What are the steps to follow after a positive decision for family reunification?
Reading : 1 minute
Once the Prefecture has agreed to your request, you must follow the steps below to organise your family's arrival in France.
When you apply for family reunification, the French Office of Immigration and Integration (OFII) processes the application, but the Prefecture is responsible for making the final decision. It provides a favourable or unfavourable decision and notifies you by letter.
The OFII receives the decision at the same time as you. If your application is approved, there are still a few steps to follow before your family can come to France.
Steps to follow
When the Prefecture issues a favourable decision, the OFII’s Territorial Direction notifies this decision to the French consulate responsible for your family's place of residence, or to the OFII representation abroad if your family resides in Cameroon, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Ivory Coast or Turkey.
Caution : If you are a refugee, stateless person, beneficiary of subsidiary protection or Algerian:
You must pay a fee upon receiving a favourable decision from the Prefecture. The payment terms will be indicated in the letter. Without this payment, your application cannot be processed.
Family members who benefit from family reunification must submit their visa application to the French consulate responsible for their place of residence. To find out how to apply for a visa, your family members should contact the consulate responsible for their place of residence (addresses available on Diplomatie.gouv.fr website).
They must present the originals of their civil status documents for verification. They will also have to pay visa fees, and a receipt will be issued for each family member. This receipt serves as proof of the visa application and must be kept for until the consulate finishes processing the application.
The consulate will then decide whether or not to grant a visa. Any decision to refuse visas for beneficiaries of family reunification must be justified in writing by the diplomatic or consular authorities.
As soon as they arrive in France, your spouse must validate their long-stay visa by following the "validate your VLS/TS "on the administration-étrangers-en-france website. A validated visa allows your family to stay in France without having to apply for a residence permit for the first year at the Prefecture.
If your spouse obtains a Long Stay Visa marked “regroupement familial OFII” and “carte de séjour à solliciter” , they must go to the Prefecture within 2 months to apply for a residence permit.
As soon as your family arrives in France, you must send OFII copies of the passport pages (identity, long-stay visa, date of arrival) of each beneficiary, specifying the family reunification application number.
You will be invited to an intake interview and medical examination.
Intake interview
Your spouse and children over 16 who benefit from family reunification must sign a Republican Integration Contract.
Medical visit
If the OFII has a representation in the country of origin, your family will undergo a medical check-up. The medical certificate issued at the end of the visit is essential in order to obtain a residence permit.
To go further
French consulate
OFII
Can't find the information you're looking for?
