French Visa and Residency Terms Explained

Last updated: 22 March 2026

If you have ever stared at a French préfecture website and felt like you needed a dictionary just to figure out what documents you need, this post is for you. French immigration has its own vocabulary — and the terms matter, because using the wrong one when talking to an agent or filling out a form can send you in the wrong direction entirely.

This is a plain English glossary of the terms you are most likely to encounter as an American navigating the French visa and residency system. Bookmark it, share it, come back to it whenever something does not make sense.

Visa Types

Visa de Court Séjour (Schengen Visa)

A short-stay visa that allows the holder to enter France or the wider Schengen Area under specific conditions. It permits a stay of up to 90 days within any 180-day period. Once you leave, you need to reapply to re-enter.

Common reasons for a court séjour: tourism, personal visits, family visits, business trips, short internships. For Americans, France and most of the Schengen Area are visa-free for short stays; meaning you do not need to apply in advance for a tourist visit under 90 days. The court séjour visa exists for nationals of countries that do not benefit from this arrangement.

Visa de Long Séjour

A long-stay visa that allows the holder to enter France and remain for anywhere from 90 days to 12 months. If you want to stay beyond 12 months, you will need to apply for a residency permit at the préfecture before your visa expires.

Common reasons for a long-stay visa: joining a French spouse or partner, professional activity, study, or personal reasons requiring an extended stay.

A specific type of long-stay visa worth knowing: the visa long séjour valant titre de séjour (VLS-TS). This is a long-stay visa that functions as a residency permit once it has been validated upon arrival. You do not need to apply separately for a carte de séjour, the VLS-TS already serves that purpose. This is the visa most spouses of French nationals arrive on.

Residency Permits

Titre de Séjour

The umbrella term for any residency permit issued to a foreign national in France. A titre de séjour is defined by its legal category, the reason for the stay, and its period of validity. When someone says they are “renewing their titre,” they mean any of the cards listed below.

There are five main types of titre de séjour in France:

Visa long séjour valant titre de séjour (VLS-TS)
Carte de séjour temporaire
Carte de séjour pluriannuelle
Carte de résident
Carte de séjour retraité

Visa Long Séjour Valant Titre de Séjour (VLS-TS)

A long-stay visa that is the equivalent of a residency permit once validated upon arrival in France. You do not apply separately for a residency card, the VLS-TS is already one. It must be validated within the first two months (in practice, within the first month, do not leave it late) of arriving in France through the OFII online portal.

The permit can be renewed starting up to four months before it expires, and no earlier than two months before expiry. Renewal is done through ANEF (see below).

Carte de Séjour Temporaire

A temporary residency permit valid for one year, renewable. This is typically what you receive after your first year in France on a VLS-TS. There are different categories depending on your situation: worker, student, family ties (vie privée et familiale), and others. After one year, it is usually renewed as a multi-year card.

Carte de Séjour Pluriannuelle

A multi-year residency permit valid for two to four years, depending on the situation. This is the next step after the carte de séjour temporaire for most pathways. It allows the holder to work freely in France. As of January 2026, obtaining a first carte de séjour pluriannuelle requires a French language level of A2 minimum.

Carte de Résident

A 10-year renewable residency permit. This is the long-term stability card, once you have it, you do not need to renew every one or two years. You are allowed to work freely in France with this permit.

The general rule is five years of regular residence in France. However, certain situations allow you to apply earlier:

Spouse of a French national: after 3 years of marriage and 3 years of regular uninterrupted residence in France
Parent of a French child: after holding a carte de séjour vie privée et familiale for 3 years
Child entered via family reunification with a carte de résident holder: after 3 years of uninterrupted residence

Important update from January 2026: A first carte de résident now requires a French language certificate at B1 level minimum, and a pass result on the national civic exam. Both conditions are new since the 2024 immigration law. If you are over 65, these two conditions do not apply to you.

Carte de Séjour Retraité

A 10-year renewable residency permit available to foreign nationals who previously held a carte de résident, have left France, and are now receiving a pension from the French state or a French employer. It allows the holder to re-enter and stay in France without requiring a new visa.

Key Documents and Numbers

Récépissé

A temporary receipt issued when you submit a renewal application for your residency permit, before the new card is produced. It has the same rights as your permit and serves as your proof of legal right to remain in France during the processing period. You hand it back when you pick up the new card.

Note: Applications submitted through ANEF generate an attestation de dépôt rather than a traditional récépissé. If your permit expires while your application is being processed, ANEF will issue an attestation de prolongation d’instruction (ADP), which serves the same purpose.

AGDREF Number

The Application de Gestion des Dossiers des Ressortissants Étrangers en France. This is the centralised electronic database that holds the files of all foreign nationals in France, accessible to all French administrative branches. It is also your personal identifying number within the system, 9 or 10 digits, usually beginning with your département number, or 991 if you arrived on a VLS-TS.

You can find your AGDREF number on your visa validation letter, your carte de séjour, or any official correspondence from the préfecture or OFII.

Administrative Systems

CESEDA

The Code de l’Entrée et du Séjour des Étrangers et du Droit d’Asile. The legal framework that governs the entry and residence of foreign nationals in France, as well as asylum law. Created in 2003 and in force from 2005, it has been amended several times since, most recently in a significant way by the 2024 immigration law, which came into effect from January 2026.

You are unlikely to need to read CESEDA directly, but you will see it referenced in préfecture documentation and legal guides. When an official says “article L.423-6,” they are citing a specific provision of this code.

OFII

The Office Français de l’Immigration et de l’Intégration, the French office of immigration and integration. OFII manages the administrative side of your arrival in France: visa validation, the medical visit, and the Contrat d’Intégration Républicaine (CIR). If you arrived on a VLS-TS, your first interaction with the French state after landing was almost certainly with OFII.

CIR (Contrat d’Intégration Républicaine)

The Republican Integration Contract. This is the agreement between you and the French state that you sign at your first OFII appointment. By signing it, you commit to adopting the values and principles of the Republic. In return, the state provides you with mandatory civic training (four days) and French language classes if your level requires it.

Completing the CIR successfully is a legal requirement for obtaining a multi-year residency card or eventually a carte de résident. Since January 2026, it is not enough to simply attend the training, you must also pass a separate civic exam to move forward with your long-term permit applications.

The CIR covers: a language assessment, a personal interview with an OFII agent, four days of civic training (formation civique), and, new since 2026, a civic exam registered independently at an accredited centre.

ANEF

The Administration Numérique pour les Étrangers en France. The national online platform for residency permit applications, renewals, and related procedures. ANEF has replaced the individual préfecture portals and Démarches Simplifiées for most residency permit categories.

You access ANEF at administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr using a FranceConnect account. It is where you will submit your titre de séjour renewal, upload your documents, and receive your attestation de dépôt. If you have a technical issue, the support line is the Centre de Contact Citoyen: 0806 001 620.