# In need of a return Visa to France



## jlewis216

Hello,

I currently am living in France under a Passport Talent - Family, that we received via my wife's business activity. The original visa to get into the country was good for 3 months, and during our first 3 months we needed to apply for our full residence permit. We have gone through the whole residence permit application process but now I am in a pickle...

We applied for our residence permit almost 2 months ago, and at the time, our lawyers advised us the average processing time was 2 months. However, we are yet to receive our residence permits and in a few weeks, I need to make a short return trip to the US. Unfortunately, our original visa that allowed us to come into France has expired, so I am worried about my ability to get back into France from the US if our residence permits are not approved by the time I need to leave.

Has anyone experienced a similar situation? Would love any advice on the matter.

Thank you for your help.

-John


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## Bevdeforges

We've been getting conflicting stories about whether or not any sort of proof that you have applied for renewal of your resident permit (receipt, copy of email recognizing receipt of your dossier, etc.) will serve as a re-entry document. But if all else fails, you can probably re-enter France on a standard Schengen visa (like you were a tourist). But exactly how they process arriving Americans has been changing fairly quickly.

Unfortunately consulting your lawyers probably isn't really the best source for getting an idea how long these things will take. There are reportedly significant delays in just about all kinds of administrative documents and certifications and as this is the month of August, there is always the possibility of further delays with administrative staff off on holidays. You may want to try to contact your local prefecture to ask the question (though I realize that isn't always easy to do).


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## Mirage123

I'm in a fairly similar position. I'm British and my long stay visa comes to an end at the end of October. I booked to renew my visa a month ago but waiting times are so horrific that the earliest appointment I could get in Lyon was at the end of January.
In the meantime, they've sent me a convocation for my appointment which clearly states all my visa rights are maintained until the date of my appointment. However, several people on here seem to think this wouldn't protect me if I tried to re-enter with my expired visa and the convocation together. This is a problem, because I have two trips back to the UK planned (and not just holidays either - weddings and the like) that I can't miss.
I've emailed the prefecture three times and got very vague answers - one basically reiterated that all my rights are protected without responding to my specific situation, one refused to give me any kind of confirmation document because my convocation is enough (again, simply reiterating that my rights are protected), and the third said my convocation is only valid on French soil, which again didn't answer my question.
So I've decided to risk it, especially seeing as I hopefully have the tourist visa/90 thing to fall back on if need be.
I'm also planning on travelling with as much proof as I can that I am living legally in France (work contract, rental contract etc) just in case I have a particularly anal border guard.
Hope that helps. Good luck.


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## dpdapper

Mirage123 said:


> In the meantime, they've sent me a convocation for my appointment which clearly states all my visa rights are maintained until the date of my appointment. However, several people on here seem to think this wouldn't protect me if I tried to re-enter with my expired visa and the convocation together.


You don't say what kind of long-stay visa you have, and if you have previously renewed it and are now holding an annual carte de séjour, but I have entered France with an expired visiteur carte de séjour and a copy of a récépissé following approval of the renewal of my card (but before receiving the new card) without incident.


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