In one of the previous posts, I talked about how I became an English teacher in France. In this post, I will talk about the biggest obstacle I or any other foreign national has to face before being able to live and work in France — Residence Permit (Titre de Séjour). The application of a residence permit is seldom straightforward in most countries; yet, a country will find it hard to out rival France in its convoluted administrative step. 



Like other countries, France requires a foreign national who plans to live in France to apply for a residence permit. This process is exempted if the applicant is a European Union (EU) national, a national from one of the other 26 member states of the EU. Being an EU national, you can reside and work legally, without any additional paperwork other than your national identity card or your passport. The freedom of movement is one of the biggest advantages of being a citizen within the EU.




The freedom of movement is one of the biggest advantages of being a citizen within the EU.





Being a non-EU national but married to one who is staying in France, I need to apply for the French residence permit. With this permit, I am eligible to live, work and enjoy the social security benefits in France for five years. Other than not being able to vote in France and in the EU, I have basically the same rights and obligations as a French citizen. After five years, I have the option to apply for permanent residence permit in France which would be valid for 10 years and is automatically renewable.



Clear And Straight Forward



Residence permit application was on the top of my list of priorities when I arrived in France at the end of 2015 to join Silviu. We were rushing to get it done within a week upon my arrival as we had to leave for Romania for our wedding.



Based on the information available on the national government website, the application procedure looked clear and straight forward. I was to apply for the residence permit at my nearest Préfecture or Sous-Préfecture  (the local administration or sub-local administration) with the list of required documents. Upon submission of my application, I would receive a temporary residence permit, a “récépissé”, while I wait for the issue of the permanent one. Even with this temporary permit, I was allowed to work.



Everything Was In French




Basic translation of the essential information would definitely facilitate the lives of newly arrived immigrants.





All the online information relating to the application was only available in French. Without Silviu to help me, I would be completely lost.



Well, you might exclaim, “Of course, it’s in French! You are in France.” But think about it, from the position of a new immigrant, “The information on the website is to help me, a foreigner who is likely a non-French speaker, to settle in France. Perhaps it’s unreasonable to ask that information be translated into all languages. But, shouldn’t the information be at least available in English, the most widely spoken language with close to 20% of the world population speaking it?” Basic translation of the essential information would definitely facilitate the lives of newly arrived i...