OFII Visa Requirements : VLS-TS VPF
What you need to do within your first year.
Once you have received your visa and you have the green light to go, you’ll need to prepare for what is required once you’ve arrived in France and you’ve validated your visa.
My visa this time round came with numerous obligations. Personal interview and language test. I had to sign an integration contact.. a medical visit and 4 days worth of civics classes. I knew that I would have these appointments within my first year of living in France.
My appointments were set up through OFII. OFII stands for Office Français Immigration Intégration or the French Office for Immigration and Integration. Here I recount an overview of each obligation and I’ve attached the corresponding blog post for in-depth details.
Please note that each visa is different. This is based on my experience as an American married to a French national and I applied for a visa long séjour valant titre de séjour : vie privée et familiale.
VLS-TS Visa Requirements
Visa Validation
When I received my passport back from the French consulat in Washington, my visa was stickered nicely onto one of the pages. In the booklet, there was a small piece of paper that had instructions for my next steps when I arrived into France. What I needed to in order to validate my visa and my presence in the country.
Click below to read the full details.
First Appointment : CIR & language evaluation
My first appointment with OFII consisted of a language placement test, which I tested out of because I had taken the TCF that scored my level of French. As well as an interview with OFII agent about my current situation and what administrative tasks I needed to complete. Thankfully this only took 10 minutes because I had already completed all the necessary tasks to establish myself here in France.
Click below to read the full details.
Second Appointment : Medical visit
My second visit included a medical examination to check on my physical health and note my medical history. I had printed off my medical records and had the main points translated (I have a sort of a long history) that I took with me and handed to the doctor when we met for our examination.
I arrived 15 minutes early to my appointment and there was not a line and I did not have to wait very long to be seen by the various medical professionals. I had my lungs checked, an eye exam, as well as an x-ray.
Click below to read the full details.
Jours Civiques : An introduction into French life
This is the last step, taken up over several weeks, that completed the requirements for my visa. I had to attend 4 days worth of civics classes that spanned everything from the history of France, to the creation of the Republic, the French Revolution and the royalty that reigned for years. The 4th day consisted of a personal choice where I could choose what I wanted to learn about. There was an option for a cultural outing as well as a cooking class. I chose the option to learn about the various other administrative tasks that I would need to accomplish to be fully integrated.
Click below to read the full details.