a medical, which for those signing a CIR is often combined with the visite d’accueil.

This includes a lung X-ray, a general medical examination, check of vaccination status, and, in some cases, blood glucose measurement and urine analysis. The doctors may also give information about the medical system in France. If the visit reveals that a certain treatment or vaccination is necessary, the certificate will say so, and the individual should see a doctor.

This does not present an obstacle to remaining – the purpose of the check-up is to ensure a medical follow-up and to prevent the spread of contagious diseases.