Why France?

Why France?

I am asked that question A LOT.

I understand why.
I mean really, why would a girl who grew up in a half Italian, half Anglo-Saxon family in Spokane, Washington be drawn to a country in Europe that she had absolutely no connections to, family or otherwise?

Why not Greece...the place I longed to visit from the moment I learned about Greek mythology in 5th grade and had, for the next 6 years or so, decorated my bedroom walls with posters and maps of the Cycladic Islands and ancient ruins? (tucked into spaces that weren't already occupied by posters of Abba, U2, Echo and the Bunnymen and David Bowie, of course)

Or why not Italy...a country I was more familiar with, whose food I loved beyond words and where half of my family came from?


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Honest Advice About Moving to France

I don't want to be the one to crush people's dreams. Really, I don't.

But when I get emails from people asking, "Do I really need a visa to stay in France? Why can't I just buy a one way plane ticket and move there?" or "I don't speak a word of French, how hard will it be for me to find a job?", I just have to say...really?

In this day and age, I have a hard time believing that people can still be that naive. And in order to answer those kinds of questions, I choose to be brutally honest.
Which often doesn't go down very well.


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Moving to France Tutorial - Part Six

Today's topic, the 10 Year Carte de Résident. 

A daunting subject, I know.

Translated from the www.service-public.fr website:
"A carte de résident bearing the words "résident de longue durée - CE" may be issued to any foreigner who has resided legally and continuously for at least 5 years in France.
This card is valid for 10 years.
The applicant must meet several conditions."

Sounds pretty straightforward, doesn't it?
I'm afraid it isn't. 

French bureaucracy never is.


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My 7 Links

I recently had the chance to take a little trip down memory lane when I was tagged for a meme called My 7 Links by Ashley of Backyard Provence.

This particular meme was created when Katie at TripBase was looking back over her blog archives and realized that "not all blog posts are created equal."

So true...


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Should You Move to France?

Every spring I get dozens of emails from France lovers around the world who are looking for an answer to the question, "Should I move to France?".

Although I have reservations about making life changing decisions for complete strangers, if I was forced to answer that question then I would have to say that the answer is a resounding yes!

But hold on a second...before you get too excited, please keep reading.

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Moving to the Languedoc-Roussillon

AARP Magazine recently compiled a list of their top ten Best Places to Retire Abroad and lo and behold, number four just happens to be our home in the south of France, the gorgeous Languedoc-Roussillon.

It seems that many seeking "la vie en rose" (or la vie en rosé as I like to call it) have read the article, done a Google search or two and landed here at Chez Loulou.
Thus, the question-filled emails are piling up in my inbox.

To help anyone who is new to this site and looking for information about moving to the Languedoc-Roussillon, please have a look at the posts I've written about moving to France and the cost of living in France. 

Once you've read through all of the information I've provided I would be happy to answer any questions you have. 
Just email me at louloufrance@gmail.com

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Moving to France Tutorial - Part Five

I know it's been a couple of months since my last Moving to France post, but this one was a bit of a challenge to put together.  

(Update: Check out this article)

Once you arrive in France and get your Carte de Séjour sorted out, you will want to join the fabulous French health system.  Actually you must join the French health system.  All permanent residents in France are obliged by law to have national health insurance, which comes in the form of a little green card, the Carte Vitale.
The information on this topic is rather extensive, so in the end, instead of painstakingly re-wording the material from the French government websites, I have simply copied the relevant sections of the Sécurité Sociale guide.  

So, without further ado...how to join the French health system.


As it states in the Livret de Santé:
"In France, everyone is entitled to health insurance to cover the cost of medical care. It is preferable to apply for it before becoming ill. The first step is to apply for “basic” public health insurance, which can be extended by paying for private supplementary insurance ("mutuelle"). For people with a low income, supplementary insurance is available free of charge and is known as supplementary universal medical cover (CMU-Complémentaire).

Who is entitled to “basic” public health insurance?
“Basic” public health insurance (including “basic” CMU) is an entitlement for anyone legally residing in France for at least three months before the request for healthcare (except asylum-seekers who are exempt from this condition).

Where should I apply for public health insurance?
Go to the public health insurance centre in your neighbourhood (ask for the address from the Town Hall’s CCAS, or social assistance centre). If you are using a government-assigned address, go to the public health insurance centre whose address is listed on your certificate of domiciliation.

Documents required:
- Identity: the preferred document is birth certificate, otherwise a passport, identity card or certificate of registration with the OFPRA (French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons) for asylum-seekers or any other document giving proof of your identity;
- Address: certificate of accommodation (with receipt for rent or EDF bill) or government-assigned address registered with an approved organisation. Important: make sure that letters actually reach this address;
- Legal residency in France: any valid residency document issued by the Prefecture: residency card, temporary stay card, proof of receipt of application, temporary approval for stay, appointment/summons, asylum notice, etc.;
- Income: written proof of all income received from January to December of the previous year (wages, welfare benefits, etc.).
 
Using the Public Health cover System
As a general rule, the public health insurance system reimburses two-thirds* of your healthcare expenses (except on glasses and dentures), but the patient must pay the entire sum first. In healthcare centres, hospitals and certain doctors’ offices and pharmacies, patients may pay only one-third of the expenses (known as the “ticket modérateur”), by showing their health insurance card (paper certificate or Vitale Card). Supplementary CMU insurance or mutual and private insurance companies cover the additional amount.
Important: the “100%” is not free in all cases: those with certain chronic illnesses can be exempt from paying the ticket modérateur, and are considered “100% covered by the public health insurance system”. However, the “100%” applies only to the care received for chronic illnesses."

The French Government Website (in French)

I have to add that the following documents may or may not be asked for (some have already been listed above) but you should have them ready just in case.

• Passports
• Details of place of birth (as well as your partner's and children's information)
• Marriage and birth certificates of all family members
• Proof of address in France with proof of ownership (deeds) or rental agreement
• Date of permanent arrival in the departément
• Proof of residency in France for at least three months (in the form of three months EDF or France Télecom bills, rent statements or mortgage payments or a notarized statement of your home purchase)
• Proof of income for at least the previous 12 months, whether in France or elsewhere or an avis d'imposition or latest French tax bill.
• A RIB (Relevé d'Identité Bancaire) provided by your bank

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our Carte Vitale story just goes to show that doing your homework when dealing with French bureaucracy will (sometimes) get you everywhere!

We went to the local CPAM office in Béziers to apply as soon as we got our Cartes de Séjour, as we had been informed to do.  Luckily we had armed ourselves with knowledge of the current law, because even though it had passed a few years before, the powers that be obviously forgot to send the memo down south to the CPAM office in Béziers.
The man behind the desk told us quite confidently that non, we couldn't join the French health system because France had no reciprocity with America, which is true - France and America do not have reciprocity when it comes to medical care.  In turn, we confidently and patiently told him that it didn't matter, because (at the time) the law stated that anyone legally residing in France for at least three months of the year must join the system.
He sat there for a moment, staring at us with a kind of deer-in-the-headlights look, then suddenly grabbed the telephone and made a couple of calls.  When he hung up he looked at us with a smile and said oui, you are correct."
Phew!
Thirty minutes and a mountain of paperwork later, we were official Carte Vitale carrying residents of France.

*To cover the 30% of costs that are generally not covered by the system, we purchase a Top Up, or mutuelle from a private company.  The price for the two of us is about €130 a month and although many people we know choose not to have the added expense, we like that it gives us the freedom to go to private doctors as well as state doctors.


The next installment of the series will be about obtaining the elusive 10 Year Carte de Résident.  Some of the stories I've heard on this subject have been real doozies and would love to hear from more of you if you want to share your experiences.

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Moving to France Tutorial - Part Four

In Part Four of the Tutorial I would like to introduce you to the Residency Card, the Carte de Séjour.

The Carte de Séjour rules have changed since we arrived in France seven years ago. If you're staying in France less than one year, i.e., the length of a Long Stay Visa, as long as that visa is valid, you're fine. Once the clock strikes midnight on the 365th day however, you will need a Carte de Séjour in hand.

If you have one of the following visas and want to reside in France for only 12 months, then you will not need to apply for a Carte de Séjour. Lucky you!

• long stay non-working visa (visiteur)
• long stay visa to work in France (assistants, lecturers, full time and temporary workers)
• long stay visa to study in France (students, au pairs, interns)
  
• long stay visa for spouses of French nationals

However, that doesn't mean that you are exempt from a little meet and greet with a French fonctionnaire. You are still required to register with the Immigration Office.
Upon your arrival in France you will need to send a registered letter with return receipt (une lettre recommandé avec demande d'avis de réception) to your local offices of the OFII: the Office Français de l'Immigration et de l'Intégration.
The letter will need to include the following:

• the application form, stamped by the French Consulate when they granted your visa
  
• your visa number
• your date of entry in France or the Schengen country
  
• your address in France
• copies of the ID pages in your passport and the immigration stamp received when you landed
  

You will then be requested to appear for an interview and medical exam with the following:

• your passport
• proof of accommodation in France
• one ID picture
• payment for the processing fees - 55€ for students, 70€ for workers, 300€ for visitors

When your dossier is complete, a registration stamp will be added to your passport.

If your plans change and you need to stay longer than one year, you need to apply with your local Préfecture, Sous-Préfecture or Préfecture de Police (if residing in Paris) at least two months before your visa expires.

If your plan is to stay for more than a year, then you will need a Carte de Séjour. You should apply in person within two months of your arrival in France at the Service des Étrangers section of your local Préfecture, Sous-Préfecture, or the Préfecture de Police (if residing in Paris).

You will need the following, in their original form, plus two photocopies of each, just to be safe. Also, any certificates (such as marriage and birth) not in French will need to be translated by an official, court-certified translator (names of translators are available from Préfectures, Consulates and police stations). When we had ours translated it was 40€ a page, so make sure that your bank balance is healthy!

• a valid passport
• a valid long stay visa (which is in your passport)
• birth certificate with parents names listed (sometimes it must be issued within the previous 3 months)
  
• marriage certificate
• birth certificates of dependent children if applicable
  
• proof of permanent address in France (EDF bill or the house deed of sale (acte de vente) for a house bought in France or a signed lease agreement for the French address)
• recent medical certificate issued by the OFII- they will send you a notice of where and when your medical exam is to take place and the certificate will be added to your dossier
• three recent ID photographs
  

A few additional items to have ready:

• details of your parents places of birth and your mother's maiden name
• two stamped, self-addressed envelopes are sometimes, but not always, asked for
  

There will be extra requirements for different types of Cartes de Séjour and your local government office will give you a list of any additional documents you must provide. Just don't be surprised if, when you arrive with everything they have asked for, all bundled in a nice little folder, they demand yet another random piece of paper. C'est normal.

There are several different types of Carte de Séjour - assistant/lecteur-visiteur, étudiant, travailleur temporaire, vie privée et familiale, visiteur, salarié, compétences et talents - and the fee for the application depends on what type you are applying for.

Once an application has been made, you will be given a temporary, renewable receipt, a récépissé. This is valid for three months and allows you to stay in France while your application is being processed.
We were never issued a récépissé for some reason. We applied for our Cartes and waited. And waited. They finally arrived several months later and every year we went through the frustrating process all over again.

One of the important things to remember is that, even though there is a basic list of documents that France requires, each Mairie, Préfecture, etc., seems to have its own rules and way of doing things.
So you learn to be flexible, to cajole the powers-that-be with some homemade brownies, to enjoy another glass of wine and another morsel of French cheese. While you learn the art of patience. Infinite patience.

Stay tuned for Part Five of the Tutorial in a couple of weeks. We've got guests arriving and I'm off to Paris for six days, so the Tutorial is going to have to wait!

If you live in France and have a Carte de Séjour story to share, bad or good (do good CdS stories even exist?) please feel free to share them in the comments.

*Please note that the information given here, while believed to be as accurate as possible at the time of writing, is general information only, and no liability can be accepted. Before acting on the information, please ensure that you take expert advice from the relevant authorities.

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Moving to France Tutorial - Part Three

Home. It has a different meaning to all of us. And finding a new one can be both an exciting and a daunting experience.

Welcome to Part Three of the Moving to France Tutorial.

This week I'll be offering some tips on finding a place to live in France, which could easily turn into a Tolstoy novel sized post, so I'm going to try to keep the information concise.

I realize I'm stating the obvious here, but the logistics of finding a home in France will change according to whether you will be renting or buying. Once you've decided where you want to put down your roots you'll need to find a real estate agent or start looking at properties online or even hire someone to help you find your dream home.

Renting an apartment in France can be tricky. Most landlords in France demand proof of income and you may have to provide the name of a guarantor, a co-signer, who will be named in the contract and who will be responsible for your rent in the event that you can't pay it. You will also need to have one month's rent as a deposit and a proof of a comprehensive household insurance certificate.
An in-depth list of the requirements is here on Anglo-Info's website.

If you don't plan on bringing all of your furniture and household goods with you, a furnished, equipped home will make your arrival and transition much easier. There are many agencies and individuals offering long term, furnished apartment rentals in big cities like Paris and Lyon, and scattered all over France are furnished vacation homes called gîtes. Gîte owners sometimes offer long term rentals over the autumn and winter months, which can be a perfect way to get to know a region and have a comfortable place to stay while looking for property to buy.

There are literally hundreds of property rental websites out there to investigate. Here are a few to get you started.

Paris Attitude
Craigslist (and how to avoid the scammers)
FUSAC
pap (in French)
Holidays France Rentals
Gîtes de France

the regional classifieds on AngloInfo
Buying a home in France is a fairly straightforward procedure.
You find the house you want, make an offer, get the inspections done and verify what belongs to the house (both inside and out), find a good notaire, sign the compromis de vente, wait for the 7 day buyer's remorse period to pass, pay your deposit and wait to sign the acte de vente. Then you take your keys and move in!
Well, there might be extra steps involved, if you require a mortgage for instance, but buying a house here isn't as daunting as many think.
Expatica France has compiled an excellent and thorough article about the entire process.

Mortgages are available to foreigners, usually requiring a 20-30% down payment. I'm unfamiliar with the exact procedure so here are some helpful links.
BNP-Parisbas
Finance in France
Mortgage France

An important thing to remember if you buy a house that requires any renovation work - get an estimate. Heck, get two or three. Keep in mind however, that in old houses estimates don't take into consideration those petite surprises that you sometimes find behind the walls. Unless you are planning to be there while the renovation work is going on and you speak fluent French, you will also need to find a knowledgeable person to oversee your project.


Stay tuned for Part Four of the tutorial next week.





Please note: Some of my posts may contain affiliate links, meaning if you click over and purchase something, I will receive a very small percentage of the purchase price (at no extra cost to you) which goes towards maintaining Chez Loulou. Thank you in advance!


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Moving To France Tutorial - Part Two

By now you've answered the important question in Part One, Why do I want to live in France?, and you're excited to begin your new adventure.
Now on to the fun part.

Step Two: Find Your French Consulate

Americans cannot legally just jump on a plane, land in France and stay forever without some kind of VISA. There are many kinds - student, au pair, working, internship, the Long Stay Visa for non workers, and the recently created Compétences et Talents card - "You may be granted this card if you are likely to make a significant or lasting contribution, through your skills or talents, to France’s economic development or to its intellectual, scientific, cultural, humanitarian or athletic prestige, and directly or indirectly, to that of your own country."

You cannot apply for a visa once you have arrived in France. It must be done from your home country before you depart.
Here is the French government page with the information to determine if you need a visa.

The French Consulate you work with depends upon the state or area you reside in. Each one has its own set of rules, so don't bother trying to follow those of another Consulate. Get on to their website, make a list of the requirements and paperwork, including translations, photos, etc., and get to work!

Boston - Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
New York - New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Bermuda
Washington DC - Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
Chicago - North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Wisconsin
Miami - Florida, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, the US Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos
Atlanta - Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi
Houston - Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana
San Francisco - Alaska, Northern California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Northern Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
Los Angeles - Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Southern California, Southern Nevada


When we applied with the French Consulate in San Francisco eight years ago we were neither students, au pairs, doing an internship, nor had we been hired to work in France. Also, the Compétences et Talents card had not been invented yet, so that left us with one choice - the Long Stay Visa - which came with these words of warning: "This visa DOES NOT allow you to work or enroll in courses or studies while in France... As a consequence, the proof of sufficient fundings and assets to support your stay in France without working for more than a year will be crucial to qualify for this visa."
Additionally, the San Francisco Consulate had a "special" requirement that we didn't find on any other French Consulate website - proof that you have at least $1800 a month per couple for expenses. Which we didn't have. So we ignored it and applied anyway. Obviously they ignored it as well when they reviewed our application and issued our visas without this requirement.
By the way, it is now $1800 per month, for each person.


Your homework this week:
Have a look at your Consulate's website and see which visa you need.
Sharpen your organizational skills - you're going to need them!
Start your Visa dossier.
Begin taking French lessons. If you haven't already.

Coming up in Part Three: Finding a place to live in France.

*Please note that the information given here, while believed to be as accurate as possible at the time of writing, is general information only, and no liability can be accepted. Before acting on the information, please ensure that you take expert advice from the relevant authorities. Pin It

Moving to France - A Tutorial - Part One

Despite a fair number of websites and message boards out there in Internet Land, I receive several emails every month from Americans who are interested in moving permanently to France and don't know how or where to begin.
After spending hours composing individual, dissertation-sized emails explaining the process, I've decided to simply write a series of posts about what it takes to actually get here.

Voilà: A Short Tutorial on Moving to France.

The process of moving to France as a legal resident is not easy, nor should you expect it to be. There are several stages required and many of them can be fraught with headaches and delays.
Patience Is Key.

I believe that it is France's intention (maybe in a somewhat demented way?) to require its future residents to jump through countless hoops and prove resiliency and determination for the opportunity to live within her beautiful borders. I've heard it is just as difficult to get residency in other countries, but since I have no experience in this matter I can't comment.

Or maybe I should say that the process wasn't easy for us.* Months of searching for information followed by NO answers, followed by confusing and often incorrect answers, delays, difficult fonctionnaires, etc.

I hope that this Short Tutorial will offer some help.

Please remember though that I am not, repeat NOT, the last word on this subject, nor do I have control over French Consulates or French bureaucracy in general. If you have trouble with any of the steps (or people) involved in the process, all I can tell you is to keep trying and not get too discouraged.


The first step: Answer the following question.
Why do I want to live in France?

I recommend that you don't just pack up and move for la vie en rose, the markets, the bread, wine and cheese, (well, maybe for the cheese) and expect every day to be filled with idyllic three hour lunches, strolls along the Seine or pastis soaked games of pétanque in the shade of the plane trees.
Because the day will come when you'll find yourself wasting several hours at Bricomarché fighting for your right to return a toilet seat that doesn't fit your toilet and trying to convince the manager that no, you didn't bring the toilet with you from England because you're not English, so that is not the reason the French seat doesn't fit your French toilet, and no, you don't want to come back in 10 days for another toilet seat because you live 30 minutes away and you just want a refund. Now. Today. An hour later you will finally get your money back because they just want the crazy anglaise/américaine out of their store.**
Or you'll discover that the piles of paperwork you provided three months ago for your Carte de Séjour renewal has been misplaced and you'll be called into an office only to be told that it is your fault that your Carte has expired because you didn't reapply for it on time. Exhausting arguments in French will ensue.

Believe me, I'm not trying to burst your bubble. You will have time for those delightful, leisurely lunches and hours will be spent enjoying a game of pétanque, strolling along riverbanks and soaking up some sun at the local café. However, there will be moments when you'll wonder why things always have to be so damn difficult.
That's why the wine is so important - you'll need it to keep calm.

So before the tutorial continues, I want you to answer that all important question. Why do I want to live in France?

Part Two to follow...


*If you had a better experience, then bravo and félicitations. And we wish we had been you!
**This exact situation probably won't happen to you, but you should expect similar kinds of hiccups. Pin It

The Cost of Living in France

The other night a friend asked us exactly how many euros he would need each month to to be comfortable living in France.

As I started to answer the question, I realized that there was no way I could.
It is far too subjective.

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