All you need to know about the Carte de Séjour

As you probably already know, you need a Carte de Séjour in order to stay in France beyond the expiration of your visa. If you’ve done some researching online, you may have read some horror stories about getting the Carte de Séjour. Luckily for us, the Sous-Préfecture in Vire is excellent and extremely helpful. In order to apply for the Carte de Séjour, you need the following things:

• Arrêté de Nomination - This is super important, don’t ever lose it
• Prise de Fonction – This is basically a document stating that you work at the high school. The secretariat (Brigitte) will prepare it for you. You'll want to know her - she is extremely helpful. You’ll want to go to her with any questions.
• 4 Passport Photos – You can get these done in a photo booth in the train station.
• Photocopy of your passport – the main photo page and your visa
• Justificatif de Domicile – This is a document stating that you live in the high school. If you don’t live in the high school, then you need a phone or utilitybill.
• Birth Certificate – Original copy is needed. I suggest getting 2 additional original copies made before leaving, if you can. Photocopies won’t be accepted. It does NOT need to be translated.
• Medical Certificate* – You’ll get this at your medical appointment. More information about this below.

Our medical appointment wasn’t until November, in Caen. You will be informed of your appointment well in advance, don’t worry. Ours was supposedly late because of some strike (obviously). Basically, the medical appointment is kind of awkward. It starts with a chest x-ray, in which you must be topless (no sheet or anything). Then there is the visit with the doctor. He will make you take off your shirt and pants (leaving on underwear/bra), and then will just take your blood pressure and listen to your heart. It’s not too bad though, because all of the assistants in the region (who you will meet at your orientations) have their appointment at the same time so you can compare awkwardness.

I recommend getting the documents to the Sous-Préfecture as early as possible. *They will get the process rolling before you get your medical certificate.* I had my recipassé before I had turned in my medical certificate. We received our Cartes de Séjour in December. Before we received it, we got a letter telling us to go in and fill out a very basic form (they may ask you to do it when you turn in all your stuff). Some time afterward, we received a Recipassé, which is essentially a “Pre-Carte-de-Sejour” saying that you have applied for one. Then we got a letter telling us to go to the Sous-Préfecture to pick up the Carte de Séjour and that’s it! The Sous-Préfecture is so close to the school. You will pass it every time you walk in to town. The people that work there are also very friendly and helpful.

In terms of travelling around Europe, you shouldn’t have too much to worry about. The majority of places that you’d be interested in visiting are in the Schengen zone, which means that you don’t have to go through immigration/customs control when travelling within the zone. Similar to how you don’t need to go through customs control to go between states within the United States. The big exceptions to the Schengen zone are Great Britain and Ireland. You will need to show your passport with visa and Carte de Séjour upon entry to these countries and for re-entry to France. But, I don’t think they’re too strict in France. When I came back to France from Christmas Vacation in the USA, I just showed my passport, and wasn’t asked for a Carte de Séjour. Citizens from Caribbean and South American countries may need a travel visa to visit Great Britain. The Jamaican assistant this year needed a travel visa to visit England. Make sure you apply early! You can apply online but need to show a variety of documents (proof of place to stay, bank statements, etc) at the English Embassy in Paris. You will then need to return to Paris to pick up your visa (it will be pasted into your passport like the French one).