March 2, 2009

Life in France...

...just got easier.

Woke up this morning to an exciting email from Husband saying that we have both been granted a carte de résident de 10 ans.
Our 10 year Residency Cards
.

No more re-applying for a carte de séjour every June. No more back and forth to the Mairie with extra paperwork. No more receiving the carte de séjour 6 months after its expiration date, only to have to start the process all over again a few months later.
The endless saga of the carte de séjour is officially over.

I feel like I've just won the lottery! Pin It

32 comments:

deedee said...

Congratulations! That is indeed something to celebrate.

Anonymous said...

Oh nice! Bread, wine and cheese to celebrate... and perhaps some chocolate?! It seems like kind of a rigamoral[e?] to get residency in France. Yes or no??

Cheers,

*Heather*

Anonymous said...

Congratulations LouLou and now to top it you will need that citizenship card next yr :-)

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Wow yes certainly celebrations all round :-)

Congratulations ... I bet you and your husband are so pleased..!!! Is he still in France? If so, a few wines when you get back. Celebrate together.

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Sorry Loulou, I had a bit of anightmare with publish button, it got published 3 times!!

Anonymous said...

Félicitations! What a relief that must be! My husband and I are currently waiting for our CDS renewal to come through. Apparently there's a big backup at the préfecture right now. Great. No more of that b.s. for you, though - hooray!

Jennifer said...

poppy fields
Thanks! The best part is that I think it gives me the right to work. Yahoo!

Heather
They do make you jump through a lot of hoops. Celebrations begin tonight!

Beaver
Wouldn't that be amazing?! Fingers crossed...

Anne
We are both really pleased. He's still in France. I return home on Sunday so we'll crack open a bottle of Champagne then. Tonight I'm celebrating with my family.
No worries about the publishing hiccup!

camille
Thanks!
I hope they arrive soon. Ours were always 5-6 months late, even though we re-applied 2 months early. Good luck!

The Duchess said...

Congratulations! Something to celebrate indeed. I've had mine renewed once already, a five year one, and it expires next year, so I'm really hoping to get a 10 year one this time. It's such a pain to collect all the paperwork each time!

Anonymous said...

Yay - I know that feeling and it is fantastic! I thought you were applying for citizenship though?

Hope the rest of your trip with your family is great. Safe travels!

MichieMole said...

Yee bloody ha. Yippee. So excited for you. Phew, That was actually decidely quick compared to what I expected.
Perhaps they are finally getting their act together.
Shall raise a glass of Languedoc vino to you. I have some Picpoul here, gives me an excuse to open it
Well done

Sarah said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Anonymous said...

well done, I think it only fair to point out to eu residents ie uk citizens etc that the carte de sejour was withdrawn for eu residents in january 2004 and it is 5 years continuous residency for eu residents like me that have been here over 5 years

Anonymous said...

This is such good news for both of you. Congratulations!

Jennifer said...

Duchess
We're so relieved that we got the 10 year card and I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! The paperwork is such a pain.
You must deal with Béziers too?


Cara
I am applying for citizenship too - the application had already been accepted when the possibility of the 10 year Carte de Résident came on to the scene.
I'll be happy to have both!

Miche
Yes, this does make things easier. SO excited that I don't have to deal with Béziers again for a long while. I'm sure the secretary at the Mairie is happy too!

Sarah
Thanks! I appreciate it.

pierre
The EU citizens have it so much easier!

Nadege
Yes, it is wonderful news. We're so happy!

Allie said...

Congratulations!! Enjoy the celebrations!

Betty Carlson said...

When you get your citizenship, the full weight of actually being a citizen of EUROPE will hit. That is a neat feeling too.

Anonymous said...

That's the best feeling, isn't it? Yay!!!

L Vanel said...

All right!

Anonymous said...

Félicitations! Now just wait until you get your citizenship, like Betty C. said. :)

Ken Broadhurst said...

Fantastic! You rock.

georgiegirl said...

Congratulations. You should get your citizenship before CDS expires. I hope. This CDS must be similar to green card in USA with an expiration date, right? I am happy for you. How are the pets and husband at home?

Anonymous said...

Congrats! There's nothing that makes life easier. Next in line, ta nationalité!

Anonymous said...

WOW! I'm going to the Prefecture tomorrow - for the third time since January 3rd! Hoping that third time's the charm!!! Thanks for encouraging me that tomorrow might be my lucky day!! Cy on the Cote d'Azur

spacedlaw said...

That's great!
Celebration is in order.

Lori said...

Yay! I'm so excited for you! That has to be such a relief. I love good news!

Jennifer said...

Allie
Merci! It is a great reason to celebrate!

Betty
That will be fabulous! I love the idea of having a French passport.

Vivi
Yes! It is a great 40th birthday present, a few weeks late. :)


Lucy
So nice to have some good news from French bureaucrats. Especially from our sous-préfecture!

Alison
That will be so great. It will most likely take another year or so to get it, but I have learned to be patient. lol

Ken
You two should be getting yours too! Hope you had a good trip back home to France.

georgiegirl
Thank you!
Yes, it is the same as a Green Card. Husband and the pets are fine and looking forward to my return in a few days. I can't wait to see them, too!

Dedene
Merci!
And definitely looking forward to la nationalité.

Cy
Good luck to you! Let us know how it goes.

spacedlaw
If I were in France we would be having a serious wine and cheese party. Since I'm in the States, I opted for a celebratory Margarita. :)

Lori
Thank you! It is a great feeling to know that I don't have to think about shuffling all of that paperwork for a while.

wcs said...

Let me add my belated congratulations! A question: did they just give it to you or did you have to request it specially?

We need to call the préfecture up here before they send out our next annual renewal package.

Jennifer said...

wcs
Thanks!
We didn't request it. When we turned in our paperwork for the most recent renewal, they sent us a paper requesting an interview at the sous-préfecture, but didn't say why until we got there.
You guys have been in France as long as we have, so I think you're due for your Carte de Résident.
If you want to talk about it, I would be happy to call you when I get back to France next week.

Katie Zeller said...

Congratulations!!!
We finally got our new ones in the Lot et Garonne - 4 months.... Now we're getting the rest transferred - CPAM car, etc.

You are so lucky!

Jennifer said...

Katie
Bravo! Only 4 months? :)
It must be such a pain to have to transfer everything. We want to move but hope to stay in the same département so we don't have to deal with all of the headaches.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations. From your brief comments about the process you endure in France, I can see it is very similar to what I endure in Thailand.
My annual trip here is due in 3 weeks and I was already feeling very sorry for myself, but this is a reminder bureaucracy is pretty much the same wherever.
I have 2 more years before I qualify to apply for residency though.
Enjoy!

Jennifer said...

Cpla
Good luck and have a good trip.
Being a foreigner in any country has its bureaucratic challenges, doesn't it!