Travel

French Work Visas for Idiots

I know I’ve been terribly cynical and grouchy lately. Paris and it is a lovely city, and this is why I dedicated another post to what has been awesome about Paris in our first month. This, however, is about the process of becoming a legitimate possessor of the elusive “long stay” visa.

I’m trying to think about how I can tell you this story in a short format. Because really, it deserves a bottle of wine and a half an hour. At least. To start, I will commend my company for their efforts to make this transition as easy as possible. I know we have had it much better than most. Help with the apartment search, assistance with the French work visa, the bank… for all this, I’m very grateful. Especially now that I know how hard it is even with all the help in the world.

Here is a short vignette about getting our visas. I call it, “Endurance.”  My friends say, “Bon courage!”

So you want to come to France? Welcome, welcome.

We will get you a work visa. Just fill out this form And this one. Oh, not that one - the other one. But this way. It will take months. You cannot have it for months. You may not enter France without it! Yes, you can enter France. Then we will get you the Visa. It is okay.

Oh yes, your husband will have one too. And he can work. But perhaps not. C’est normal. We are only preparing you for the worst.  You are silly to worry.  Or stupid.  But you can’t tell which one I think you are. Or not.

You must include some passport photos. Of you. And your children. And husband. Four of them. No, six.

Digital is fine.

And now you are to prepare yourselves to go to London. You must retrieve the visas in London or San Francisco. And then return to France with the short-stay visa. Take the train. Take some Euros. In British Pounds. This amount exactly. In cash. But at the day’s exchange rate. Yes. I said Pounds. But this amount in Euros. You see? In cash.

You must arrive early to get in line. You have an appointment. You will wait in line. Then someone will tell you that you are in line but you should not be in line. You must be in another line. You will see the sign that tells you to wait for hours. You do not have snacks for your children. This is normal. C’est normal.

Then you can skip security because you have an appointment. Then you bypass all lines to pay. Do you have your cash? Oh, yes you do. But it is not enough. We take Visa. It is no problem. C’est possible. It is possible.

Then you do not have to wait. You can be seen. Because you have an appointment. You are seen and you have your visas.

When you return to Paris, you will be given further instructions.

We need more passport photos. I know we have requested them several times and could have asked for 20 all at once but that is not how this works. You must take your children and acquire more photographs. Four each. Not digital. Please mail them.

Some day soon we will contact you about seeing a doctor.  It will be on this day exactly or on this week some time. Can you make it then? You can make it on the day but not the week? We must be sure.  You can see them then.  Then you will have your long-stay visas. Oh and the one your husband will have is the good one. He can work. This is great news. Welcome to France.

© 2009 Work Life Balance.