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What even is a récipissé and how can I get one?

I had a bit of difficulty finding information on this subject online so, after a week of bureaucratic mishaps and failures, I’m here to offer some insight into the process so you can obtain your visa récipissé.

What is a récipissé you ask? 

The problem here is that the word is exceptionally general; it means receipt. I got a récipissé after we got our PACS (another fun filled bureaucratic experience you can read about here) which is essentially a piece of paper that says the PACS was registered and in a few months we can apply for the official PACS documentation. The récipissé that I’m discussing in this article is one for foreigners with visas that are about to expire. If you can show evidence that you are about to change your visa status you may need to obtain a récipissé if there is a gap between your change of status rendez-vous and the expiration of your visa. The récipissé gives you the right to stay in France (and work in some cases) until your visa appointment. The information presented here is based on my own personal experience; my visa status was “young professional”, a Canadian visa and I’m changing my status to “la vie privée et familiale” thanks to my PACS and the fact that I have lived with my partner for over a year. 

Step one: book your rendez-vous

I cannot stress the importance of this step, the earlier the better. I think there may be some limitation (three months sounds familiar?) on how early you can book your rendez-vous before the expiration of your visa, but do try to get yours as early as possible. 

To book your rendez-vous call your préfecture and make every effort to make a human to talk to you. They will transfer you to the correct department. If you follow the automated paths you likely will find yourself in some kind of Catch-22 (welcome to France!). At one point they asked which arrondissement I live in and when I tapped 11 they told me to call the 11th préfecture. Guess what the number is? The same one I just called. Find a human, don’t bother with the automated system. I think I tapped 5 and then 5 again and got a person. 

Even when you do find a human you can book your appointment, no papers necessary. They will email you a convocation, a formal document which states the date of your rendez-vous and a list of papers you need to bring with you. This convocation is the key to your récipissé. 

Be weary of misinformation!

When I called the préfecture in Paris (phone number: 3430) to find out how to book my rendez-vous I was given false information that really threw a wrench in my wheels. The woman informed me that the process was similar to booking a rendez-vous for a PACS. She told me that I needed to have all of the paperwork prepared for the appointment and to go to the préfecture in the 14th (114 ave du maine) to make the appointment. Given that I had just gone through the PACS process which requires a similar process this didn’t seem completely impossible even though I had previously read online that you can book by phone. 

Because of this information I had to wait until the day of our PACS before I could make the appointment, or so I thought. When I showed up at the préfecture, with two enormous binders full of documents to prove residency/vie commune etc. I was turned away (after a three hour wait) and told that I needed to make the appointment by phone. He gave me the same number to call that had originally sent me to him. EGAD! 

Not only hdid I lose precious time waiting for my PACS when I could have booked it weeks earlier, but he also told me I would probably not even qualify for the vie privée et familiale because I needed to have five years of a “presence in France”. WHAT? I hadn’t seen evidence of this anywhere. I left the préfecture dejected and admittedly had a little cry in the neighbouring Montparnasse cemetery, thinking I would be deported the moment my visa expired. 

Step two: preparing your documents for the récippisé

Once you have your convocation for your rendez-vous you can go to the préfecture to get your récippisé. For those switching to the vie privée et familiale, you will need to bring with you: 

  • your passport
  • your current carte de sejour
  • a photo
  • records justifying your address (EDF is a good one, internet, lease etc.) 
  • an attestation of share residency (this I was told to bring but never asked for) 
  • your PACS/marriage license 
  • rendez-vous convocation

Step three: getting the récipissé

After waiting two hours in the line outside the Préfecture in the 14th (be sure to get into the line designated “renouvellement”) and another two and a half hours inside they finally called my number.

At a certain point there was a good hour and a half in the middle where they stopped calling any numbers in my particular category (“R”). Everyone had clearly gone out for lunch and the process just stopped. Prepare to spend a good portion of your day waiting. Also, dress appropriately as you could be outside for awhile. 

When he called me up I presented my documents and the process was fairly straight forward. I have a visa that authorizes me to work so my récipissé does the same. If you’re on a student visa you are unlikely to be granted the right to work, this is why getting your rendez-vous as early as possible is so crucial. I booked in December and my rendez-vous is not until May. The wait is real, folks. 

Once the préfecture worker deems that all is good he will print you off a little piece of paper with your information and a stamp over your photo. I was able to be covered for the whole five months so I will not need to return to renew the récippisé. Et voila! You have your récipissé.