# Spanish TIE holder to get residence card in France



## SofiaTingting

Hi Everyone thank you in advance to review on my question!
So in my case, my husband is a French national and I am Chinese. We are now living in Spain and I have my TIE. But we are moving to France in September, in order to be able to reside and work in France in the future I would love to get a residence card in France. how should I do? can I directly apply it with my TIE identity? And how?
Thanks everyone!


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## Bevdeforges

Your best option is to apply for a visa as the spouse of a French national. Your TIE won't really help you unless you have been resident in Spain for at least 5 years and there can be other complications. As the spouse of a French national, you're more or less automatically issued a visa.

Now, the one complication is that you need to have "transcribed" your marriage (translation: they need to register the fact of your marriage on your husband's birth record). If you haven't done this already, it can be a lengthy process. You need to apply for a "livret de famille" through the French consulate in the country in which you were married, get an official copy of your marriage certificate, your birth certificate, your husband's French i.d. card/information and a couple further documents.

If you've already got the livret de famille, just contact the local French embassy to see whether you apply there or through a visa agency and what documents you'll need for the application.

Once you get to France, you register with the OFII (one of the nicer French administrative offices) and there is a sequence of appointments, classes (basically on "how France works") and an assessment of your French abilities that you need to renew your residence permit at the end of your first year in France. But it's all pretty routine to get through.


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## SofiaTingting

Bevdeforges said:


> Your best option is to apply for a visa as the spouse of a French national. Your TIE won't really help you unless you have been resident in Spain for at least 5 years and there can be other complications. As the spouse of a French national, you're more or less automatically issued a visa.
> 
> Now, the one complication is that you need to have "transcribed" your marriage (translation: they need to register the fact of your marriage on your husband's birth record). If you haven't done this already, it can be a lengthy process. You need to apply for a "livret de famille" through the French consulate in the country in which you were married, get an official copy of your marriage certificate, your birth certificate, your husband's French i.d. card/information and a couple further documents.
> 
> If you've already got the livret de famille, just contact the local French embassy to see whether you apply there or through a visa agency and what documents you'll need for the application.
> 
> Once you get to France, you register with the OFII (one of the nicer French administrative offices) and there is a sequence of appointments, classes (basically on "how France works") and an assessment of your French abilities that you need to renew your residence permit at the end of your first year in France. But it's all pretty routine to get through.


Thank you very much Bev, yes i know the option of VLS-TS and OFII, do i have to go through all over this process? I thought with a TIE i could have some shortcut as TIE is anyway a EU residence card(even it's temporary one). We've married for years and have both family book and transcript.


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## Bevdeforges

Actually, if you've been married for at least 4 years (I think it is) you could simply apply for French nationality by marriage - except that that takes a good year to process once the paperwork is all in.

An EU residence card won't do all that much for you - and honestly, the spouse visa is the quickest and most reliable way to get a visa (especially since you already have the livret de famille sorted out). 

If you have already done the full "contrat d'integration" drill you can always ask if some or any of your certificates might still be valid (as long as you still have them). Have you lived in France before? Usually you can't carry over the integration stuff - but hey, you never know until you ask. But for the time being, having that livret de famille in hand means the visa process will be about as simple as it gets.


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## SofiaTingting

Bevdeforges said:


> Actually, if you've been married for at least 4 years (I think it is) you could simply apply for French nationality by marriage - except that that takes a good year to process once the paperwork is all in.
> 
> An EU residence card won't do all that much for you - and honestly, the spouse visa is the quickest and most reliable way to get a visa (especially since you already have the livret de famille sorted out).
> 
> If you have already done the full "contrat d'integration" drill you can always ask if some or any of your certificates might still be valid (as long as you still have them). Have you lived in France before? Usually you can't carry over the integration stuff - but hey, you never know until you ask. But for the time being, having that livret de famille in hand means the visa process will be about as simple as it gets.


Yes married for more than four years but we’ve never lived in France was always outside of Europe. I actually already had a five years family visa but it was a short term one every stay less than three months, this time we decided to move back to Europe, stayed in Barcelona first and just got my TIE, but will move to France in September. I guess I have to start from OFII first…the nationality thing is too much of a hassle at the very beginning after just moving back and I haven’t decided on this yet. So now I just have to apply for VLS-TS, and valid it online after moving back to France, and then that’s it for the first year? After the first year then renew it?


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## zari212

Bevdeforges said:


> Your best option is to apply for a visa as the spouse of a French national. Your TIE won't really help you unless you have been resident in Spain for at least 5 years and there can be other complications. As the spouse of a French national, you're more or less automatically issued a visa.
> 
> Now, the one complication is that you need to have "transcribed" your marriage (translation: they need to register the fact of your marriage on your husband's birth record). If you haven't done this already, it can be a lengthy process. You need to apply for a "livret de famille" through the French consulate in the country in which you were married, get an official copy of your marriage certificate, your birth certificate, your husband's French i.d. card/information and a couple further documents.
> 
> If you've already got the livret de famille, just contact the local French embassy to see whether you apply there or through a visa agency and what documents you'll need for the application.
> 
> Once you get to France, you register with the OFII (one of the nicer French administrative offices) and there is a sequence of appointments, classes (basically on "how France works") and an assessment of your French abilities that you need to renew your residence permit at the end of your first year in France. But it's all pretty routine to get through.


Thank's for the information.


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## BackinFrance

Be aware that you will both need private health insurance, usually for the first year, even though your husband is French, and even though you can both apply to join the French health system once you have been in France for 3 months. It usually takes a while for applications to join the French health system.


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## ALKB

SofiaTingting said:


> Hi Everyone thank you in advance to review on my question!
> So in my case, my husband is a French national and I am Chinese. We are now living in Spain and I have my TIE. But we are moving to France in September, in order to be able to reside and work in France in the future I would love to get a residence card in France. how should I do? can I directly apply it with my TIE identity? And how?
> Thanks everyone!


Usually, an EU national cannot rely on EU freedom of movement rules for their family members in their country of nationality. In your case, Your French husband in France.

BUT! There is one exception. If the EU national (your husband) has exercised EU treaty rights (being employed, self-employed, a full time student or self-sufficient) in an EU country they don´t hold citizenship of (Spain), and their non-EEA family member has been living with them in that EU host country, then, non-EEA family members (you) can apply under EU freedom of movement rules when moving to the EU-spouse´s home country.

It is based on EU case law and called the Surinder Singh route/ruling. It was most well known in the UK when it was still part of the EU but the rule does apply to all of the EU.


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## SofiaTingting

ALKB said:


> Usually, an EU national cannot rely on EU freedom of movement rules for their family members in their country of nationality. In your case, Your French husband in France.
> 
> BUT! There is one exception. If the EU national (your husband) has exercised EU treaty rights (being employed, self-employed, a full time student or self-sufficient) in an EU country they don´t hold citizenship of (Spain), and their non-EEA family member has been living with them in that EU host country, then, non-EEA family members (you) can apply under EU freedom of movement rules when moving to the EU-spouse´s home country.
> 
> It is based on EU case law and called the Surinder Singh route/ruling. It was most well known in the UK when it was still part of the EU but the rule does apply to all of the EU.


Well this is new and complicated but happy to know, thanks ALKB, then is there any official page that i can the policy and procedures on how to move on? Thanks.


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## ALKB

SofiaTingting said:


> Well this is new and complicated but happy to know, thanks ALKB, then is there any official page that i can the policy and procedures on how to move on? Thanks.


I haven´t found it on the French visa wizard - other EU countries mention this scenario within the rules for applying for a residence card for family members of EU nationals.


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## Bevdeforges

No, the EU Freedom of Movement stuff for the "close family member" of an EU national specifically doesn't apply to an EU national bringing their spouse to their home country - as here, with a French national moving to France. The flip side of that is, however, that a spouse visa can only be refused if the non-EU spouse is considered to be a "threat to national security or public order" or if they refuse to learn French. 

As long as they have their livret de famille, which Sofia indicates they have already, it should be a matter of days, perhaps a week or two, to get the spouse visa, which is definitely the "A ticket" for visas - full work and other privileges, though she will have to work her way through the various integration meetings set up by the OFII. But even those can be useful - in fact some of us actually wish we could have had something like that when we first arrived.


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## PinkUnicorn

Bevdeforges said:


> Actually, if you've been married for at least 4 years (I think it is) you could simply apply for French nationality by marriage


Although I don't think China recognizes dual nationality, so the OP would have to give up their Chinese citizenship if that's the case.


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## Bevdeforges

PinkUnicorn said:


> Although I don't think China recognizes dual nationality, so the OP would have to give up their Chinese citizenship if that's the case.


Still, I think the one year (plus) processing time is probably the main sticking point. Not nearly in time to move to France in September.


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## ALKB

Bevdeforges said:


> No, the EU Freedom of Movement stuff for the "close family member" of an EU national specifically doesn't apply to an EU national bringing their spouse to their home country - as here, with a French national moving to France. The flip side of that is, however, that a spouse visa can only be refused if the non-EU spouse is considered to be a "threat to national security or public order" or if they refuse to learn French.
> 
> As long as they have their livret de famille, which Sofia indicates they have already, it should be a matter of days, perhaps a week or two, to get the spouse visa, which is definitely the "A ticket" for visas - full work and other privileges, though she will have to work her way through the various integration meetings set up by the OFII. But even those can be useful - in fact some of us actually wish we could have had something like that when we first arrived.


The Surinder Singh ruling is case law for all of the EU:






EUR-Lex - 61990CJ0370 - EN - EUR-Lex







eur-lex.europa.eu





It´s just not used very much in most EU countries, since spouse visas are not very hard to get. That´s why it was mostly used by Brits who could not meet the relatively high financial requirements for a UK spouse visa or to bring dependent parents.


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## BackinFrance

I think whether or not the OP wishes to take French nationality and any implications that might or might not have on her current nationality is entirely a private decision for her to make at some future time. France recognizes dual nationality but in any case applying for French nationality will make no difference to her ability to move to France in September, nor any time this year.


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## BackinFrance

ALKB said:


> The Surinder Singh ruling is case law for all of the EU:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> EUR-Lex - 61990CJ0370 - EN - EUR-Lex
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> eur-lex.europa.eu
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It´s just not used very much in most EU countries, since spouse visas are not very hard to get. That´s why it was mostly used by Brits who could not meet the relatively high financial requirements for a UK spouse visa or to bring dependent parents.


That's the point, at least for spouses of French nationals, and frankly who would want to get tied up with a Préfecture that might have a very different view about Surrender Singh.


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