The Visa Saga

Life in Paris is overall amazing! It is exciting, beautiful, and full of culture & adventure. But living here is much different to visiting. And in my opinion, French administration is by far the least glamorous part of French life.

It has nearly been a year since we arrived in Paris, and I have been reflecting over the past year. It is full of SO many amazing times, however a lot of super frustrating times as well. Because I have only just started this blog there are a lot of hilarious moments, crazy stories and memories that I will always want to remember, however I already feel like I'm forgetting things. So I have decided to start a mini series of memory posts - some of the most challenging and the most hilarious moments of our first year in Paris. If you want a LOL then read on, and if you are an EXPAT and are trying to set up your life here, then I hope that parts of our experiences can be helpful for you!

I thought I'd start my memory posts off with a bang - getting my visa. This was probably the hardest administration task we had to get through (although we haven't finished them all yet!) and also probably the longest and filled with moments that can only be explained by the face palm emoji. Which I have spent 30 mins trying to figure out how to include in this post, and still don't have it. Which is totally another face palm moment haha!

When we first arrived in Paris we knew that I needed to apply for my spousal visa here once we had arrived, but we had absolutely NO idea where to start. Joe looked online and found a prefecture that looked about right. So within my first week in Paris I put on my brave girl undies and headed out on my first solo mission in France. I had been here for 1 week. I had broadened my French vocabulary to about 20 words, but had also started second guessing how I said simple phrases of Bonjour & Merci, because R's are SO hard here (but that's for another post). Anyway I was very nervous! I made my way just out of Paris, a 40 min metro ride to the first prefecture. When I arrived I found out very fast I was at the wrong place. After talking to three different people I managed to get an address of where I needed to go. I headed home a little deflated to be honest. I had found it difficult to communicate, and I was frustrated I had spent so much time travelling, to then just be told straight away I was at the wrong place. I now look back and laugh, if only I had known what was to come!

The next day I headed to my next address - the Prefecture at Cite. I managed to get inside pretty fast and spoke to a lovely lady at the reception (in English!), she told me where to go. I went to that room. Waited 40 mins in a line and when I made it to the front I asked, "Parlez vous anglais?" She didn't speak English, no one else there did. The lady was trying to talk to me and I had no idea what she was saying. I stood there and just felt really stupid (in front of a big line of people!) I left upset. I went home and cried. That afternoon I grabbed a pastry to remember what I like about Paris (a scenario that happened a lot in the visa process) and watched Friends on Netflix all afternoon, hidden in our apartment.

A couple of days later I went back to the same place with Joe (my darling translator). We went to the same room, waited in line for 30 mins, found out we were at wrong room. Walked to another room where we found out we were at the wrong prefecture for first time visa applications. We were given another address and made our way across town again. A 20 min metro, 3 hours of waiting outside and then we were told by a man holding a large machine gun that they are not taking any more first time visa applications today, so come back tomorrow. It was 1PM, they closed at 6PM? I learnt fast that you will be told things, however explanations are very rare. And asking why doesn't mean you will ever get an explanation.

I also didn't mention above but at this prefecture we waited outside in a line with over a hundred people. We stood for hours, like cattle, waiting to move inside. It was July - so very hot! During these hours I had many thoughts and prayers for refugees. The treatment of immigrants is not often great. I had no idea the journey of all the people around me. From overheard conversations I knew that a lot of them were refugees. It was a sobering time for me thinking about my privilege. I knew that I would get a visa, it could take a long time, however I knew in the end I would get one. My situation was good, my husband has an EU passport and I am from NZ. However I'm sure that in the line with me were people who had waited for MANY more hours then me and didn't have the same certainty of actually receiving anything. There is definitely enough content here for another blog post. But I wanted to include a quick thought here, because it was sobering and moving, and a good reminder to keep praying for refugees. If it's not in the news every day it doesn't mean that these people are still not seeking safety, and a home.

A couple of days later we headed back to the same prefecture. We waited 7 hours (6 hours standing in a line outside in the July summer heat (I watched a whole movie on my phone and nearly finished my book), and then another hour seated inside. When we finally saw someone they said I have all the right documents, but I need to get my marriage and birth certificate translated into French! The disappointment was real. It was something we should have thought of, but hadn't. We were given a list of the only places where we can translate and sent off back outside, guttered!

100euro later we had translated documents and headed back again. This time it was a miracle the line was really short and it only took less then 2 hours to be seen. We had everything we needed and had made it to the next step. The lady said we would now have a meeting to once again check everything, and then I would be given my visa. Apparently waiting at this prefecture was the gateway to setting up a meeting (RDV) at the Cite Prefecture. I naively said to Joe, "are they going to take us now to the meeting?" before the lady returned saying the soonest RDV time was November 16th. It was July 23rd.

November 16th rolled around and back to the prefecture we returned. I had a strange feeling that morning. It had been such a frustrating process to date for my visa and we had just waited 3.5 months, so the idea of actually getting my visa seemed pretty fantasy-like. We waited outside for 30 mins, got inside and to the counter. And you literally can't make this stuff up! THERE WAS A STRIKE! We walked inside and straight away were told we weren't going to be seen today and needed to rebook our RDV. The next appointment was 23rd December - almost 5 months after our process had begun.

Because of a change of plans to our NZ holiday, I had to postpone my RDV as I wasn't going to be in France. So on the morning of January 12th I headed back to the prefecture, a coffee and croissant in hand. I had just arrived in France after 30 hours of travel back from NZ. I was tired, but hopeful. I had a RDV for 12.30 and at 3.30PM I was seen and granted my visa!! It was one of those moments where you just can't really believe it. I was filled with happiness but to be honest mainly relief! We celebrated with champagne - coz we're in France. After 17 hours of waiting, and seven visits I had a piece of paper - it's amazing how powerful some paper is!!

I can now look back and laugh at the process, the hilarity of it all. But in the middle there were lots of tears and a LOT of frustrations. It's always possible to see good in the bad if you are willing to look. And I know that through this (and through other experiences which I will share in other posts), I can say that I have grown in my capacity of patience and resilience. And through the process it actually, in a weird way, cemented the knowledge that this is the country that we really want to live in and where we feel we are supposed to be.

About a month ago I went back to the prefecture to collect my actual visa (no longer paper). I went by myself and was nervous. But it was amazing! I was in and out with my visa in 15 minutes! I actually couldn't believe it. And I think I spoke to an angel. A lovely French woman who helped make sure I had the right things, that I was in the right line, AND she had the most lovely laugh and made me smile. It was such a lovely way to finish off a ridiculously painful process. How great is a rainbow at the end of the storm!

So enough about me & my story.. If you are seeking a working visa in Paris then here's a couple of quick tips:

1) Go to the Cite Prefecture first to find out the process for you. I say this because I am sure everyone's process is different. This link may also be helpful. https://www.prefecturedepolice.interieur.gouv.fr/Demarches/Particulier/Ressortissants-etrangers/Ressortissants-etrangers/Titres-de-sejour-Nous-contacter

2) If you are not able to speak any French then you will need a translator or someone who can help you for the process. I assumed that in a visa office there would be people who spoke English but that is not always the case.

3) Translate your important documents (birth certificate & marriage certificate), but don't just do them anywhere! The prefecture only accepts translations from a certain list of translators. You do not want to pay twice!

4) Photocopy everything, you will probably need two photocopies of all documents and bring everything you can think of!

5) Be prepared it's going to take a while, so go to every meeting/RDV with a snack and a good book. Also netflix downloads are amazing. I watched a whole movie standing in line outside.

6) And throughout the process remember why you want to be in France. The food, the wine, the culture, the people & the beauty. These are the things that get you through the administration frustrations & still make you love France and want to live here!