This article is about the Regroupement familial and dependent visa application experience shared by “Varun”. The article has been published with his permission, along with a few important additional information.
If you would like to contribute with articles about your personal experiences, feel free to write to me via Contact Me
Who can apply for Regroupement familial?
There are 2 important criteria to satisfy, before you can qualify to invite your dependents to France.
- You must be residing in France regularly for at least 18 months. For Algerian nationals, this period is reduced to a minimum of 12 months (Franco-Algerian agreement).
- A valid resident permit,
- Temporary residence permit for at least 1 year (salarié, vie privée et familiale, student, visitor, etc). or a multi-year residence permit
- Resident card or long-term EU resident card (issued by France) of 10 years
- or Récépissé for the renewal of one of the above resident permits.
Here is a complete guide about regroupement familial, Family Reunification: How to bring your family to France?
Application Summary
Here is a detailed experience about Regroupement familial process shared by Varun. He arrived in France for his Masters in 2018, married in 2023 and his wife arrived in France in Dec 2023. He feels lucky to get the response within 6 months.
- Prefecture: Macon-71
- OFII: Dijon-21
- 16th March, 2023: Sent all the documents to OFII by la poste.
- 25th May, 2023: A problem with wife’s DOB. Sent the missing documents again.
- 19th June, 2023: Received the attestation de depot from OFII.
- 04th July, 2023: Apartment visit
- 17th November, 2023: Received the confirmation letter from prefecture.
- 27th November, 2023: Family visa application in Bangalore, India.
- 30th November, 2023: Family visa received in Bangalore, India.
- December, 2023: Spouse arrived in France.
- 23rd April, 2024: Convocation from OFII for medial examination, CIR and French language assessment.
His wife was issued a F1 VLS-TS visa with the comments “Vie Privee/Fam”, “Regr. Familial” and “a valider en ligne”. If you have any questions, you can contact the French Embassy and consulates in India in the following article Contact Details Of French Embassy And Consulates In India
Documents submitted to OFII
Here are the various documents submitted for Regroupement familial application sent by post to OFII.
- Family Reunification Form (cerfa 11436) completed, dated and signed.
- Copy of Passport and Salarié resident permit.
- Copy of spouse’s Passport.
- Marriage certificate (original with apostille and translation done by sworn translator).
- Birth certificates of both the parties (original with apostille and translation done by sworn translator).
- Copy of last avis d’impôt (French tax return).
- Copy of Attestation de l’employeur.
- Copy of salary slips for last 12 months.
- Copy of rental contract
- Copy of last rent receipt
- Copy of last utility bill (EDF / wifi / house insurance attestation)
You can also refer to the detailed checklist OFII Checklist: Complete list of documents for Regroupement familial application
Additional Information
OFII process
- Here’s the good part. They misspelled my wife’s first name on the confirmation letter.
- I contacted OFII and they said not to worry as the file forwarded to the consulate in India will have the correct details.
- But just to make sure, I contacted the consulate in Bangalore and they also confirmed it was ok to apply for the visa.
Visa process in India
- Usual process with VFS for regroupement familial long stay visa.
- Provided the same documents again along with the RF confirmation original letter from Prefecture.
- Applied the visa at VFS, Bangalore and received it in 3 days.
- She arrived in France during Dec, 2023.
After arrival in France
- Validated the visa on ANEF website after a week of arrival. More information on Should I validate my long-stay visa or do I have to apply for a residence permit directly?
- Received a validation document with the N° Etranger (resident permit number).
- Received a convocation for a medical visit and to present at OFII on April 23rd, 2024.
- They assessed the French language and suggested 400 hours to take French courses.
- Applied for Social Security after 90 days of arrival and got the SSN in 3 months. More information on How to Apply for a Social Security Number in France ?
Sources & References
- Regroupement familial service-public.fr
- Le regroupement familial : faire venir sa famille en France ofii.fr/procedure/regroupement-familial
- Frequently Asked Questions about French Visas france-visas.gouv.fr
- Le contrat d’intégration républicaine (CIR) ofii.fr
- List of OFII offices across France ofii.fr
- Should I Validate My Long-Stay Visa Or Do I Have To Apply For A Residence Permit Directly? prasanthragupathy.com
