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Family reunification
Verified 01 May 2023 - Legal and Administrative Information Directorate (Prime Minister)
A foreigner who has a residence permit in France can be joined by his or her husband and children. This is known as the family reunification. The foreigner in France and his family joining him must meet certain conditions.
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A simulator is used to determine the right to family reunification.
Check if you can benefit from family reunification
General case
Regular stay
The foreigner that made the request for consolidation must have resided in France for at least 18 months with one of the following titles:
- Residence permit of at least 1 year (mention salaried worker, private and family life, student, visitor, etc.)
- Resident Card or EU long-term resident (issued by France) of 10 years
- Received request for renewal of one of those certificates
The foreigner polygamous residing in France with a 1re wife, can't apply for family reunification to bring her 2e wife.
The residence card of the polygamous foreigner may be withdrawn in the following cases:
- He brought more than one wife to France
- He brought the children of the wife who does not live with him in France, without proving that she is dead or that she no longer has parental authority over her children
Conditions of resources
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General case
The foreigner must be able to demonstrate that it has sufficient and stable resources to provide a safe reception for his family.
These resources must reach a certain net amount, which varies according to the size of the family:
Family size | Minimum Monthly Resources |
|---|---|
2 or 3 people | Average monthly net minimum growth wage (Smic), i.e. on average €1,383.08, in the last 12 months preceding the application |
4 or 5 people | On average €1,501 in the last 12 months preceding the application |
6 or more people | On average €1,637.27 in the last 12 months preceding the application |
The applicant's resources may come from income derived from paid or self-employed work, from the management of assets, from retirement pensions, etc.
The spouse's resources are also taken into account, provided that he has income which will continue to be paid to him when he leaves his country.
The following resources of the couple are excluded:
Person who touches the AAH or Asi
Person over 65
There is no means test if the applicant meets the following 4 conditions:
- He is over 65 years old
- He has been a regular resident of France for at least 25 years
- He has been married for at least 10 years
- The application for family reunification concerns the spouse
Housing conditions
The applicant must have (or justify that he will have at his family's arrival date) accommodation considered normal for a comparable family living in the same geographical region.
The accommodation must satisfy certain health and safety conditions.
Depending on the geographical area in which the dwelling is situated, it must have a total living space of at least:
- In zones A bis and A: 22 m² for a couple without children or two people. You must add 10 m² for each additional person up to 8 people in total and 5 m² for each additional person over 8 people
- In zones B1 and B2: 24 m² for a couple without children or two people. You must add 10 m² for each additional person up to 8 people in total and 5 m² for each additional person over 8 people
- In zone C: 28 m² for a couple without children or two people. You must add 10 m² for each additional person up to 8 people in total and 5 m² for each additional person over 8 people
This simulator makes it possible to know the type of zone (A, A bis, B1, B2 or C) on which the housing depends.
The family must reside abroad. However, the family already present in France may exceptionally benefit an on-the-spot grouping.
The spouse or children may be excluded from family reunification if their presence in France constitutes a threat to public order.
The family reunification procedure collectively concerns:
- The adult spouse (at least 18 years) of a foreigner residing in France
- Minor children (under 18 years)
Children may be
- From the couple, provided that they have a legally established filiation or are adopted by virtue of a judicial decision
- From a previous union of the applicant or his spouse:
- if the other parent has died or lost parental rights
- or if parental authority is exercised by one or other of the parents by virtue of a decision of a foreign court
A request for partial family reunification may be exceptionally authorized in the interests of children.
The family reunification procedure does not apply to ascendants foreigner. They may eventually come to live in France under the visitor status if they have sufficient resources.L
The age of the spouse and children shall be assessed at the date of submission of the application for reunification.
Knowing the list of documents for a family reunification case
The applicant must complete form cerfa n°11436.
Application for family reunification
The applicant must send his file (completed form and attachments) by mail (registered delivery with recommended acknowledgement of receipt) to the territorial directorate of theOfii: titleContent competent.
Warning
the applicant must attach to his application a copy of the supporting documents corresponding to his situation.
The documents to be attached are as follows.
1- Residence permit
- Photocopy of residence permit of the valid applicant (front/back):
- Resident Card
- Resident card bearing the endorsement Long-term resident - EU issued in France
- Multi-annual residence permit
- Temporary residence permit of 1 year or more
- Certificate of residence of 1 year or 10 years
- Certificate of application for renewal of residence permit
- If you are applying for family reunification for your spouse who resides in France: residence permit of your spouse
- If you are applying for family reunification for your spouse residing in a State separate from his or her country of origin: residence permit issued by your spouse's country of residence
2- Civil status documents
They must be accompanied by a translation into French prepared by a certified translator or certified as compliant by a French consular or diplomatic authority:
- Full copy of marriage certificate with marginal mentions (with supplementary judgment if mentioned in the act)
- Full copy of your birth certificate with marginal mentions (+ additional judgment if mentioned in the birth certificate)
- Full copy of your beneficiary spouse's birth certificate with marginal notes (+ additional judgment if mentioned in the certificate)
- Full copy of the birth certificate of each of your children and/or your spouse with marginal notes. This also applies to your children already residing in the accommodation in France (+ additional judgment if mentioned in the act).
If you are a national of a country whose laws allow polygamy:
- Divorce judgment(s) concerning you and/or your spouse (irrevocable or final judgment if divorce abroad)
- Declaration on Honor certifying that family reunification will not create a situation of polygamy on French territory
If family reunification is requested for one or more children, depending on your situation:
- Divorce judgment(s) concerning you and/or your spouse (irrevocable or final judgment if divorce abroad)
- Judgment conferring parental authority (unless otherwise specified in the divorce judgment)
- Judgment conferring custody of the children (unless otherwise specified in the divorce judgment)
- Letter from the other parent authorizing the child to come to France (whose signature is authenticated in the form provided for by the legislation of the country of residence or by the competent French consulate)
- Adoption judgment
- Kafala Algerian judicial system
- Death certificate of your spouse, your 1er spouse or other parent
- Judicial decision to withdraw parental authority of the other parent
- Declaration of abandonment of the child by the other parent, disappearance or absence of the other parent in court
- Family booklet
- Certificate from your spouse authorizing the beneficiary child's residence at home
- Movement document for minor foreigners (DCEM) and/or school certificate for children present in France
3- Letter of explanation of family reunification
If family reunification is not requested for the whole family, you must justify your request in the interests of the child(ren).
4- Proof of resources (to be submitted for the last 12 months)
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You're a salaried employee
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Company-stamped signed employment contract or employer's certificate of employment of less than 3 months (for temporary assignments, provide only the employer's certificate of employment)
- Work certificate (if more than one employer, produce certificates for each)
- Salary slips (for acting assignments, provide only the employer's employment certificate)
- If you are an employee of CONSTRUCTION: titleContent : proof of payment of paid leave by the PTO Fund,
- Proof of payment of daily social security benefits in the event of sickness, maternity leave, parental leave or an accident at work
You're a merchant
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Extract of less than 3 months of registration in the Commercial and business Register (RCS)
- Last balance sheet of accounting activity and profit and loss account for the financial year or statement of income drawn up by the tax department
You're a craftsman
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Extract of less than 3 months of registration in the trade register
- Last balance sheet of accounting activity and profit and loss account for the financial year or statement of income drawn up by the tax department
You are a professional
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Extract of less than 3 months registration in the directory Sirene: titleContent
- Last balance sheet of accounting activity and profit and loss account for the financial year or statement of income drawn up by the tax department
You're self-employed
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Declaration of the creation of your activity at the company Formalities Center (CFE)
- Revenue Book, Purchase Register and Income Tax Certificate
You're a job seeker
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Status report summarizing entitlements and compensation payments by Pôle emploi
You are retired or disabled
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Decision to award an old-age or invalidity pension drawn up by the paying agency and supplementary pensions
- Notice of payment by the paying agency or certificate of payment (specifying the title of each pension)
You receive the Disabled Adult Allowance (DHA) or the Disability Supplementary Allowance (DHA)
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Allocation decision
- Last payment certificate of the paying agency
Other situations
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Bank certificate and statements of account proving the origin of the income and its periodicity
- Maintenance paid or received pursuant to a court decision
- If you live in a couple: proof of resources from your spouse, partner of Civil partnerships: titleContent or common-law partner
5- Proof of accommodation
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If you are a tenant
- Proof of residence of less than 3 months (last electricity, gas, water or fixed telephone bill) or proof of home insurance (if recent entry into the dwelling)
- Lease
- Last rent receipt
If you are a sub-tenant
- Proof of residence of less than 3 months (last electricity, gas, water or fixed telephone bill) or proof of home insurance (if recent entry into the dwelling)
- Sublease Commitment
- Justification that this sublease is authorized by a lease for you and your family
If you own
- Proof of residence of less than 3 months (last electricity, gas, landline, water bill) or proof of home insurance (if recent entry into the dwelling)
- Deed of ownership or notarial certificate
If you are hosted for free
- Proof of residence of less than 3 months (last electricity, gas, water or fixed telephone bill) or proof of home insurance (if recent entry into the dwelling)
- Title of ownership in the name of the host
- Proof of family relationship with the host
- Proof of domicile issued by the host granting you and your future family accommodation and specifying the duration of the authorized accommodation
- If the accommodation is made available by the company: attestation from the employer, granting the accommodation to you and your future family, and specifying the length of the permitted accommodation
- Proof of the host's identity (copy on the front/back of the valid residence permit or French national identity card)
Other
- Proof of residence of less than 3 months (last electricity, gas, water or fixed telephone bill) or proof of home insurance (if recent entry into the dwelling)
- Promise to rent a home
- Proof of future acquisition of a dwelling
Checking the file
L'Ofii: titleContent check the folder.
If the file is complete, the applicant shall receive by post a certificate of filing specifying the date of filing. The prefect of the department of residence is informed by the Ofii.
If the file is incomplete, it is returned to the applicant by the Office to complete it.
Study of the demand
Ofii confides, in a 1er time, the processing of the file to the mayor of the municipality of the applicant's domicile (or to the mayor of the municipality where the foreigner intends to establish itself).
The mayor checks whether the conditions of resources and housing are fulfilled. Specially authorized officers may visit the dwelling to verify that it meets the minimum conditions of comfort and habitability.
Where the applicant does not yet have the accommodation at the time of the application, the verification shall be carried out in the light of the information provided in form cerfa No 11437:
Proof of the provision of accommodation in the framework of family reunification
The foreigner and the owner or seller of the dwelling must include the following information:
- Availability Date
- Area
- Set of housing characteristics
If the conditions are met, family reunification may be authorized.
The mayor can also check, at the request of the prefect, that the foreigner respects the fundamental principles of family life in France.
The mayor must give his opinion on all these conditions, within 2 months of receiving the file or the request of the prefect. In the absence of a reply within this period, the Mayor's opinion is favorable.
The mayor then forwards the file with his reasoned opinion on the conditions of resources and accommodation to the relevant Ofii delegation. The latter completes, if necessary, the investigation and sends the file to the prefect for decision.
Decision of the Prefect
It is the prefect of the applicant's department of residence (in Paris, the police prefect) who accepts or refuses the application for family reunification.
His decision must be notified to the applicant within 6 months of the submission of the complete file to the Ofii. In the event of a refusal, the decision must be substantiated.
If the prefect has not replied within 6 months, the request is refused (implicit refusal).
The foreigner may challenge the decision by administrative appeal before the prefect and/or the interior minister.
It may also file, within certain time limits, a litigation before the administrative court with territorial jurisdiction.
Visa application
As soon as the family abroad has received the Ofii deposit certificate and the civil status documents that you sent, each family member must make a request for long-stay visa as residence permit (VLS-TS).
Warning
the family must enter France within 3 months of the issue of the visas. Travel expenses are paid by the family.
Medical visit
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Morocco-Tunisia
The family is summoned for a medical examination at the Ofii representation in the country.
The medical certificate issued by Ofii at the end of the visit is essential to be able to obtain a residence permit.
Cameroon, Mali, Senegal
The family undergoes a medical check-up once they arrive in France.
The medical certificate issued by Ofii at the end of the visit is essential to be able to obtain a residence permit.
Turkey
The family is summoned for a medical examination at the Ofii representation in the country.
The medical certificate issued by Ofii at the end of the visit is essential to be able to obtain a residence permit.
Armenia
The family undergoes a medical check-up once they arrive in France.
The medical certificate issued by Ofii at the end of the visit is essential to be able to obtain a residence permit.
Other country
The family undergoes a medical check-up once they arrive in France.
The medical certificate issued by Ofii at the end of the visit is essential to be able to obtain a residence permit.
Residence permit
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Morocco-Tunisia
The spouse receives a long-stay visa as residence permit (VLS-TS). This visa allows him to enter France without having to apply for a residence permit in the prefecture on the 1stre year of stay. Minor children enter with a visa mention family reunification.
Family members may obtain the same residence permit as the applicant for family reunification:
- If the applicant has a temporary residence card valid for 1 year, the spouse and children who have reached the age of majority (or from the age of 16 if they wish to work) must apply for a temporary residence card private and family life (valid for 1 year and renewable). This card must be requested within 2 months of arrival in France for the spouse or before 19eme birthday for the child who has reached the age of majority.
- If the applicant has a residence card valid for 10 years, the spouse and children who have reached the age of majority (or from 16 years if they wish to work) must apply for a resident card (valid for 10 years and renewable). This card must be requested within 2 months of arrival in France for the spouse or before 19eme birthday for the child who has reached the age of majority.
Other country
The spouse receives a long-stay visa as residence permit (VLS-TS) to enter and stay in France without having to apply for a residence permit in the prefecture on 1re year.
After 1 year of stay, the spouse must ask a temporary residence card private and family life (valid for 1 year).
Minor children enter with a visa mention family reunification. They do not need a residence permit. Once they become adults (or from the age of 16 if they wish to work), they must ask a temporary residence card private and family life (valid for 1 year).
Family integration
The spouse and children over the age of 16 who are eligible for family reunification must sign a republican integration contract.
Algerian family
The foreigner making the application must have a certificate of residence with a period of validity of at least 1 year, and must have been present in France for at least 1 year.
If he has a residence certificate of 1 year mention "scientist", his family can join him without going through the family reunification process if he entered France on a visa.
Regular stay
The family reunification procedure collectively concerns:
- spouse of full age (at least 18 years) of an Algerian resident in France,
- and minor children (under 18 years).
Children may be
- from the couple, provided that they have a legally established filiation or are adopted by virtue of a judicial decision,
- or from a previous union of the applicant or his spouse:
- if the other parent has died or lost parental rights,
- or if parental authority is exercised by virtue of a decision of a foreign court.
A child taken in by kafala in Algeria may benefit from family reunification in consideration of the best interests of the child.
The age of the spouse and children shall be examined on the date of submission of the application for reunification.
A request for partial family reunification may be exceptionally authorized in the interests of children.
The family reunification procedure does not apply to ascendants. They may eventually come to live in France under the visitor status if they are dependent and have sufficient resources.
The foreigner polygamous residing in France with a 1re wife, can't apply for family reunification to bring her 2e wife.
The residence card of the polygamous foreigner may be withdrawn in the following cases:
- He brought more than one wife to France
- He brought the children of the wife who does not reside in France with him, without proving that she is dead or that she no longer has parental authority over her children
Conditions of resources
The foreigner must demonstrate sufficient and stable resources equal to or greater than Smic: titleContent.
The applicant's resources may come from income derived from paid or self-employed work, from the management of assets, from retirement pensions, etc.
The spouse's resources are also taken into account, provided that he has income which will continue to be paid to him when he leaves his country.
Family benefits are excluded from the couple's resources (family or housing allowances, family supplement, back-to-school allowance for example).
Housing conditions
The applicant must have (or justify that he will have on the date of arrival of his family in France) accommodation considered normal for a comparable family living in the same geographical region.
The accommodation must satisfy certain health and safety conditions.
Depending on the geographical area in which the dwelling is situated, it must have a total living space of at least:
- In zones A bis and A: 22 m² for a couple without children or two people. You must add 10 m² for each additional person up to 8 people in total and 5 m² for each additional person over 8 people
- In zones B1 and B2: 24 m² for a couple without children or two people. You must add 10 m² for each additional person up to 8 people in total and 5 m² for each additional person over 8 people
- In zone C: 28 m² for a couple without children or two people. You must add 10 m² for each additional person up to 8 people in total and 5 m² for each additional person over 8 people
The family must reside abroad. However, the family already present in France may exceptionally benefit an on-the-spot grouping.
The spouse or children may be excluded from family reunification if their presence in France constitutes a threat to public order.
The family reunification procedure collectively concerns:
- The adult spouse (at least 18 years) of a foreigner residing in France
- Minor children (under 18 years)
Children may be
- From the couple, provided that they have a legally established filiation or are adopted by virtue of a judicial decision
- From a previous union of the applicant or his spouse:
- If the other parent has died or lost parental rights
- If parental authority is exercised by one or other of the parents by virtue of a decision of a foreign court
A request for partial family reunification may be exceptionally authorized in the interests of children.
The family reunification procedure does not apply to ascendants foreigner. They may eventually come to live in France under the visitor status and have sufficient resources.
The age of the spouse and children shall be examined on the date of submission of the application for reunification.
Knowing the list of documents for a family reunification case
The applicant must complete form cerfa n°11436.
Application for family reunification
The applicant must send his file (completed form and attachments) by mail (registered delivery with recommended acknowledgement of receipt) to the territorial directorate of theOfii: titleContent competent.
Warning
the applicant must attach to his application a copy of the supporting documents corresponding to his situation.
The documents to be attached are as follows.
Residence permit
- Photocopy of residence permit of the valid applicant (front/back):
- Resident Card
- Resident card bearing the endorsement Long-term resident - EU issued in France
- Multi-annual residence permit
- Temporary residence permit of 1 year or more
- Certificate of residence of 1 year or 10 years
- Certificate of application for renewal of residence permit
- If you are applying for family reunification for your spouse who resides in France: residence permit of your spouse
- If you are applying for family reunification for your spouse residing in a State separate from his or her country of origin: residence permit issued by your spouse's country of residence
Civil status documents
They must be accompanied by a translation into French prepared by a certified translator or certified as compliant by a French consular or diplomatic authority:
- Full copy of marriage certificate with marginal mentions (with supplementary judgment if mentioned in the act)
- Full copy of your birth certificate with marginal mentions (+ additional judgment if mentioned in the birth certificate)
- Full copy of your beneficiary spouse's birth certificate with marginal notes (+ additional judgment if mentioned in the certificate)
- Full copy of the birth certificate of each of your children and/or your spouse with marginal notes. This also applies to children already residing in the dwelling in France (+ additional judgment if mentioned in the act)
If you are a national of a country whose laws allow polygamy:
- Divorce judgment(s) concerning you and/or your spouse (irrevocable or final judgment if divorce abroad)
- Declaration on Honor certifying that family reunification will not create a situation of polygamy on French territory
If family reunification is requested for one or more children, depending on your situation:
- Divorce judgment(s) concerning you and/or your spouse (irrevocable or final judgment if divorce abroad)
- Judgment conferring parental authority (unless otherwise specified in the divorce judgment)
- Judgment conferring custody of the children (unless otherwise specified in the divorce judgment)
- Letter from the other parent authorizing the child to come to France (whose signature is authenticated in the form provided for by the legislation of the country of residence or by the competent French consulate)
- Adoption judgment
- Kafala Algerian judicial system
- Death certificate of your spouse, first spouse or other relative
- Judicial decision to withdraw parental authority of the other parent
- Declaration of abandonment of the child by the other parent, disappearance or absence of the other parent in court
- Family booklet
- Certificate from your spouse authorizing the beneficiary child's residence at home
- Movement document for minor foreigners (DCEM) and/or school certificate for children present in France
Letter of explanation for family reunification
If family reunification is not requested for the whole family, you must justify your request in the interests of the child(ren).
Proof of resources (to be submitted for the last 12 months)
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You're a salaried employee
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Employment contract or employment certificate of the employer under 3 months duly signed and stamped by the company (for temporary work assignments: provide only the employment certificate of the employer)
- Work certificate (if more than one employer: produce the certificates for each)
- Salary slips (for temporary assignments: provide only the employer's employment certificate)
- If you are a construction worker: proof of payment of paid leave by the Construction Paid Leave Fund,
- Proof of payment of daily social security benefits in the event of sickness, maternity leave, parental leave or an accident at work
You're a merchant
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Extract of less than 3 months of registration in the Commercial and business Register (RCS)
- Last balance sheet of accounting activity and profit and loss account for the financial year or statement of income drawn up by the tax department
You're a craftsman
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Extract of less than 3 months of registration in the trade register
- Last balance sheet of accounting activity and profit and loss account for the financial year or statement of income drawn up by the tax department
You are a professional
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Extract of less than 3 months registration in the directory Sirene: titleContent
- Last balance sheet of accounting activity and profit and loss account for the financial year or statement of income drawn up by the tax department
You're self-employed
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Declaration of the creation of your activity at the company Formalities Center (CFE)
- Revenue Book, Purchase Register and Income Tax Certificate
You're a job seeker
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Status report summarizing entitlements and compensation payments by Pôle emploi
You are retired or disabled
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Decision to award an old-age or invalidity pension drawn up by the paying agency and supplementary pensions
- Notice of payment by the paying agency or certificate of payment (specifying the title of each pension)
You receive the Disabled Adult Allowance (DHA) or the Disability Supplementary Allowance (DHA)
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Allocation decision
- Last payment certificate of the paying agency
Other situations
- Last tax notice (or non-tax notice) or, if not, the previous year's tax notice or last tax return filed with tax services
- Bank certificate and statements of account proving the origin of the income and its periodicity
- Maintenance paid or received pursuant to a court decision
- If you live in a couple: proof of resources from your spouse, partner of Civil partnerships: titleContent or common-law partner
Proof of accommodation
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You're a tenant
- Proof of residence of less than 3 months (last electricity, gas, water or fixed telephone bill) or proof of home insurance (if recent entry into the dwelling)
- Lease
- Last rent receipt
You're a subtenant
- Proof of residence of less than 3 months (last electricity, gas, water or fixed telephone bill) or proof of home insurance (if recent entry into the dwelling)
- Sublease Commitment
- Justification that this sublease is authorized by a lease for you and your family
You own it
- Proof of residence of less than 3 months (last electricity, gas, landline, water bill) or proof of home insurance (if recent entry into the dwelling)
- Deed of ownership or notarial certificate
You are hosted for free
- Proof of residence of less than 3 months (last electricity, gas, water or fixed telephone bill) or proof of home insurance (if recent entry into the dwelling)
- Title of ownership in the name of the host
- Proof of family relationship with the host
- Proof of domicile issued by the host granting you and your future family accommodation and specifying the duration of the authorized accommodation
- If the accommodation is made available by the company: attestation from the employer granting you and your future family accommodation, and specifying the length of the accommodation permitted
- Proof of the host's identity (copy on the front/back of the valid residence permit or French national identity card)
Other
- Proof of residence of less than 3 months (last electricity, gas, water or fixed telephone bill) or proof of home insurance (if recent entry into the dwelling)
- Promise to rent a home
- Proof of future acquisition of a dwelling
Study of the demand
L'Ofii: titleContent initially entrusts the case to the mayor of the municipality in which the applicant lives (or to the mayor of the municipality in which the foreigner intends to settle).
The mayor checks whether the conditions of resources and housing are fulfilled. Specially authorized officers may visit the dwelling to verify that it meets the minimum conditions of comfort and habitability.
Where the applicant does not yet have the accommodation at the time of the application, the verification shall be carried out in the light of the information provided in form cerfa No 11437:
Proof of the provision of accommodation in the framework of family reunification
The foreigner and the owner or seller of the dwelling must include the following information:
- Availability Date
- Area
- Set of housing characteristics
If the conditions are met, family reunification may be authorized.
The mayor can also check, at the request of the prefect, that the foreigner respects the fundamental principles of family life in France.
The mayor must give his opinion on all these conditions, within 2 months of receiving the file or the request of the prefect. In the absence of a reply within this period, the Mayor's opinion is favorable.
The mayor then forwards the file with his reasoned opinion on the conditions of resources and accommodation to the relevant Ofii delegation. The latter completes, if necessary, the investigation and sends the file to the prefect for decision.
Decision of the Prefect
It is the prefect of the applicant's department of residence (in Paris, the police prefect) who accepts or refuses the application for family reunification.
His decision must be notified to the applicant within 6 months of the submission of the complete file to the Ofii. In the event of a refusal, the decision must be substantiated.
If the prefect has not replied within 6 months, the request is refused (implicit refusal).
The foreigner may challenge the decision by administrative appeal before the prefect and/or the interior minister.
It may also file, within certain time limits, a litigation before the administrative court with territorial jurisdiction.
Visa application
As soon as the family abroad has received the Ofii deposit certificate and the civil status documents that you sent, each family member must make a request for long-stay visa at the French consulate in Algeria.
Warning
the family must enter France within 3 months of the issue of the visas (travel expenses are the family's responsibility).
Medical visit
The family undergoes a medical check-up once they arrive in France.
The medical certificate issued by Ofii at the end of the visit is essential to be able to obtain a residence permit.
Residence permit
Family members who settle in France are given a residence certificate. It shall be valid for the same period as that of the person they join and shall bear the words "private and family life".
- Code of entry and residence of foreigners and right of asylum: Articles L423-14 to L423-20Issuance and withdrawal of the residence permit
- Code of entry and residence of foreigners and right of asylum: Articles L434-1 to L434-12Family reunification scheme
- Code of entry and residence of foreigners and right of asylum: Articles R434-1 to 434-6Conditions of residence permit, resources, accommodation of the applicant, age of the group beneficiaries
- Code of entry and residence of foreigners and right of asylum: Articles R434-7 to R434-11Application for family reunification
- Code of entry and residence of foreigners and right of asylum: annex 10List of documents to be supplied: point 65
- Code of entry and residence of foreigners and right of asylum: Articles R434-12 to R434-14Examination of the application: role of the Office
- Code of entry and residence of foreigners and right of asylum: Articles R434-15 to R434-17Checking resource conditions
- Code of entry and residence of foreigners and right of asylum: Articles R434-18 to R434-25Verification of housing conditions
- Code of entry and residence of foreigners and right of asylum: Articles R434-26 to R434-30Decision of the Prefect
- Code of entry and residence of foreigners and right of asylum: Articles R434-31 to R434-32Medical visit
- Code of entry and residence of foreigners and right of asylum: Articles R434-33 to R434-35Entry to France
- Code of entry and residence of foreigners and right of asylum: article R434-36Issuance of the residence permit
- Decree No. 2002-120 of 30 January 2002 on the characteristics of decent housingArticles 2 and 3
- Order of 9 November 2011 on the filing of applications for family reunification in the services of the French Office for Immigration and Integration (Ofii)
- Decree of 1 August 2014 on the geographical zoning of municipalities (known as A/B/C)
- Order No. 45-2658 of 2 November 1945 on the conditions of entry and residence of foreigners in France: Article 29 (conditions for family reunification of Algerians)
FAQ
- Zoning A, B, C: instructions for useMinistry of Housing
- Algerian accompanying family procedureMinistry of the Interior