LFIA

*ANONYMOUS POST*

Nationality: American
Prefecture 75 but moving to 69 (NOTE would love not to include that we're moving to 69, even anonymously if possible)
Visa/CDS you have now: CST
Visa/CDS Validity dates: 20/7/24 to 19/7/25

We are submitting CST renewal requets and moving to a flat we have purchased at the same time. I'm hoping we can clarify several questions:

I assume we use our new address on the site, but do we need to submit a separate change of address application as well?

Do we need some sort of attestation of where we previously have been living or will it suffice to submit some document from the closing on the purchase of our new place?

Will three months of our French bank statements suffice if they show regular adequate monthly income, or should we also submit our US accounts and/or a letter from our pension fund?

FYI: According to Schengen rules your passport issue date cannot be more than 10 years ago and there must be at least 3 months of validity beyond the expected stay in Schengen.

This applies to the Schengen visa waiver countries as well.

This rule has been in place since before 2006.

This affects everyone who is not an EU citizen.

This affects those with extensions on their passports. The extensions might not be recognized for Schengen travel, even if the traveller might facially adhere to the restrictions.

If you have a residence permit for a Schengen country them you are exempt from this rule for the propose of returning home to their residence.

Some carriers do not fully understand this rule and may deny boarding when immigration may allow border entry.

Lots of people have been caught by this rule when boarding their flight. The blame lies solely on the traveller for not verifying entry restrictions before planning their trip.

Order of July 1, 2024

10 year CDS renewals are now ordered to be dematerialise. This means these renewals will be added to ANEF.

https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000049861881

Order of July 1, 2024 taken in application of article R. 431-2 of the code of entry and residence of foreigners and the right of asylum relating to residence permits for which the request is made by means of an online service

NOR: IOMV2418176A

Article 1

Are carried out using the online service mentioned in Article R. 431-2 of the Code on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners and the Right to Asylum :
1° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Articles L. 423-6 , L. 423-10 , L. 423-11 , L. 423-12 , L. 423-16 , L. 425-3 , L. 425-8 , L. 426-1 , L. 426-2 , L. 426-3 , L. 426-6 , L. 426-7 and L. 426-10 of the same code ;
2° As of July 4, 2024, applications for permanent resident cards on the basis of Article L. 426-4 of the same code ;
3° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card bearing the words “Long-term resident-EU” provided for in Articles L. 421-12 , L. 421-25 and L. 426-17 of the same code ;
4° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year residence certificate provided for in Articles 7 bis and 7 ter of the Franco-Algerian Agreement on the movement, employment and residence of Algerian nationals and their families of December 27, 1968, as amended;
5° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Articles 1 and 3 of the Franco-Moroccan Agreement on Residence and Employment of October 9, 1987;
6° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Articles 1, 3, 9 and 10 of the Franco-Tunisian Agreement on Residence and Work of March 17, 1988, as amended;
7° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Article 11 of the Franco-Burkinabe Convention on the Movement and Residence of Persons of September 14, 1992;
8° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Article 11 of the Franco-Beninese Convention on the Movement and Residence of Persons of December 21, 1992;
9° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Article 12 of the Franco-Cameroonian Convention on the Movement and Residence of Persons of January 24, 1994;
10° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Article 11 of the Franco-Central African Convention on the Movement and Residence of Persons of September 26, 1994;
11° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Article 11 of the Franco-Congolese Convention on the Movement and Residence of Persons of July 31, 1993;
12° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Article 11 of the Franco-Ivorian Convention on the Movement and Residence of Persons of September 21, 1992;
13° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Article 11 of the Franco-Senegalese Convention on the Movement and Residence of Persons of August 1, 1995;
14° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Article 11 of the Franco-Malian Convention on the Movement and Residence of Persons of September 26, 1994;
15° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Article 11 of the Franco-Mauritanian Convention on the Movement and Residence of Persons of October 1, 1992;
16° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Article 10 of the Franco-Nigerian Convention on the Movement and Residence of Persons of June 24, 1994;
17° As of July 4, 2024, applications for renewal of the ten-year resident card provided for in Article 11 of the Franco-Togolese Convention on the Movement and Residence of Persons of June 13, 1996.

Versions
Related links
Article 2

This decree appears in Annex 9 of the Code on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners and the Right to Asylum , which it supplements with regard to the residence permits in question.

Versions
Related links
Article 3

This decree is applicable to Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin.

Versions
Article 4

This decree will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.

Versions

Done on July 1, 2024.

The Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories,
For the Minister and by delegation:
The Director General of Foreigners in France,
E. Jalon

The Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories, responsible for Overseas Territories,
For the Minister and by delegation:
The Director General of Overseas Territories,
O. Jacob

Arrêté du 1er juillet 2024 pris en application de l'article R. 431-2 du code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile relatif aux titres de séjour dont la demande s'effectue au moyen d'un téléservice - Légifrance Arrêté du 1er juillet 2024 pris en application de l'article R. 431-2 du code de l'entrée et du séjour ...

Constitutional Council has issued its rulings for the 3 challenges to the new Immigration law.

More to come.

Romania and Bulgaria to partially join Schengen March 31 2024

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_6861

The Commission welcomes today's unanimous decision by the Council to welcome Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen area, starting with lifting controls at air and sea borders as of March 2024. Their accession will boost travel, trade and tourism and will further consolidate the internal market. Discussions on a further decision to lift controls at land borders will continue in 2024. An enlarged Schengen area will make the EU stronger as a Union, internally and on the global stage.

President von der Leyen said: “Today marks a historic moment for Bulgaria and Romania. And a day of great pride for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens. As of March, they will be able to freely cross internal sea and air borders, without border controls. This is a major step forward for both countries and for the Schengen area as a whole. Congratulations to Bulgaria and Romania: this great achievement is possible thanks to your hard work, commitment and perseverance. Thanks to you the Schengen area will become even stronger to the benefit of all EU citizens.”

Bulgaria and Romania are ready to join the Schengen area. The Commission first confirmed that both Bulgaria and Romania were ready to become part of the Schengen area without internal border controls in 2011. Since then, Bulgaria and Romania have continued to demonstrate that they fulfil the conditions for becoming Schengen members. This was reconfirmed by three fact finding missions at the Bulgarian and Romanian external borders in 2022 and 2023. The Commission also launched pilot projects with Romania and Bulgaria in March 2023 to boost external border management, reinforce cooperation with neighbouring countries and ensure fast asylum and return procedures.

The Schengen area is also ready to welcome Bulgaria and Romania. In the last decade, the EU has worked to reinforce the architecture that protects the area without internal border controls. A series of measures in the field of security, police and judicial cooperation have been introduced to ensure that the EU remains strong against security threats. The Schengen area is now also supported by a new governance model, a new evaluation mechanism and an annual cycle of reporting and monitoring. The joint efforts made in recent years have made Schengen stronger and more resilient.

This ninth enlargement of the Schengen area both confirms and reinforces the mutual trust and unity between Member States on which Schengen is built and will help to advance this essential project. It will make the Union stronger through a reinforced protection of our common external borders and effective police cooperation – more prosperous by eliminating time lost at borders and facilitating people and business contacts – and more attractive by significantly expanding the world's largest common area without internal border controls.

Next steps

Discussions on a date for a possible lifting of the checks on persons at internal land borders will continue in 2024 and a decision by the Council on this matter is expected to be taken within a reasonable time frame.

To assist Bulgaria and Romania in protecting the external borders of the Union, substantial financial support and Frontex assistance will continue to be provided. At the same time, the pilot projects developed by Bulgaria and Romania at the external borders have proven effective and should be turned into more structural arrangements.

Background

Europe's Schengen area of free movement is one of its greatest achievements and one that EU citizens cherish most. What started as an intergovernmental project between five Member States in 1985 – France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg – has gradually expanded over seven enlargement stages to become what is today the largest area of free movement in the world. The benefits of abolishing internal borders remain as compelling today as they were in 1985.

The Schengen area comprises 27 countries and extends over 4 million square kilometers with a population of almost 420 million people. With Romania and Bulgaria, the Schengen area will grow to 4.5 million square kilometers with a population of 450 million.

The Schengen area is an integral part of the EU's legal framework. According to the Treaties all EU Member States of the EU need to become, when ready, full members of the Schengen area. This is both a right and an obligation. Both Bulgaria and Romania have proven to have a model track record of implementation. With Romania and Bulgaria, Schengen only becomes stronger. Voluntary fact-finding missions in 2022 in Bulgaria and Romania, and the latest mission in 2023 in Bulgaria only reinforced their readiness.

The Draft Law for Immigration and Integration has been referred to the Constitutional Council on December 26 by 60+ deputies.

https://www.senat.fr/dossier-legislatif/pjl22-304.html

3 - REFERRAL TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL
The law passed by Parliament can be referred to the Constitutional Council by the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the president of each of the assemblies, 60 deputies or 60 senators. Referral to the Constitutional Council suspends the promulgation until it has ruled, the provisions declared unconstitutional cannot be promulgated.
It happens that the President of the Republic refers the provisions declared contrary to the Constitution to Parliament so that it can purge them of their unconstitutionality before the promulgation of the final text (a fairly rare procedure, which then takes the route of new deliberation); most often, at the end of the Constitutional Council, the law is promulgated as it is, amputated of the provisions declared contrary to the Constitution, even if these provisions are subsequently represented, if their censorship results from a procedural reason.

Source: https://www.senat.fr/connaitre-le-senat/role-et-fonctionnement/la-procedure-legislative.html

Immigration et intégration - Sénat projet de loi pour contrôler l'immigration, améliorer l'intégration

Immigration and Integration (PJL) Draft Law

Final Provisional Text has been published FINALLY!

This is a rubric which shows all the changes from the original draft, the Senate version, the Assemby Nationale version, the Joint Commission version, and the final adopted version.
https://www.senat.fr/tableau-historique/pjl22-304.html

All of the various versions created confusion, including by me quoting a few cancelled amendments when erronously examining an old version!

Immigration et intégration (PJL) - La loi en construction - Sénat Le chapitre III du titre II du livre Ier du code de l’entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d’asile est ainsi modifié :

Regarding the new immigration bill:

Habitual Residence is explicitly defined:

« Art.L.433‑. – A foreigner is considered to be habitually residing in France: 1‑3
“1° Who has transferred the center of his private and family interests there;
"2° And who stays there for at least six months during the calendar year, during the last three years preceding the submission of the application or, if the period of the valid title is less than three years, during the total validity period of the title. »;

This is incredibly important as while it is referred to it is not clearly defined within the CESEDA and one must refer to several other Codes to determine the meaning. Also, habitual residence is defined differently regarding different contexts, such as for family law and international tax law as well as domestic tax law and domestic driver's license. It is incredibly complicated and many lawsuits have been decided based on the various interpretations of what habitual residence means in that specific context.

On this account I intend on discussing and clarifying important points in French immigration law.

General questions should be directed towards the private group Legal France Immigration Answers (Visa / CDS / Nationality / License)

PROJET DE LOI pour contrôler l’immigration, améliorer l’intégration

ASSEMBLÉE NATIONALE
CONSTITUTION DU 4 OCTOBRE 1958
SEIZIÈME LÉGISLATURE

19 décembre 2023

Source: https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/16/dossiers/alt/DLR5L16N47118

Provisional Adopted Text of the Assemblee Nationale https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/16/textes/l16t0220_texte-adopte-provisoire.pdf

The Legislative Procedure


The French legislative procedure is organized, in a very classic way, into three successive phases:

1. the phase of preparation of the bill by the Government;
2. the parliamentary phase of analysis, discussion and vote on the bill or proposed law;
3. the post-parliamentary phase, which normally leads to the promulgation of the law.

That being said, the logic of the 1958 Constitution, according to which “ the Government determines and conducts the policy of the nation ” has printed a rather particular aspect of the legislative procedure, because in such a system, it is important that the Government has the possibility of obtaining from Parliament the vote of the laws necessary for the implementation of its policy.

Also:
- By law, members of the National Assembly and the Senate have, like the Government, the right of legislative initiative. In practice, however, the largest part of French legislation comes from bills tabled by the Government, even if parliamentary initiative is known however, a certain revival since the constitutional revision of July 23, 2008.

- The two assemblies which make up the Parliament have, in principle, identical legislative powers: any bill or proposed law must therefore be examined successively in the two assemblies until the end of the year. until they agree on the wording of the text. But this competence must not risk leading to the text becoming bogged down in the event of persistent disagreement between the two assemblies. In such a case, the Government has the power to force the assemblies to seek a compromise and, if this search fails, to ask the National Assembly to rule definitively on the text.

- The Government has control of the procedure thanks to various techniques allowing it to group votes, to take responsibility for the vote on a text (before the National Assembly), to oppose inadmissibility to parliamentary amendments, etc.

- The current legislative procedure is finally the result of a long process of simplification whose constant aim has been to limit the occasions of parliamentary guerrilla warfare or repetitive ballots: this is how, for example, each assembly, at each reading, only pronounces once on the entire text and that been deleted, from 1871, the various deliberations relating, for the same reading, to the same text (taking into consideration the submission of the text; discussion of the general principles; discussion of the articles and amendments; vote on the whole), deliberations which, previously, each gave rise to a vote.

Drafting the bill

1. Each bill is prepared, in France, by the services of the ministry responsible for the subject dealt with: there is therefore no central service responsible for drafting the bills, a service to which the different ministries would in some way place orders. If the subject covered falls under the jurisdiction of several ministries, a lead ministry is designated.

2. When negotiations or arbitrations are necessary, interministerial meetings are convened at the headquarters of the Prime Minister, the secretariat of these meetings being provided by the General Secretariat of the Government (S.G.G.), the regulatory body of the normative activity of the Government which monitors the progress of the legislative process from the drafting of the preliminary bill to its promulgation.

3. When this preliminary draft has reached its final version, it is obligatorily transmitted to the Council of State, responsible for formulating an opinion on this text. The Council of State, legal advisor to the Government, verifies in particular the conformity with the Constitution of the project, the quality of its drafting and its proper insertion in the existing legal corpus. The opinion of the Council of State is only advisory in nature. Now it is generally made public.

4. Once this opinion has been given and any corrections have been made to the text, the bill is submitted to the Council of Ministers which deliberates on it and decides to place it on the Bureau of one of the assemblies, accompanied by #39;an impact study.

5. It must be emphasized that the preparation of a bill often requires consultation of numerous organizations, consultations which lengthen significantly sometimes very sensitive the process of drafting the project. In particular, texts of interest to overseas local authorities must have been submitted for the opinion of their deliberative assembly.

6. In comparison, the submission of a bill, parliamentary initiative, is very simple compared to that of a bill since none of the steps mentioned above is then necessary. This is why, in certain cases, the Government may find it advantageous (and above all faster) to support a proposed law that it favors rather than developing a project itself. Nevertheless, the president of an assembly may submit for opinion to the Council of State, before its examination in committee, a bill tabled by one of the members of this assembly, unless the latter opposes it.

The parliamentary phase
A - Typical diagram of the examination of a text by an assembly
1 - Before the public session
a - Choice of the assembly on whose desk the bill is deposited
The Government is free to make this choice except for certain texts for which the Constitution itself determines the Assembly for submission: finance bills and social security financing bills (submission to the National Assembly) and bills having as their main purpose the organization of local authorities and bills relating to the bodies of representatives of French people established outside France (deposited in the Senate). In practice, the deposits tend to be distributed approximately equally, depending on the periods and the importance of the texts, between the two assemblies.

Of course, when it comes to a bill, it is submitted to the Bureau of the assembly of which its author is a member.

b - Sending the text to a committee
Depending on its subject, the project or proposal is entrusted for examination to one of the permanent commissions that each assembly has (eight for the National Assembly and seven for the Senate), the others being able to be referred to for notice. There is also the possibility of setting up a special commission, either if the Government requests it or if a problem of competence appears between the different permanent commissions, but this possibility is rarely used in practice.

c - Appointment of a rapporteur
The commission appoints a rapporteur from among its members for each text. There is therefore no position of rapporteur responsible for reporting all the texts submitted to the committee. However, the Finance Committee has a “general rapporteur” who summarizes, during the examination of the finance law, the conclusions of the special rapporteurs each responsible for examining the appropriations of the different ministerial departments ; this function also exists within the Social Affairs Committee.

d - Functions of the rapporteur
Within the committees of French assemblies, the rapporteur plays a much more active and determining role than in many other parliaments, where he is limited, essentially, to reporting the decisions of his committee. In France, the rapporteur guides and informs the decisions of his committee which, in most cases, relies on his opinions and approves his proposed amendments.

To prepare his work, the rapporteur carries out, alone or in committee, all the necessary hearings and, following this work, prepares a draft report and, if necessary, proposals for action. amendments. He is assisted, for this work, by officials assigned to the secretariat of the commission to which he belongs.

e - Examination of the report and amendments
A first meeting of the commission must be held at least two weeks before the discussion of the text in plenary session, unless an exception is granted by the Conference of Presidents.

The committee sets a deadline for the submission of amendments in committee, with the exception of texts for which the Constitution has provided that the text discussed in session would be that presented by the Government: draft constitutional revisions, draft finance law and social security financing bills.

Amendments can be tabled by the rapporteur, by any senator, individually or on behalf of a group, whether or not they are a member of the committee, and by the Government.

After voting on these amendments, the committee adopts the report of its rapporteur, which reflects the discussions in committee and presents the text proposed by the committee and the opinions of the groups. It adopts, where appropriate, its text, which is the subject of a separate publication.

Just before the discussion of the text in plenary session, or during it, on the occasion of a suspension of session, the committee generally holds a new meeting allowing it to decide on the amendments tabled on the commission's text for discussion in session. However, it happens that the Government only presents its amendments at the very last moment, there being no time limit imposed on it in this matter, so that the committee does not always have the time to do so. become aware of them before their discussion in plenary session.

2 - The progress of the plenary session
a - Setting the agenda
The agenda is set by the Senate (first paragraph of article 48 of the Constitution) on the basis of the conclusions of the Conference of Presidents, which brings together, in addition to the minister responsible for relations with Parliament, the president and the vice-presidents of the assembly, the presidents of the standing (and, where applicable, special) committees, the president of the European Affairs Committee, the general rapporteurs of the finance and social affairs committees and the presidents of the political groups.

Subject to the priority inclusion on the agenda, at the request of the Government, of finance bills, social security financing bills, texts transmitted by the other assembly for six weeks at least, projects relating to states of crisis and requests for authorization referred to in Article 35 of the Constitution, the weeks of sessions are distributed according to the rhythm of two government weeks/two senatorial weeks, the first, of control, the second, of initiative. In addition, one sitting day per month – in principle during senatorial initiative weeks – is reserved for an agenda set at the initiative of opposition and minority groups.

b - The structure of the discussion
General, open discussion, regarding a bill, by the minister then the rapporteur, during which everyone presents their opinion on the text. This general discussion is generally limited in its overall duration and organized in such a way as to distribute the overall duration of the discussion between the groups, in proportion to their numbers.

Examination of possible procedural motions: objection of inadmissibility and preliminary question, the adoption of which is equivalent to the rejection of the text, referral to the committee.

Discussion of the articles, article by article, and, for each of them, the amendments and sub-amendments relating to it, called from the furthest from the text under discussion to those which remain closest to it, the competing amendments being, with some exceptions, put for joint discussion. It is voted on successively on each amendment then on each article.

c - The vote on the whole
Only summary explanations of vote not exceeding 2 minutes per person are permitted, before the vote as a whole, unless otherwise decided by the Conference of Presidents. The vote takes place either by show of hands, by sitting and standing, or by ordinary public ballot, for certain cases provided for by the Rules of the Senate or at the request of a group president or the Government.

B - Shuttle and resolution of disagreements
Any text must be examined successively by the two assemblies until a common text is adopted. It is this referral from one assembly to another which is called “shuttle”. As the shuttle progresses, each assembly only has to decide on the provisions remaining under discussion, that is to say those which have not yet done so. subject to agreement. Any wording on which the two assemblies have reached agreement therefore no longer appears in the debates at the next reading, the discussion being limited to points of disagreement (so-called “funnel” principle).

Theoretically, the shuttle continues, until there is spontaneous agreement between the two assemblies on all the provisions of the project or proposal. There is nevertheless a mechanism allowing the Government to shorten the shuttle: after two readings in each assembly (or a single reading, if the Government has decided to initiate the accelerated procedure), the Government can call the meeting of #39;a conciliation commission, called the joint joint commission (it is made up of seven deputies and seven senators), responsible for proposing a text on the provisions remaining under discussion.

Two cases can then arise:

- if the joint commission develops a compromise and this compromise is approved by both assemblies, the text becomes final and is transmitted for promulgation;

- if the joint commission fails to develop a compromise or if this compromise is not ratified by the two assemblies, the Government may decide, after a new reading in each assembly, to ask the National Assembly to rule definitively. In this case, the National Assembly rules by simple majority but it can only either take up the text drawn up by the mixed commission, if one exists, or take up the last text voted by it, modified. if necessary by one or more of the amendments adopted by the Senate.

The Post-Parliamentary Phase

1 - Promulgation
The most normal case is that of the promulgation of the law by the President of the Republic within fifteen days following the transmission to the Government of the law definitively adopted. Within this period, however, two events may occur that could delay or prevent the promulgation of the law:

2 - New deliberation
The President of the Republic may ask Parliament for a new deliberation of the law or certain of its articles. This faculty, which is exercised by decree countersigned by the Prime Minister, has been implemented very rarely since 1958.

3 - Referral to the constitutional Council
The law passed by Parliament can be referred to the Constitutional Council by the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the president of each of the assemblies, 60 deputies or 60 senators. Referral to the Constitutional Council suspends the promulgation until it has ruled, the provisions declared unconstitutional cannot be promulgated.

It happens that the President of the Republic refers the provisions declared contrary to the Constitution to Parliament so that it can purge them of their unconstitutionality before the promulgation of the final text (a fairly rare procedure, which then takes the route of new deliberation); most often, at the end of the Constitutional Council, the law is promulgated as it is, amputated of the provisions declared contrary to the Constitution, even if these provisions are subsequently represented, if their censorship results from a procedural reason.

Procedural provisions specific to certain ordinary laws

The development of certain ordinary laws, while respecting the general outline of the legislative procedure as just outlined, is governed by specific procedural provisions relating to the very object of the law. these laws. This is the case for the development of laws authorizing the ratification of an international commitment (article 47 of the Rules of the Senate) or the procedure for legislative authorization and ratification of orders provided for in article 38 of the Constitution.

- Laws authorizing the ratification or approval of an international agreement;
- Laws relating to ordinances of Article 38 of the Constitution: legislative authorization and ratification.