Staying in France after your studies – the Autorisation provisoire de Séjour (APS)
PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THIS PAGE IS NOW OBSELETE.
THE GOVERNMENT PASSED A FEW CHANGES TO THE LAW COVERING THE APS WHICH WENT INTO EFFECT LAST MARCH 2019. THE APS HAS BEEN CHANGED IT INTO A FULL-FLEDGED “TITRE DE SEJOUR” FOR JOB HUNTING. THE UPDATED PAGE CAN BE FOUND HERE.
Updated on 6 DECEMBER 2018
The Autorisation provisoire de Séjour (or APS) is a one-year visa (with exceptions) that is granted free of charge to foreign (non-EU / Swiss) students who have recently graduated (or about to graduate) with a masters degree from a recognized French higher education institution. Some countries have specific agreements with France that would allow you to have special conditions regarding the APS (details below).
For more information on transitioning from a student/APS permit to a work permit, read this page.
CONDITIONS:
- Be in possession of a valid student residency permit (titre de séjour étudiant)
- A diploma equivalent to a masters degree
PROCEDURE:
The APS is done upon request (often without a need for appointment) at your préfecture (or the Préfécture de Police for Paris) up until the last day of validity of your current student permit.
TC says:
If the préfecture requires you to send the request via mail/post, make sure you send it via registered mail (called lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception in French) so that you have proof that you sent in the application before your student titre de séjour expires.
Based on the new law that was passed in 2016, you would have to apply for the APS the year you get your diploma (it seems that the interpretation varies: the year you finish your studies or the year you get the physical diploma).
(e.g. you finish your program in 2017, you would have to apply for the APS in 2017).
You would need the following documents (with photocopies, of course):
- Passport
- Three (3) passport pictures
- Your current student ID
- Your diploma
–> Note that you most likely will not have this yet BEFORE your visa expires. You can submit to the préfécture an attestation de réussite (a certificate of completion) and usually this suffices.
–> Some have been required to go back with their actual diplomas. So double check. - Some would request for a proof of accommodation (justificatif de domicile)
- Additional requirement (not on the official list): a “cover letter” of sorts, in French, that states why you would like to stay in France.
- This document is not in the official list but has been requested from many students. It need not be detailed but they ask it from you even though it has been removed from the requirements last year.
The APS is granted for a one-year period (some prefectures give it to you for 6 months, and you can renew it once) free of charge.
The delay before the prefecture makes it decision is supposed to be 4 months. Some grant it right away, some take two weeks, some take longer.
RIGHT TO WORK:
- The APS gives you a right to search for a job and work for the entire duration of its validity, and is valid for ALL employers.
- In much the same way as you would as a student – 20 hours a week (part-time) for one year. The alternative is 35 hours a week (full-time) for 6 months).
- If you find a job that is related to your diploma, you can work full time, but it should be 1.5 times the minimum wage
- As of this writing, minimum wage is EUR 9.76/hour gross or EUR 1480.27/month.
- Thus, your salary has to be at least EUR 14.64/hour gross or EUR 2220.40/month.
- With the APS you can start working right away once you have signed the contract (if you do not have the APS, you cannot do this).
- Afterwards, you have 15 days to make a request to change your visa to a temporary working visa. The process is the same as changing status from student to work permit.
TRAVELING WITH THE APS:
(based on https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F12189)
There has been some confusion regarding the right to travel for the APS. Based on information I received, these are the conditions:
- You can travel around the Schengen area with the APS.
- You can LEAVE the Schengen area with the APS and come back.
HOWEVER, I highly recommend that you LEAVE and RE-ENTER the Schengen area VIA FRANCE in order to avoid hassles. - Have a translation of your APS in in English (or your native language) handy in case of any issues with immigration in other countries.
- Suggestion: keep a copy of this circulaire with you when you are travelling to facilitate re-entry into France, as well as a copy of the Schengen Borders Code and highlighting article 2 paragraph 16 and article 39 paragraph 1
- These two paragraphs from the Schengen Borders Code basically mention that the APS is a valid residence permit (art. 2 paragraph 16: since it’s issued by France) and that the circulaire also states that it was mentioned to the EU by the French government, according to art. 39 paragraph 1.
TC says:
Once again, bring as many documents as you can when applying so as to avoid being refused the APS. The more, the merrier!
—-
Source:
Hi,
Thank you for the information, much appreciated.
I am a student in Toulouse and will graduate in October 2020. As a part of my final year “stagaire”, I will be interning in Japan and returning back to France in first week of September 2020, 3 weeks before my titre de sejour expires (29 Sept 2020). Would it be possible to apply for APS/ job hunting permit in those 3 weeks or can I initiate the process from Japan itself?
Kind regards
Leelendhu
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Hi. Thanks for the kind words.
No you can only apply for it in France and BEFORE your titre de séjour expires.
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Hi,
I am a masters student from Pakistan. I am currently working in a company on CDD contract. I will first change my student visa to APS and withing 15 days I will apply for Temporary Work Permit.
Can you please tell me that, can I bring my spouse from Pakistan to France while having a CDD contract.
Thank you in advance
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Hi Majid. For the regroupement familial, you’d have to be living in France for at leat 18 months, and normally, you cannot do this with a temporary work permit (“travailleur temporare”). You need a permit that is valid AT LEAST 1 YEAR (meaning it would say “salarié).
More info in French here: https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F11166
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hello André,
Thanks for the helpful report, i was wondering if i could apply for the APS again once i finish my second masters? let’s assume that i finished my first master then applied for APS, for some reasons i couldn’t get a job, can i study another master and get another APS? i will appreciate your advice. thanks again
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Hi Imad. Normally, no you cannot. Once you apply for the APS, it is only given out once (renewable for certain nationalities). But once you have it, you cannot go back to being a student unless you go back to your home country.
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Hello! I hope you are well. I’m an expat living in France :). Quick question on this topic – I’ve been working for a company for the past 18 months. They had me working while I had my APS for the first year, and only put me on a titre de sejour for the last 6 months of my contract. Legally, is it okay for them to do this, or should they have put me on a titre de sejour earlier / after I signed the initial contract?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!
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Hi. Normally, if you were working full time, they should’ve changed your status before the end of your 6 months full time.
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I would like to thank you very much for your time and help.
I badly, hardly, deeply,,, need your help. Please kindly direct me. I really appreciate you.
I will finish my PhD in less than five month and i have two questions:
– If I find a job not related to my PhD it will work? i would have a PhD in genetic and i really don’t want to be a researcher anymore and be an academic person , for example i would like to be a seller? can i renew my residence with a job not related to be PhD topic.
Thank you very much.
Best Regards
Sarina
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Hi Sarina. You would have to convince the prefecture as to why you’d want to be seller, after getting a PhD. The usual change of status for masters and PhD students (thus with the job hunting visa) requires you to get a job related to your field.
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Thank you very much for your time and i really appreciate it your kindness. no words can convey my appreciation to you. thank you for your help and would be kind of you if you let me know then can I apply for APS visa? sorry for inconvenience and endless thanks for your generosity and kindness.
With all respects and appreciation
Sarina
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Yes, I think you can still apply for the APS visa (depending on your nationality) or the job hunting visa after your PhD.
However, as I said, no guarantee that the prefecture / DIRECCTE will grant the change of status if it’s not related to your PhD.
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Hello ANDRÉ
I am very pleased to contact you and was very pleased with the way you have been helping people out here on this platform I have a valid “TITRE DE SEJOUR” for job hunting and creation of an enterprise that expires at the end of June this year
I have not been able to get a job that pays the minimum requirement that will qualify me to change my status. Can i submit an application with the lesser amount because I hear that some prefectures consider some applications?.
I would also like to hear your opinion and expert views about the recent circular from the ministry of interior about the automatic three months extension for all resident permits in circulation due to the covid19 lockdown measures.
Thanks
Adewale
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Hi Adewale,
Thanks for the kind words.
You could try to change status with a job that pays less than 1.5x the minimum wage, and they prefecture will analyze your application. However, you will NOT benefit from the advantages of the job hunting permit, meaning that the situation of the job market / the unemployment rate will be taken into consideration – which is often the reason for rejecting a request to change status without the APS / job hunting permit.
For your second question, I do not really know what you would like to know. All documents that expired after 16 March have been extended automatically by 3 months.
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Hi Andre,
Thank you so much for this site!
My question is about PACS in France. If my boyfriend and I did PACS in France, would I be legally able to work in the EU, specifically Belgium? Or, does PACS only allow you to work in France? I am an American citizen.
Kind regards,
Maddi
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Hi Maddi,
Thanks.
A few things (and I was going to write a post about this, but I haven’t done it yet): getting PACSed does not automatically grant you a titre de séjour that allows you to work. You can apply for it, and more often than not – if you have been living together for more than a year regardless of the data of the PACS – they will grant it. But it is not a RIGHT (unlike for married spouses of French citizens).
For Belgium, well you’d have to apply for a permit to live and work in Belgium as a PACS partner of an EU citizen (a French titre de séjour that allows you to work in France does not grant you the right to work in Belgium). The big advantage is that EU law considers the PACS and marriage as one and the same, and thus you will be considered as a spouse of an EU citizen in another EU country.
(EXCEPT for France, if your boyfriend is French. In France, you fall under the situation that I described in my first paragraph).
BUT (and this is a rather important BUT), your boyfriend / PACS partner would have to move to Belgium first (under the EU freedom of movement directive) and have legal status to stay there within the first three months (which, more often than not, means that he has a job in Belgium – or, for example, he has a job here in France near the border, and you just decided to live in Belgium). Only then will you then be entitled to apply for a residence permit in Belgium as a spouse of an EU citizen (which grants you the legal right to work).
Hope that made sense.
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Hello,
I’m Indian and I have my APS which expires in Oct 2020. I am not in France at the moment. How can I get my APS extended and is it necessary that I need to get it extended before Oct or can I do it afterwards also?
Best,
Aayushi
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Hi. You cannot extend an APS if you are NOT in France. You have to be in the country before it expires to extend it. It’s one of the conditions for the delivery and renewal of it.
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Hi,
I’m on my APS (after studying at a grande école in Paris) and would like to change to a temporary work permit. I was working at a different company with my APS and I’m hoping to shift to another company. The only thing is that my future employer specified that for me to be eligible I shouldn’t need sponsorship. I went through the French government’s website to figure out what exactly I should do after the APS and got a bit confused on the responsibility of the employer. Do they have to pay tax/fees to the French government if they take a non-EU citizen? DO they have to prove that they advertised the position on Pôle emploi? I got a bit confused
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Hi Sinali.
Yes, your future employer would still have to pay the fee to take a non-EU citizen, even with the APS. They would also have to fill in all the paperwork to do it.
(So, technically, it’s still a sponsorship).
However, they don’t necessarily need to advertise the position on pôle emploi.
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Hi,
How long can one stay outside France with an APS. I was visiting my friend in Amsterdam two months ago when the lockdown happened due to Coronavirus and now I cannot go back to France.
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Hi Sanj. Normally, if you leave France for 6 months (and 1 day), they can cancel your titre de séjour. But if you have an APS, you should have been able to go back to France no problem (as a resident), provided you are able to come back using trains, a plane, etc. Hope it worked out for you.
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hi sir I am srikanth working in Lyon I have two contracts from different company cdd and cdi as a part time for approx 48 hours doest it problem in any way in future for me as i asked my boss he said I will have no problem and is it possible to0 get work permit with 1600 CDI contract
thank you
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Hi. What is your resident permit at the moment? The legal maximum number of hours you can work in a week in France is 48.
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hi I am srikanth currently first APS working in Lyon got two-part time contracts doest it problem in any way in future as I asked my boss he said no there won’t be any problem can I get work permit with 1600 cdi contract as one of my friend got work permit with 1600 euros
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Answered your other question.
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hello please my question is about pole emploi and caf i had a cdd contract with ANRH is an handicap entreprise because i am handicap with Mdph status but a international student with student resident, my contract ended last march and i try submitting my documents to pole emploi but was turn down with a letter i received saying my Resident Permit does not allow me to apply for pole emploi and also i want to know if I can apply for aid from caf after lost of job and benefit i can get a student handicap worker.
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Hi. Yes, normally you cannot apply for pôle emploi / chômage (unemployment benefits) with a student permit. You can apply for CAF, normally.
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Hi this is Robin ,
Firstly thanks for the post . I am currently enrolled in Master program that started in Aug19, we have finished all the course work as of 1st June20. We need to submit our thesis on the 1April21 and our official graduation will be on the 1stJun21. Having worked for a few years prior to this masters , if i get a fulltime job (above the 1.5 times min salary limit) by July19 (within the next month) what visa/residence permit can I apply for ? also does my full time job have to be in the degree that i completed ?
Any details about this would be helpful.
Thanks and regards
Robin
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Hi Robin. You can apply directly for a change of status (student -> work permit), but with a few caveats:
1. You cannot start working right away with your student permit.
2. The prefecture/DIRECCTE is more strict on this, and they can deny your application because of the situation of the job market
(one of the advantages of the RECE permit is specifically that the prefecture doesn’t have to take the situation of the job market into account).
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Greetings,
My second-year master’s degree is coming to end so I will be soon applying for APS visa once I receive my degree certificate.
Currently, I am working under CDD contact which will expire at the end of July’20 because I will complete my 964 working hours.
My current company want’s to renew my contract immediately but to apply for the salarié” residence permit card(after APS visa application) will take approx 3 months.
Can you please suggest me any solution for the same so that I can continue to work while waiting for salarié” residence permit card confirmation?
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Hi Angelica,
Very little you can do, I’m afraid.
You should apply for the change of status right away. The prefecture/DIRECCTE might allow you to continue working, but they can also be very strict and not allow you to keep on working until the process is done.
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Great article and very Insightful responses on comments.
It would be very helpful if you can help me out with my query.
I am an Indian student, I will be going to France in 2021 for my master’s. I wanted to understand, if any proof of funds are required to be shown during the stayback period post completion of my program ?
Thank you for taking out your time to respond to this. Take Care
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Thanks for your kind words. No, not for the 1st year after you complete the program.
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Hi,
I would like to know if my Master 2 course us eligible for APS.
I tried through the links and websites for checking APS but, unfortunately couldn’t find it.
Course name: MIB-2 ( MASTER IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS)
SCHOOL: INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PARIS
Thank you for letting me know.
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Hi. A quick Google search shows they don’t even have a website. More importantly, you have to look through the website of “France Compétences” (which is the database of recognized degrees), to see if it is there. If not, there is a distinct possibility that it won’t be eligible.
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Hello .
I just had a doubt , is is possible for an APS visa holder to work in Czech republic?
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No. The APS is only valid in France. It allows you to travel to the Czechia for a maximum of 3 months (over a period of 6 months) as a tourist without needing a visa.
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Hi, I am currently enrolled in M2 in IAE Montpellier. My internship is still November and the jury for my masters will be after that. I had done M1 in IAE Bordeaux and therefore I have carte de sejour tempoirare till october. I cannot apply for student renewal since I cannot be enrolled in 2020-2021 year in my M2 College (they are only giving me a certifiacte till end of my internship i.e. in November) and I cannot apply for Job seeker visa since I dont have my jury result. Can you please let me know what can I do since my situation doesn’t have any answers anywhere. Also, if I can renew my student permit, can I do it from any prefacture or the one of my university state?
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Hi Aakash. You can try to argue for the renewal of your student titre de séjour as you technically haven’t finished yet. And if you don’t have the jury result yet…I’m quite surprised that the school doesn’t consider you as still enrolled.
Lastly, you renew your titre de séjour in your PLACE OF RESIDENCE. So if you moved to Bordeaux, it will have to be in Bordeaux.
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Hi,
I am currently in APS visa status in France, I got an admission for a PhD program,Is it possible to change my status from APS to Student visa ?
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Hi. Normally…this is a tough process. The prefectures sometimes ask you to go back home and get a new student visa (as the delivery of an APS assumes that you have finished your studies). I would ask your prefecture.
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Hello,
I am M2 student and just finished my CDD, I am wondering whether I can apply unemployment benefits
from pôle emploi after umemployed though I have student visa.
Or if I got APS, can I apply?
Thanks
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The student titre de séjour doesn’t allow you to get unemployment benefits. However, if you get the RECE (which replaced the APS, except for certain nationalities), then you can.
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Hello,
As per my knowledge, you can apply for Pole emploi even on student titre de sejour, The only requirement is that you must have worked full time on CDD for a duration of 6 months.
Thank you
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No. It doesn’t allow you.
Here’s the list:
https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F24465
The bare minimum is indeed to work for 6 months under a contract where you pay in to the system (it could be interim, CDD, CDI, etc.) within the past 24 months.
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Hello,
I’m from Taiwan. I finished my Master degree in digital design this year. I wish to know can I change my status directly to “entrepreneur/profession libérale”? I’m on a student visa now.
Also according to the Campus France website, after applying APS, it’s possible to switch into “profession libéral” visa. I wish to know if this is accurate? I’ve seen many websites, some said yes and other said it’s not recommending. I’m not quite sure what’s the correct information.
Thank you very much!
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Yes it is possible, but you’ve have to draft a business plan for the business that you want to do, and submit it to the prefecture.
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Hello,
I am currently on a CDD and just received my récépissé for the APS. From my understanding, I can now sign a CDI contract? Or could I sign another CDD for 6 months (20hr per week limi) and in the meantime switch to a work visa? Or simply sign a CDI but within 15 days make the request to swith to a work visa? I am not very clear on what type of contract the APS allows one to sign as from my understanding one can work full time as long as he/she is paid 1.5 times the minimum wage.
Thank you for any help.
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All of what you mentioned is correct.
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Hi, thank you for your posting. I was wondering if I could work in Germany (EU) or the UK (non-UK) with a French student visa or an APS after I graduate?
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Hi. No, the student permit and the APS / RECE is only valid in France for work purposes.
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Hi André,
I hope all is well and want to thank you again for all your help.
I have another question for you about PACS. I am an American citizen and lived with my boyfriend from August 2018 – September 2019 (more than one year). However, due to my APS visa expiring, I had to return to the US Sept 2019. Can we still apply for the PACS even though our one year living together was in the past? Do we still technically qualify for this? I am still paying my mutelle and phone bill so technically still have two bills with his address (even though I am not physically there now). Also, what do you have to do to get work authorization from the PACS?
Lastly, now that the pandemic is somewhat over and I can fly back to France, do I only have 3 months in the Shenghen region and then have to leave for a 6 month period? Is it possible to be in France for 3 months and then go to the UK for a day and then go back?
I appreciate all your help.
Kind regards,
Maddi
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Hi Maddi.
Yes, you can get PACSed with your boyfriend even if you haven’t been living together (and the one year thing does not matter in getting a PACS. It matters only for getting the titre de séjour linked ot the PACS).
However, for you to do this, you would either have to do the process in the French consulate in the US (if your boyfriend is French?) or you return to France. And when you get PACSed, you “promise” that you will be living together (it’s part of the documents you submit).
Only then, and with proof that you have been living for one year, can you apply for the titre de séjour that can be given to PACS partners of French citizens.
However, if you submit it as is, the prefecture will question this if you didn’t have a titre de séjour during that time. Having two bills (mutuelle and phone) at the same address might not be enough. A stronger case is with rent receipts, electricity bills, and even better, admin docs and a joint bank account.
For your last question, the Schengen rules does not work like that and you cannot do a “visa run” (which is what you are describing is called). You are only entitled to stay in France for 90 days over a 180 day period. The EU has a calculator for this: https://ec.europa.eu/assets/home/visa-calculator/calculator.htm?lang=en
I would also like to underline that if you use the visa waiver program (I’m assuming your American) to do repeated continuous 3-month stays in Europe (which, is the hypothesis that I am making based on your question), then you could be denied entry for violating the conditions of the visa waiver (i.e. you’re not a tourist, but rather trying to live in the Schengen area), and be required to apply for tourist visas in the Schengen area in the future.
Check on Google for more info on the Schengen 90/180 rule.
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Thanks so much André! This is extremely helpful. I just have a few follow up questions:
1. I didn’t realize that the PACS and the visa is two different things. Very good to know, thank you. I am indeed in the US now but was planning on returning to France next month and was going to formally apply to PACS then in France with my boyfriend (yes, he is French). Do you know if the time I spent living together with him in the past would count? I read that there are exceptions to the rule and wondering if a pandemic and my APS expiring forcing me to return to the US Sept 2019 would count as an exception…. Or, does the 1 year start counting down from the date issued PACS?
2. Once I get PACS, would I be able to stay in France? I am concerned that we will start the process for PACS and the titre de sejour and then the 3 months will be up and I have to go back to the US again. I’ve heard that the process for obtaining PACS and the titre de sejour can be quite long so 3 months doesn’t seem adequate, or is it?
3. I unfortunately do not have any of those documents that you say are better for the titre de sejour. What would then happen if I was rejected? Would I have to leave France immediately? Could we apply again? Could I stay in France but just not work yet (unless sponsored by a company)?
4. As for the Schengen rules, essentially you are saying that I can stay in France for 3 months and then would have to leave the Schengen area for 6 months before returning, correct?
Again, thank you SO SO much!!! This is super helpful and I really appreciate your time and help with everything.
Kind regards,
Maddi
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Hi André,
Thank you again for all your help.
I kindly wanted to follow up on my questions and would very much appreciate your insight. I am wondering if the PACS process gives the “foreigner” the right to stay in France? Or, is it just the titre de sejour that comes with it (to stay and work)?
If I lived with my boyfriend for over a year in the PAST, do I technically qualify for the titre de sejour? I still have documents with his address even though I’m not physically there. If this doesn’t qualify me, is there a way to atleast be able to stay in France and not work?
Lastly, do you know where I can find the list of required documents for the titre de sejour that comes along with the PACS?
I really appreciate any insight you can provide and thank you very much for your guidance!
Kind regards,
Maddi
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Hi André,
I was wondering what you thought of my situation which is a bit weird. I came to France to study a Masters from 2016 to 2018 then got the APS after my degree to 2019. I since returned to my home country and changed my field from business to science. Do you think it would be possible for me to return to France to do a second master’s this time in science or would the bureaucracy bar that from happening?
Curious to hear from you.
Thanks,
James
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Hi André,
Hope you are doing great. I have currently RECE (APS) visa, which I got after completing my masters.
I am now planning to get admission in another masters. Is it possible to convert RECE to Student Residence card?
If yes, what could be the process.
Thank you in advance!
Regards
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