# Headed for France but not quite ready



## drexfrance

I'm in an awkward position and would love to hear suggestions from anyone more experienced (which is everyone here).

My VLS-TS visiteur visa is already in effect, as of 2 days ago, and I'm leaving for France in a few days. 

However, I haven't fully wrapped things up here in the US. I still have more to pack for the freight company, and the house isn't ready for sale.

It looks as if I'll have to return to the US for a period of 4-6 weeks to finish up. 

Which is better?

- Make the round trip back to the US a few weeks from now, then validate my visa with Étrangers en France afterward (I have 90 days from arrival to validate, right?)

- Validate with Étrangers en France immediately, and make the US trip after my OFII appointment

- Some other strategy I haven't yet considered

Thanks! I'll appreciate your thoughts.


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## 255

@drexfrance -- I'd recommend the following:

a. Just let your freight company do the packing -- they'll usually pack a standard household in a day, at most two. No need to waste 4-6 weeks and multiple flights! You can postpone your flight for a few days to make arrangements.

b. Contract with a real estate agent to sell your property. They can arrange for any deferred maintenance/landscaping/staging you didn't accomplish before you leave. They can courier any documents to you for signature or alternatively you could give a specific power-of-attorney to a trusted soul to execute closing docs. Either way, the proceeds can be wired to your bank of choice. Cheers, 255

P.S. If you're bent on going to France and returning later -- register with the Prefecture (usually online now) and return to settle your affairs after you've cleared OFII.


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## drexfrance

Thanks for the thoughts, especially on completing OFII before taking trips back.

Moving the entire house won't work in this case because we're leaving a large, well-filled house on 3 acres for a tiny French townhouse. If we moved it all into the French townhouse, its roof might fly off! 

Probably the best way would have been to sell everything and start fresh in France. That wouldn't have worked for us, but in retrospect I think we should have shrunk our lives first by moving to a smaller US house or apartment, and then done the France move after a year or so.

The real estate agent I spoke with - who came highly recommended - didn't seem too keen on helping polish up the property in our absence. I suspect that she's looking for houses she can turn over quickly for a good price with minimal effort, and who can blame her? She actually suggested that we call a "cash for your house" flipper, which I consider a last resort. I think we need to interview a few more agents, but now that we're both in France, that's become more of a challenge.


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## EuroTrash

Deleted - think I misunderstood the previous post.


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## drexfrance

So the next question is, how much time can I (or dare I) spend outside France on an OFII-processed first-year VLS-TS?

Not just officially - is there a point at which your time spent outside France becomes a liability at TdS renewal time?

After a couple of hours of web trawling, I read that on a 5-year (permanent?) TdS, you get up to 10 months outside France, up to 6 months in one go. 

But I found nothing about how much travel outside France is permitted - or wise - on a one-year validated VLS-TS.

And are there other factors to consider? For example, is it a big deal to make sure you always buy a round-trip ticket?

Thanks again!


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## ARPC

Ultimately the renewal of you residence permit, be it a validated visa in your passport or a carte de sejour, is going to be based on a variety of factors and depend on what the next permit you are applying for is. As long as your residence in france was maintained for the duration — as in you kept being the occupant and using that as your address even if you were away periodically for work— then time you spent away shouldn’t pose a problem. If you spent more time away than your prefecture likes, they may issue you another 1 year provisional permit, giving you a chance to do better next time and graduate to a longer term CdS. I’m some cases, documents proving that you’re time away was for a work requirement are needed to justify a significant break in your time in the country.

You’ll get no solid answer about how much is too much, it will just depend on the mood of your prefect. They’re going to look at your passport entrance and exits and make their judgement then. The worst case if you have everything else in order, is to be issued another 1 year permit, and as it sounds like your life is pretty dynamic and unsuited to long term planning anyway for the moment, a one year renewal is no tragedy. 

I agree completely with the above posters, that it’s missing those OFII appointments that will pose challenges. They can’t be rushed, and you’ll face a hurdle showing up to renew with ~6 weeks in country and none of your paperwork;-). 

In closing, if your travel is non-negotiable, then you have to just document everything, don’t screw up your ofii stuff, and take the chance at renewal time.


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## 255

@drexfrance -- From what I've read, but not definitively: 90 days; but I'd try to minimize any absence and make sure you do the other things to integrate (paying income taxes, applying for medical, opening a French bank account, etc.) Unless things have changed, you'll find savings in buying a round trip ticket in Europe vs. buying a ticket in the U.S. Cheers, 255


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## drexfrance

Thanks to both of you!


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