Family reunification: how to bring your family to France?

It is not easy for anyone to be separated from their loved ones. That is why family reunification allows a foreigner with a residence permit in France to be joined legally by certain family members who remain abroad, provided they meet the criteria established by French law.

Discover our guide to know the procedure to follow to make a family reunification application in France.

Who can apply for family reunification in France?

The application for family reunification in France can be made by a foreign, non-European person who holds a residence permit in France and wishes for their spouse and minor children to join them.

What conditions must the applicant for family reunification meet?

The applicant must:

1 - Have been residing in France for at least 18 months, or at least 12 months for Algerian applicants.

2 - Hold a temporary residence permit with a validity of at least one year.

• temporary or multi-year residence card (with the mention employee, private and family life, student, visitor, etc.).
• resident card or long-term EU resident card (issued in France) valid for 10 years.
• Algerian residence certificate valid for at least one year.
• receipt of a request to renew one of these titles.

3 - Provide proof of minimum monthly resources* sufficient to guarantee the welcoming of their family.

• for a family of 2 or 3 people: an average of 1,219 € net per month for the last 12 months prior to the application.
• for a family of 4 or 5 people: an average of 1,322 € net per month for the last 12 months prior to the application.
• for a family of more than 6 people: an average of 1,442.56 € net per month for the last 12 months prior to the application.
• for an Algerian applicant: stable resources equal to or greater than the net monthly minimum wage (i.e., 1,219 € in 2020).
• no resource requirements are required for applicants receiving the disability allowance (AAH) or the supplementary disability allowance (ASI).
• no resource requirements are required if the applicant is over 65 years old, has been residing in France for at least 25 years, and is requesting family reunification for their spouse, provided they have been married for at least 10 years. Important: social/family benefits (RSA, ASPA, ASS, AER, etc.) are excluded from the calculation.

*2020 figures provided by the official French government website

4 - Provide proof of housing that meets several criteria: safety and hygiene standards and a determined living area based on the number of people and the geographic zone in which it is located.

For example, if you live in zone A or A bis, your housing must occupy a minimum area of 32m² to accommodate 3 people. To find out which zone applies to you, you can use this tool: https://www.service-public.fr/simulateur/calcul/zonage-abc.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW:

• If you are Algerian and hold a one-year residence certificate with the mention "scientific", you can bring your foreign spouse to France by applying for the "accompanying family" procedure.
• If you have a multi-year residence card with the mention "passport talent", you can bring your foreign family by applying for the "accompanying family" procedure.
• If you have refugee, stateless, or subsidiary protection status and wish to bring your foreign family, you can apply for "family reunification".

What conditions must the arriving family meet?

1 - The family must reside abroad at the time of the family reunification application in France. There are some exceptional cases that allow for reunification on-site.

2 - The following people are concerned:

• Spouse: must be of legal age. Cohabitation and PACS are excluded.
• Minor children (under 18 years old)*: they may be from the couple (with legally established parentage or officially adopted or fostered by kafala) or from a previous marriage of one of the spouses. Parental authority must have been obtained through a judicial decision.

*The age of the spouse and children is considered at the time of the family reunification application submission.

3 - The spouse and children of the applicant must not pose a threat to public health and order in France.

4 - All family members must arrive together in France. However, in certain cases, a partial family reunification may be exceptionally granted in the interest of the children.

TO KNOW:

• The ascendants (parents, grandparents) of the applicant cannot benefit from the family reunification procedure.
• Family reunification cannot be obtained by a polygamous foreigner for another spouse if they already reside in France with a first spouse.

What are the steps to apply for family reunification in France?

1 - As the applicant, you must complete the form cerfa n°11436*05 available for download online.

2 - You must attach supporting documents to your file, depending on your situation. The list of these documents is available on the OFFI website (French Office for Immigration and Integration).

IMPORTANT! Each civil status document in its original language must be accompanied by a French translation made by a sworn translator or certified by the French consular authority.

3 - Once the form is completed and the supporting documents gathered, you must send your complete file by postal mail only to the Territorial Directorate of the OFFI you depend on.

It is recommended to send it by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt.

How does the family reunification process proceed in France after sending the application file?

1 - If your application does not fall under family reunification: the Territorial Directorate of the OFFI will return your entire file without processing it.

2 - If your family reunification request is admissible but the file is incomplete: the Territorial Directorate of the OFFI will send you a letter listing the missing documents and will give you a deadline to return the requested documents for your file to be processed.

3 - If your request is admissible and your file is complete:

• The Prefect of your department will be informed by the OFFI so that housing and resource condition investigations can be carried out by the mayor of your town or by the OFFI.
• At the same time, an acknowledgment with the filing date will be sent to you by mail, along with a list of family members concerned by your family reunification request.
• You must forward this acknowledgment and the necessary civil status documents to your family members so that each of them can apply for a France visa at the French consular services of their place of residence.
• The investigation results will be sent to the Prefect, who will accept or reject your family reunification request. The decision will be notified to you within a 6-month period (from the date the complete file was received by the OFFI).
• If the Prefect's decision is favorable, it will be transmitted either to the competent French consulate or to the OFFI's representation if your family resides in a country where this Office has a presence (Armenia, Cameroon, Mali, Morocco, Romania, Senegal, Tunisia, Turkey).
• Your family members will then have a maximum of 3 months after the visa is issued to enter France.

TO KNOW: Depending on the country of residence of your family members, they may be required to undergo a medical examination either locally or upon arrival in France.

What type of residence permit will be issued to your family?

1 - If you are a national of a country outside the Maghreb and Sub-Saharan Africa *: your spouse will receive a long-stay visa that acts as a residence permit (VLS/TS). After one year of residence, they must apply for a temporary residence card for private and family life (valid for 1 year).

The minor children will enter with a visa with the mention "family reunification". They do not need a residence permit. Once they reach adulthood (or from the age of 16 if they wish to work), they will need to apply for a temporary residence card for private and family life (valid for 1 year).

2 - If you are a national of a Maghreb country (Morocco, Tunisia) or Sub-Saharan Africa: your spouse will receive a VLS/TS to enter France without having to apply for a residence permit in the prefecture during the first year of stay, and the minor children will enter with a visa mentioning "family reunification".

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

• If you hold a temporary residence permit valid for 1 year: your spouse and children who have reached adulthood (or from the age of 16 if they wish to work) must apply for a temporary residence permit for private and family life (valid for 1 year and renewable).
• If you hold a residence card valid for 10 years, your spouse and children who have reached adulthood (or from the age of 16 if they wish to work) must apply for a residence card (valid for 10 years and renewable).

3 - If you are an Algerian national : your family members will receive a visa with the mention "family reunification" to enter France. With this visa, your spouse and children who have reached adulthood must go to the prefecture to apply for a residence certificate. It will have the same duration as the one you hold (1 or 10 years) and will state "private and family life".

*Sub-Saharan Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo (Brazzaville), Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo.

IMPORTANT ! Holders of a long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit (VLS-TS) must mandatory validate it online within 3 months of their arrival in France. If you exceed this period, you will be in an irregular situation on French territory and will no longer be able to cross Schengen borders.

These articles may also interest you:

• To apply for a visa from Morocco to France, this site will be helpful.
• To apply for a visa for France from Algeria, this page will assist you.
• To obtain a visa from Tunisia to France, visit this page.
• To apply for a visa from Ivory Coast to France, this site will be helpful.
• To apply for a visa for France from Cameroon, this page will assist you.
• To obtain a visa from the Democratic Republic of Congo to France, visit this page.
• To apply for a visa from Madagascar to France, this site will be helpful.
• To apply for a visa for France from Gabon, this page will assist you.
• To apply for a visa from Senegal to France, this site will be helpful.

Frequently Asked Questions about Family Reunification

Can I apply for a family reunification procedure to have my parents join me in France?

No. Ascendants (parents, grandparents) cannot benefit from family reunification. Only the spouse and minor children of the applicant are covered by this procedure.

How long should one wait to get a response regarding a family reunification request in France?

The maximum response time is 6 months from the date of registration of the application. If no response is provided after this period, it means that the request has been implicitly refused.

What are the options if the family reunification request in France is refused?

The applicant can challenge this decision by filing an administrative appeal with the Prefect and/or the Minister of the Interior or by filing a legal appeal before the competent administrative court. The applicant has 2 months from the notification of the refusal to do so.