Moving to France to Join Family: Regroupement Familial, Spouse/PACS and Partner Visa Guide

Which Route Applies to You?

When moving to France to join family, it is crucial to apply for the correct permission otherwise you could have your application rejected or refused.

Conditions of Eligibility

Regroupement Familial: Eligibility for the Sponsor

To apply for family reunification, the sponsor (the person already in France) must meet all of the following conditions:

• Hold a French residence permit valid for at least one year, or be in the process of renewing one. Not all permit types qualify: a visitor permit and a student permit do not entitle the holder to apply for family reunification
• Have been legally resident in France for at least 18 months at the time of submitting the application. This requirement is waived for refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection
• Have a sufficient stable income to support their family. The income threshold is set by reference to the SMIC and varies by family size. RSA, family allowances, and the ASPA pension supplement cannot be counted towards this threshold
  • approximately 1,802 euros gross per month for a household of two to three people
  • 1,982 euros for four to five people
  • approximately 2,162 euros for six or more
• Have suitable housing in France meeting minimum floor area requirements:
  • 22 square metres for a couple in major urban areas
  • 24 square metres in zones B1 and B2
  • 28 square metres in zone C

Who can be included: the sponsor’s spouse (aged 18 or over, with a legally recognised marriage) and unmarried minor children under 18.

An important restriction applies to polygamous situations, as a second spouse cannot be brought to France if the sponsor is already living there with a first spouse.

Spouse or PACS Partner of a French Citizen: Eligibility

Spouses and civil partners of French citizens do not go through the formal regroupement familial procedure. They apply for a long-stay visa for a vie privée et familiale directly. There is no minimum period of residence required of a French citizen, and income thresholds are not applied in the same prescriptive way as in the regroupement familial process.

The relationship must, however, be genuine, stable, and demonstrable. A marriage or PACS of less than three years may attract closer scrutiny from the consulate.

Length of Stay and Visas and Residence Permits

The initial visa for all family routes is a VLS-TS (Visa de Long Sejour valant Titre de Sejour), valid for one year. It must be validated through the ANEF portal within three months of arrival in France.

This validation step is mandatory, and failing to do it means the visa does not convert into a valid residence authorisation.

After the first year, renewal is made through the ANEF portal and should be started two to three months before the current permit expires. After two to three years of stable, continuous residence, depending on the permit category, a multi-year permit of two to four years becomes available.

After five years of continuous legal residence, an application for the ten-year resident card (carte de resident) can be made. This is the French permanent residency permit, and it renews automatically.

Access to Paid Employment

Spouses who join under the regroupement familial procedure, or as a spouse or PACS partner of a French citizen, receive a residence card that immediately authorises both salaried and self-employment in France. There are no restrictions on the type of work, no salary conditions, and no separate work permit is required.

For regulated professions including medicine, nursing, law, architecture, and teaching, foreign qualifications must be formally recognised by the relevant French professional authority before the holder can practise. This is a separate process from immigration status and applies regardless of which family visa route was used to enter France.

The recognition process (homologation) is handled by the relevant professional ministry or chamber and can take several months. Applications for recognition should be started as early as possible to avoid delays.

The Procedure and Steps

Regroupement Familial: Two-Stage Process

Stage one is initiated by the sponsor in France. The sponsor submits the application to their local OFII (Office Francais de l’Immigration et de l’Integration) delegation covering their place of residence.

OFII assesses the income and housing conditions, and if these are met, the local authority conducts a housing inspection. Processing at this stage can take up to 6 months, though it is often faster. OFII notifies the sponsor of the outcome in writing.
Stage two is the visa application by the family member abroad. Once OFII authorisation is confirmed, the family member applies for a VLS-TS (mention famille de ressortissant etranger) at the French consulate or visa application centre in their country of residence.

In the UK, this is done through VFS Global using the France-Visas portal at france-visas.gouv.fr. Processing times for the visa itself typically range from 4 to 8 weeks once OFII authorisation is given.

Spouse or PACS Visa: Direct Application

The spouse or PACS partner of a French citizen applies for a vie privee et familiale long-stay visa directly through the France-Visas portal, without the OFII income and housing assessment stage.

The consulate assesses the application, may request additional evidence of the relationship, and will interview the applicant if the nature of the relationship requires further verification.

Documents Required

A key part of the process is submitting a range of paperwork to support the application these may include:

Regroupement Familial

• Sponsor’s current French residence permit
• Proof of 18 months of continuous legal residence (visa history, permit renewal letters)
• Last 12 months’ payslips or tax returns as proof of income
• Tenancy agreement or property ownership documents, utility bills, and floor area declaration for housing evidence
• Marriage certificate with apostille and certified French translation
• Birth certificates for any children to be included with an apostille and a certified French translation
• Family member’s valid passport and photographs
• OFII and visa application forms

Spouse or PACS Visa

• Valid passport and two recent photographs
• Completed visa application form
• Marriage certificate or PACS registration certificate with apostille and certified French translation
• Proof of the French citizen’s nationality (French passport or national identity card)
• Evidence of the genuine nature of the relationship: photographs, correspondence, evidence of cohabitation or regular contact
• Proof of accommodation in France

All foreign documents must carry an apostille from the relevant authority and be accompanied by a certified French translation from an accredited translator. Applications without correct translations are a common cause of delay.

Cost

The long-stay visa application fee is €99, paid when submitting through the France-Visas portal. This fee is generally non-refundable regardless of the outcome.

On arrival in France under the regroupement familial procedure, a residence tax of €225 applies for the initial residence card for spouses and children.

An OFII processing stamp of approximately 50 euros is also payable. For subsequent permit renewals, a further tax is payable at each renewal stage.

Translation and apostille costs for documents vary considerably by country and document type. For a family with multiple children and documents from several countries, these costs can amount to several hundred euros and should be budgeted for separately. Using an accredited translator (traducteur assermenté) is mandatory.

Rights of Family Members in France

Family members who join through any family visa route have the same fundamental rights as other legal residents in France. This includes the right to work, the right to access the French public health system after three months of stable legal residence through the PUMA framework, and the right to enrol children in state school free of charge.

Once enrolled in the French health system, family members can register with a medecin traitant (designated GP) and access the Assurance Maladie reimbursement system. Children are entitled to school health services from enrolment and to free vaccination programmes.

Family members may become eligible for French family benefits (allocations familiales) paid by the CAF once legally resident. Access to other social benefits depends on the duration of residence and the specific benefit concerned.

Registering as a Resident

After validating the VLS-TS through the ANEF portal, the main administrative steps are:

• enrolling children in school at the local mairie
• opening a French bank account
• registering with a GP; and registering with the CPAM (Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie) for healthcare access after three months of legal residence

Tax registration with the French tax authority (impots.gouv.fr) becomes relevant after 183 days of residence in a calendar year.

The regroupement familial process also includes a medical examination coordinated by OFII after arrival. All family members included in the authorisation must attend.

Since 2025, spouses joining through family reunification are required to attend a six-month language and civic integration course on arrival. Failing to attend can affect the renewal of a residence permit.

Extending or Replacing Your Visa or Residence Permit

Permit renewals are submitted through the ANEF portal and should be initiated two to three months before the current permit’s expiry date. If your renewal application is submitted on time and is still being processed when your permit expires, you are entitled to remain legally in France during that processing period and will receive an attestation de demande de titre de sejour as interim proof of your status.

If a residence card is lost or stolen, a replacement is obtained by reporting the loss to the police, obtaining a police report, and applying for a replacement through the local prefecture or the ANEF portal. The replacement card retains the original’s remaining validity.

Permanent Residency and Citizenship

The path to French permanent residency (ten-year resident card) requires five years of continuous legal residence.

The path to French citizenship generally requires five years of legal residence, a demonstrated B2 level of French proficiency, and evidence of assimilation into French society.

For spouses of French nationals, citizenship can be applied for after 4 years of marriage and a minimum of 3 years of cohabitation in France, a shorter requirement than the standard residency route.

Dual Citizenship and Travel

France now permits dual citizenship in most cases. British nationals can acquire French citizenship without renouncing their UK passport. This is a significant practical advantage for British nationals considering the French naturalisation route.

It means that a British national who naturalises as a French citizen retains their British passport. This gives the holder the full benefits of EU citizenship for travel within the Schengen Area, such as no EES registration, no ETIAS requirement, and freedom of movement across all 27 EU member states. However, they retain UK travel document rights for travel to the UK and countries where British nationality is advantageous.

For those holding both nationalities, it is important that they use a French or an EU passport when entering France. Using a French passport to enter France confirms your right to be there under French law and removes the need for immigration checks applicable to third-country nationals.

Tax Regulations

Once you are a tax resident in France, which generally applies after 183 days of residence in a calendar year, though other factors, such as where your main home or family life is based, can also trigger tax residency, you are taxed on your worldwide income.

French income tax is progressive, running from 11 per cent above the basic threshold to 45 per cent on income above 177,106 euros. Employee social security contributions amount to approximately 22 per cent of gross salary.

The UK and France have a double taxation convention that prevents the same income from being taxed in both countries. This treaty covers UK pension income, rental income from UK property, and other UK-source income.

Filing a French tax return is required for all tax residents.

Seeking specialist cross-border tax advice in your first year of French residency is strongly recommended to ensure compliance on both sides and to manage the transition from UK to French tax residency correctly.

Property Ownership and Rental in France

British nationals face no restrictions on buying property in France. The purchase process involves a notaire (notary), who handles the legal and registration aspects.

Purchase costs, including notary fees, land transfer taxes, and agent fees, typically add 7 to 10 per cent to the purchase price.

Annual property taxes (taxe fonciere and in some cases taxe d’habitation) are payable by all owners.

The rental market in France is strongly tenant-friendly. Security deposits are typically one month’s rent for unfurnished properties (two months for furnished).

Tenancy agreements for unfurnished properties run for a minimum of three years with statutory protections against eviction.

Tenants have the right to renew, and rent increases are capped. The RTB (Residential Tenancy Board equivalent in France is the Commission Departementale de Conciliation) handles disputes.

Property ownership does not confer residency rights. A family reunification visa, or visa privée et familiale, is required regardless of whether you own or rent property in France.

Education System in France

Children who are legally resident in France are entitled to attend state school free of charge. Schooling is compulsory from age six; state-funded ecole maternelle (nursery school) is available from age three.

The French school system uses a 0 to 20 grading scale at secondary level and follows the national curriculum set by the Ministère de l’Education Nationale.

Secondary education runs through college (ages 11 to 15) and lycee (ages 15 to 18), culminating in the Baccalaureat, which serves as both a school-leaving certificate and a university entrance qualification.

Children arriving from abroad without French are supported through CASNAV (Centres Academiques pour la Scolarisation des eleves Nouvellement Arrives), which provides specialist language integration classes before or alongside mainstream school enrolment.

Enrolment in a state school is done at the local mairie, which directs families to the allocated school based on their address.

International schools offering English-taught education are available in Paris and most major cities, with annual fees typically ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 euros.

Childcare Options

France has a well-developed state-subsidised childcare system. Creches (nurseries for children under three) are the main formal childcare option and operate on a sliding fee scale based on parental income, managed through the CAF.

Places are limited and applications should be submitted as early as possible, ideally before or during pregnancy in competitive urban areas. Assistantes maternelles (childminders registered and approved by the local authority) are an alternative and are also subsidised through the CAF.

From age three, the école maternelle (state nursery school) provides free, full-day care and early education five days a week. This effectively removes the cost of childcare for most families once a child turns three, which is one of the most significant practical advantages of the French system for families relocating from the UK.

How Can IAS Help?

The France-Visas portal handles visa applications. The Service-Public portal provides official procedural guidance in French.

For circumstances where the standard procedure does not clearly apply, such as in relationships of less than three years, if you have children from previous relationships, income close to the threshold, or previous visa refusals. Professional immigration advice is worth obtaining before submitting an application.

Whether you are applying through the formal regroupement familial procedure, joining a French citizen as their spouse or PACS partner, or need advice on the right route for your circumstances, the IAS team can guide you through every stage of the process.

We work with clients from the UK and internationally on French family visa matters. Call us on +44 (0)333 414 9244 or message us online to speak with an adviser.