Getting your Carte de séjour

The official population of France is estimated at 60 million. Can you imagine 60 million people in a country smaller than Québec? I couldn't either.

Note: If you have the time, get your medical check-up done with one of the doctor's approved by the French consulate in your city before leaving for France. In which case, you may not need to pay the 55 euros for the A.N.A.E.M stamp and the whole application process may be sped up.

Who needs a carte de séjour?

1) Any individual from a non-EU or European Economic Zone member country staying in France for more than three months.
2) All students (non-EU, non-EEZ) who plan to seek the CAF housing allowance.
3) All non-EU/non-EEZ students who are staying for one semester need confirmation from the French embassy/consulate in their country that they will be getting the carte de séjour in
order to be eligible for the housing allowance. If you see the comment: dispense de carte de
séjour on your temporary visa, this means that you are not eligible.

What is the carte de séjour?

It is a residence permit legally required by any non-EU, non-EEZ citizen staying in France for more than 3 months. With a carte de séjour you are permitted to work 20 hours/wk (Note: I think that this is different from country to country, so make sure to inquire with the prefecture before you go job hunting).

What do I do first?

You need to make an appointment to see somebody at the préfecture. Somebody at Lyon 3 can do this for you. You can go on your own, without an appointment, to the prefecture to apply for your carte de séjour, but it's better to have one if you're the kind that hates waiting.

What do I bring with me?

- Passport + a photocopy of the main page with your picture, your personal info, and expiration date + a photocopy of the page with the visa.
- Birth Certificate (original and a photocopy) IMPORTANT: make sure it is the long one with your parents' names on it. You don't need to have it translated unless it is in a language that is completely unrecognisable to a French person, like Chinese or Japanese.
- Justificatif de domicile (originals and photocopies): A lease agreement, or an attestation
d'hébergement along with a copy of either an EDF (Électricité de France) bill, a rent receipt
(this is usually mailed directly to the tenant each month), or a phone bill for a landline. Note:
Whatever bill/receipt you bring cannot be more than three months old.
- Proof of sufficient funds (original and photocopy): whatever you presented at the French
consulate before you came should be fine.
- A.N.A.E.M (formerly O.M.I) stamp: Costs 55 euros and can be bought at any tabac. This is for the mandatory medical checkup for foreigners. You are probably exempt if you had your checkup in Canada.
- Student card (original and photocopy)
- 3 ID photographs


Directions to the Prefecture

To get to the general area of the prefecture and its surrounding administrative buildings:
- Take the Tram T2 from the métro station Guillotière (the blue line) in the direction of
IUT-Feyssine;
- get off at the stop Liberté;
- start walking in the same direction of the tram.
- Despite what the papers from school and the website said, the location of the prefecture's
office where I applied for my carte de séjour was on rue Molière.

When do you receive your actual carte de séjour?

I've been told that the whole process takes about 2-3 months from the date of your official rendez-vous, so book an appointment ASAP.

The process:
- The agent at the prefecture takes your documents and gives you a Récipissé de demande (a
receipt that the application has been filed) for your card, and will tell you to wait until you
receive an appointment date for your medical checkup in the mail (provided that you didn't
do this prior to arrival).
- After your checkup, you go back to the prefecture and drop off the sheet the doctor gives you.
- Wait a few weeks and then go back to the prefecture, and go directly into the room for
"étudiant étranger sans rendez-vous".
- Take a number from the ticket dispensary and, if all goes well, they should have your card for
you.


UPDATE: What can happen if you travel outside of France without your carte?
[see also: Schengen zone].
Sometimes you get asked for your card when you cross "borders" and sometimes you don't. I've heard of people being waved through when they say their application is processing. However, the other day I overheard an American telling someone about how her friend and his four travelling companions were put in a German holding cell because they didn't have their cards. Eventually they were released after they were able to contact their respective embassies, and not deported.

I don't think it's worth mentioning which citizens from which country get waived through, and which receive stricter treatment. In any case, the issue of undeclared migrants makes the platform of political parties, and is reported in the news in almost every Western and Central European country, so if you think that there is a chance that you might be targeted, it's less of a hassle to just wait until you have your card before you do any travelling.