Family reunification - General case

Verified 01 janvier 2024 - Legal and Administrative Information Directorate (Prime Minister)

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Step-by-step approach

To determine your right to family reunification, you can use a simulator:

Check if you can benefit from family reunification

Regular stay

At the moment of your application for family reunification, you must prove that you have one of the following documents:

  • Temporary residence card of at least 1 year (mention salaried worker, private and family life, student, visitor, etc.) or multi-annual residence card
  • Resident Card or EU long-term resident (issued by France) of 10 years
  • Received request for renewal of one of those certificates

You must also have been resident in France for at least 18 months. This 18-month stay must have been completed with one of the following certificates:

  • 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
  • Long-stay visa, conferring on its holder the rights attached to a temporary residence card
  • Temporary residence permit of less than 1 year
  • Temporary residence permit
  • Receipt of application for first issue or renewal of a residence document
  • Certificate of application for asylum

Warning  

If you are a foreigner polygamous residing in France with a 1re wife, you can't apply for family reunification to bring your 2e wife.

Conditions of resources

You need to justify stable and sufficient resources to ensure the reception of your family in good conditions.

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General case

Your resources must reach a certain net amount, which varies according to the size of your family:

  • 2 or 3 people: average monthly net minimum growth wage (Smic), or on average €1,398.70, in the last 12 months preceding the application
  • 4 or 5 people: on average €1,518 in the last 12 months preceding the application
  • 6 or more people: on average €1,655.74 in the last 12 months preceding the application

Your resources can come from income from paid or self-employed work, from wealth management, retirement pensions, etc.

Your spouse's resources are also taken into account, provided he or she receives income that will continue to be paid to him or her when he or she leaves his or her country.

The following resources of the couple are excluded:

  • Family benefits
  • Active Solidarity Income (RSA)
  • Solidarity allowance for the elderly (Aspa)
  • Temporary Standby Allowance (Ata)
  • Specific Solidarity Allowance (SSA)
  • Pension Equivalent Allowance (REA)

Person receiving Disabled Adult Allowance (DHA) or Disability Supplementary Allowance (DHA)

No resource requirements are required if you have AAH or Asi.

Person over 65

There are no resource conditions if you meet the following 4 conditions:

  • Be older than 65
  • Regular residence in France for at least 25 years
  • Have been married for at least 10 years
  • Application for family reunification concerns your spouse

Housing conditions

You must be provided (or have proof of receipt at the date of your family's arrival) with accommodation that is considered normal for a comparable family living in the same geographical area.

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:

  • Areas A bis and A: 22 m² for a couple without children or 2 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.
  • Areas B1 and B2: 24 m² for a couple without children or 2 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.
  • Area C: 28 m² for a couple without children or 2 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 allows you to know the area on which you depend:

Know the area of his commune: A, Abis, B1, B2 or C

Condition of respect for the essential principles of family life in France

You must comply with the essential principles governing family life in France.

Your family must reside abroad. However, your family already present in France may exceptionally benefit of family reunification on the spot.

Your 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:

  • Your spouse of age (at least 18 years old) and legally married to you
  • Your minor children (under 18 years)

Your children may be:

  • From your couple, provided that they have a legally established filiation or are adopted by virtue of a judicial decision
  • From your previous union or from a previous union of your spouse in the following cases:
    • Other parent who has died or lost parental rights
    • Or parental authority exercised by one or other of the parents by virtue of a decision of a foreign court

As a general rule, partial family reunification is not allowed, meaning that all your family members must arrive together in France. However, a request for partial family reunification may be exceptionally authorized in the interests of children.

You must make such a request by a reasoned letter at the time of filing your file. Reasons that can be accepted include the child's education, health or housing too small to accommodate all members of your family.

The family reunification procedure does not apply to your ascendants. They may eventually come to live in France under the visitor status if they have sufficient resources.

The age of your spouse and children is assessed on the date of your application for family reunification.

To see the list of documents for your family reunification file, you can use a simulator:

Knowing the list of documents for a family reunification case

You must complete a cerfa form:

Application for family reunification

You must send your file (completed form and documents to be attached) by mail to the territorial management of theOfii: titleContent competent. Registered delivery with acknowledgement of receipt is recommended.

Who shall I contact

Warning  

You must attach to your application a copy of the supporting documents corresponding to your situation.

The documents to be attached are as follows.

1- Residence permit

  • Photocopy of your residence permit (front/back) valid:
    • 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 application for renewal of residence permit
  • If you apply for family reunification for the benefit of your spouse who resides in France: residence permit of your spouse
  • If you are applying for family reunification for your spouse residing in a country other than his or her country of origin: your spouse's residence permit issued by the country of residence

2- Civil status documents

  • 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
  • Death certificate of your spouse, your 1er(re) 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 residence of the beneficiary child in the home
  • Movement document for minor foreigners (DCEM) and/or school certificate for children present in France

Warning  

Documents must be accompanied by a translation into French prepared by a certified translator or certified as compliant by a French consular or diplomatic authority:

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)

To be able to accommodate your family, you must have sufficient and stable income (unless you are in one of the exceptions).

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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 : receipts for the 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 National Register of companies (RNE)
  • 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 National Register of companies (RNE)
  • 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 of registration in the National Register of companies (RNE)
  • 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
  • Extract of less than 3 months of registration in the National Register of companies (RNE)
  • 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

You need to have a safe home big enough to accommodate your family, whether you are a landlord, a tenant or a guest.

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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

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)
  • Lease or last rental receipt from the tenant or title to the property in the name of 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
  • Proof of availability of accommodation for family reunification (cerfa n°11437), if you do not yet benefit from the accommodation provided for your family's accommodation

Proof of the provision of accommodation in the framework of family reunification

Checking the file

You must send your application for family reunification (completed form and attachments), by mail (registered delivery with acknowledgement of receipt) to theOfii: titleContent.

Ofii's checking your file.

If the file is complete, you will receive by mail a certificate of deposit specifying the date of deposit. The prefect of the department of residence is informed by the Ofii.

If the file is incomplete, it is returned to you by Ofii to complete it.

Examination of the application

Ofii confides, in a 1er time, the instruction of your file to the mayor of the commune of your home (or to the mayor of the commune where you plan to settle).

The mayor checks whether the conditions of resources and housing are fulfilled. Specially authorized agents can visit your home to verify that it meets the minimum comfort and habitability requirements.

If you do not already have the accommodation at the time of your request, the verification is carried out in the light of the information provided in the cerfa form n°11437:

Proof of the provision of accommodation in the framework of family reunification

You and the owner or seller of the unit must include the following information:

  • Availability Date
  • Area
  • Set of housing characteristics

The mayor can also check, at the request of the prefect, that you meet the conditions of legal stay and respect for the essential principles of family life in France.

The mayor must give his opinion on all these conditions, within 2 months of receiving your file or the request of the prefect. If no reply is received within this period, the opinion of the Mayor shall be considered favorable.

The mayor then forwards your file with his justified opinion on the conditions of resources and housing to the relevant Ofii territorial 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 department of your residence (in Paris, the police prefect) who accepts or refuses your request for family reunification.

His decision must be yours notified within 6 months of the submission of your complete file to Ofii. In the event of a refusal, the decision must be substantiated.

The decision is then communicated to the Ofii, which must transmit it without delay to the mayor and consulate of France of your family’s residence abroad.

If the prefect has not replied within 6 months, your request is refused (implicit refusal).

You can challenge the decision by filing a administrative appeal before the prefect and/or the interior minister.

You can also file, within certain deadlines, a litigation before the administrative court with territorial jurisdiction.

Visa application

From the issue of the certificate of depositHowever, you must send this document and the civil status documents to your family abroad.

Your spouse must then apply for long-stay visa as residence permit (VLS-TS), to the French consular authority, without delay.

Warning  

Your family must enter France within 3 months of the issuance of the visas. Travel expenses are paid for by your family.

Upon entry into France, your spouse must validate his/her long-stay visa by following the procedure “validate his/her FLIGHT/TS” on the internet.

Payment of the corresponding fee is mandatory.

The validated visa allows your family to stay in France without having to apply for a residence permit in the prefecture on 1re year of stay.

Apply online for a residence permit, a change of situation, a travel document, an application for naturalization

Medical visit

Your family goes for a medical check-up once they arrive in France.

If the Ofii has a representation in the country of origin, it is possible that the medical check-up will take place on the spot. The Ofii will tell you.

The medical certificate issued by Ofii at the end of the visit is essential to be able to obtain a residence permit.

Residence permit

For entry and settlement in France, your spouse receives a long-stay visa (LSV-TS).

This visa must be validated on the internet within 3 months of arrival in France.

It allows him to enter and reside in France without having to apply for a residence permit in the prefecture on the 1stre year of stay.

Minor children enter with a family reunification visa.

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Morocco and Tunisia

Your spouse receives a long-stay visa as residence permit (VLS-TS), which allows him to enter France without having to apply for a residence permit in the prefecture on 1re year of stay.

The visa must be validated on the internet within 3 months of arrival in France.

Your minor children enter with a visa mention family reunification.

Your family members can obtain the same residence permit as you:

  • If you have a temporary residence card valid for 1 year, your spouse and children who have reached the age of majority (or from 16 years 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 your spouse or before the 19th birthday for your child who has come of age.
  • If you have a 10-year residency card, your spouse and children who have reached the age of majority (or 16 and over 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 your spouse or before the 19th birthday for your child who has come of age.
    The validation of the VLS/TS and the application for a residence permit must be made on the Internet.

Apply online for a residence permit, a change of situation, a travel document, an application for naturalization

Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo

Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo have signed agreements with France on the movement and residence of persons.

These agreements allow your family members entering under family reunification who are nationals of these States Parties to obtain the same residence permit as you.

Other country

Your 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.

The visa must be validated on the internet within 3 months of arrival in France.

After 1 year of stay, your spouse must ask a temporary residence card private and family life (valid for 1 year).

Your 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).

The validation of the VLS/TS and the application for a residence permit shall be made on the Internet:

Apply online for a residence permit, a change of situation, a travel document, an application for naturalization

Know the cost of your approach

For his application for a residence permit in the prefecture, your family will have to pay €75 .

If you apply for family reunification on the spot €225 (stamp duty of €25 and €200) by tax stamps.

If you entered without a long-stay visa, you must pay extra €200 of the right to an adjustment visa by tax stamps (of which €50 to be paid upon submission of the application and non-refundable in the event of refusal to issue the certificate).

You will need to provide proof of payment when you hand over the card.

You can buy the tax stamp on the internet or at a tobacco office.

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On the Internet

You can buy your tax stamp using the tax website:

Online Tax Stamp Purchase - foreigner Title

Payment is possible with the following bank cards:

  • Blue Card (CB) and e-Blue Card
  • Endorsement
  • Mastercard

However, payment by Paypal or American Express card is not accepted.

The electronic stamp can be issued on 2 media:

  • PDF document with a 2D code that can also be scanned directly from a phone or tablet by the service responsible for receiving your request
  • SMS containing the 16-digit stamp identifier that will be accepted by the agent in charge of processing your file

Request a refund of a tax stamp

In a tobacco office

You can buy a tax stamp from a tobacco office, if the store is equipped to edit them.

Warning  

do not buy a fine stamp by mistake.

Family integration

Your spouse and your children over the age of 16 who are eligible for family reunification must sign a republican integration contract.

Check if you can benefit from family reunification

Knowing the list of documents for a family reunification case

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • To obtain information about your residence permit 

    Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service

    For more information on this topic, you can contact Allô Service Public.

    Cost: free service

    The informants who answer you belong to the Ministry of the Interior.

    Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their status.

    The service is available at the following times:

    • Monday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
    • Tuesday: 8:30 to 12:15
    • Wednesday: 8:30 to 12:15
    • Thursday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
    • Friday: 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m
      • Lundi : de 08h30 à 17h30
      • Mardi : de 08h30 à 12h15
      • Mercredi : de 08h30 à 12h15
      • Jeudi : de 08h30 à 17h30
      • Vendredi : de 13h00 à 16h15

    Request a call

  • For information on family reunification

    French Office for Immigration and Integration (Ofii)

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