Life in France: The big day with Immigration

So yesterday was the big day of having to go to the Immigration office in France. Upon arrival here 3 months ago I had to submitted paperwork to them and let them know how to find me. About 3 weeks ago I finally received a letter in the mail with the date and location that I must appear and all of the documents that would be required as well.

I had read some forums online that detailed other people's experiences of this immigration appointment and there were mixed reviews, but of course some horror stories which added to my anxiety. I double and tripled checked that I had all of the papers that I needed and some that I threw in my bag just in case.

I was scheduled to be there at 1:30pm and the location that I had to report to is about an hour away from Chartres, in Orleans. Thankfully James took the day off to accompany me to this appointment and to ensure that I got there on time. Upon arrival at the building there was a line of people outside waiting. James started laughing and said, "yep, I am pretty sure we are in the right spot!" We quickly figured out that all of these people had a 1:30pm appointment too. I didn't count the exact number but there was at least 30 people waiting for entrance.

Once the doors were unlocked we entered the office and I showed my passports and paperwork, I was then given a stack of papers and ushered into 1 of 2 rooms. I think that the distinction between the rooms was based on why you are in France, on a student visa or the "other" category (spouse visa, work visa, etc).

A women then entered the room and began speaking to the group (in French). She asked for our names, if we spoke French and if not what our language of choice was. After getting all of this information she turned on a DVD and left the room. To the best of my comprehension, the DVD gave an overview of live in France, that women and men have equal rights and so on. James was watching the video with me and giggled a few times. I can only imagine what it would be like to watch the video shown in the US for those that are trying to immigrate. I am sure it is a strange experience to be a native of a country watching the immigration video.

After the video different people started to come in and call names. I was finally called and entered an office with 1 staff person. She asked me questions about the documents I had with me, asked if I was working in France and what level of French I was able to speak and understand. It was a pleasant surprise that she asked me all of these questions in English. After gathering the information she informed me that there would be 3 more days of mandatory meetings I would need to attend to complete the immigration process. These include: 1 day to learn about Civics and Formation in France, 1 day to learn about life in France, and the last day to have someone assess my French and determine if I would be required to take French classes as part of maintaining my visa and immigration status in France (I was exempt from a 4th day since I have already obtained employment). She told me that the first 2 days would be from 9:30-5pm and on the language testing day it will only be a few hours. I am not really looking forward to 2 full days of classes and hope that it isn't a waste of my time. However, I am interested in the language assessment day (not the testing part). I have been told by others that if there is a need for me to take further French classes(uh yeah, I can tell them that without assessing me) that the number of hours they authorize me then allows me to take French classes for free. Since I want to improve my French, that would be a bonus!!!

After meeting with this person I was told to go back to the waiting room and wait for the next portion of the day. After a short while my name was called and I was taken to a room with a nurse. She asked me general medical questions, asked when my last medical exam was, took my height and weight and then told me I would also have to have a chest xray and meet with the doctor (standard procedure).

After waiting again I was called by the xray technician for the chest xray (side-note, she was the most unpleasant person I interacted with). This was brief and painless (was a bit worried as others had described walking down halls topless without gowns). I then met with the doctor who asked about my immunizations and she looked at my record of those. She then signed a piece of paper, handed me my xray to keep, and sent me back to the waiting room.

The final person I met with made sure that all of the steps had been completed and that I had paid for the stamp that was required for this meeting. This is something that we were able to do online prior to the appointment and costs 340 Euros (roughly $450-500 American dollars depending on the current exchange rate). James and I were talking that paying that bill is our Christmas present to each other. Totally romantic right?! I can sure think of a few other ways I would prefer to spend that kind of money.

I was given the green light to leave and had to give a piece of paper to the receptionist to be allowed to leave the building. So in total the time spent at the Immigration office was about 1 1/2-2 hours, not so awful. I was also able to leave with another sticker in my passport showing that I have cleared immigration (except for the 3 days of classes that I have to attend yet). Woo hoo!!!

Showing off the newest stamp outside the Immigration office (OFII)

We spent the next hour or two walking around Orleans. It is a really cute city and is considered "green." It has a light rail that goes all through the city center to encourage less use of cars. It was great to see some Christmas decorations and the city is also getting ready for it's outdoor Christmas market that begins on December 9th. Here are some of the pictures from our walk around the city. Enjoy!