Ten-Year Residence Card - The Interview

Ten-Year Residence Card - The Interview

Two days ago, just over a week (a week that includes Christmas!!!) after my Carte de Séjour appointment, someone from the préfecture called (yes, called! No text, no email, no snail mail). She wanted me to come in for an interview, to see if I was integrated enough to get the 10-year residence card (instead of 2 years). Even more surprising, she suggested the next morning! I said that afternoons were better, and so we agreed on the day after!

I was so prepared! And so early! My interview for a 10-year residence card started exactly on time, and lasted less than 10 minutes. It's purpose is to determine if you are integrated enough in French life, so there are a variety of questions they can draw from. Others who have recently succeeded had reported questions such as:
- what is the motto of France, and what does it mean to you?
- what are some symbols of France?
- can you sing the national anthem?
- name a king from French history, and discuss some details
- current politics: name of president, prime minister, previous ones, mayor, préfet, etc
- geography: name rivers, mountains, cities; name countries and seas that form France's boundaries
- your life in France: why do you live here? Do you work? Work-related questions
- what associations and clubs do you belong to?
- what are your plans for the future?

Well, I had answers and expansions for all of those (although I had an excuse for not knowing the actual lyrics for La Marseillaise). But I got only basic questions on current politics and geography, and no follow-ups when I said I was retired.
In addition, my interviewer asked:
- what language do you speak at home? (ack! I had to say English, it's the language from our life together; but also some French). She didn't look completely thrilled at that...
- do you watch television? (not much); what channel has an oak tree as a logo (I don't know; I watch some news on channels 1, 2, and 3, and a detective show with subtitles) **
- name a regional newspaper (uuuummmm, Le Monde?); Midi-Libre, with a smile (ah, yes, of course)
- can I vote? (this was confusing; I said, you? If you are a citizen, then yes). I got another smile.
- do I fill out papers by myself? (hmmm. also confusing. I pay taxes with my husband.) ok
- do you drive? you have a license? (yes)
- do you go grocery shopping? (in fact, I do this with my husband also; we're like Siamese twins). I got a little laugh at that one.

At the end, she said I qualified (I passed, with a "très bien !"), and my French was good! I asked if the police would come by, and she said it was obligatory (to confirm a real marriage). I mentioned that we had plans to be away in Spring, and she said as long as we were there in the next 3 months, there was no problem.

And now? This!

More Bubbly!

~~~
** UPDATE: After my at-home recap, Rick looked for an oak tree logo - nothing! So *probably* what happened is I heard "chêne" (masculin, oak tree), but she said "chaîne" (féminin, TV channel) - she was just asking what channel (aka canal) I watch, and I answered. LOL, sometimes it does pay to over-answer a question!
BTW, "chêne" and "chaine" are pronounced *exactly* the same way. The only key to which it is would be to hear une/un or some different-sounding-maculin-feminin adjective. So I don't feel too bad :-)

Christmas Eve Chez Nous

Christmas Eve, at our house

It was pretty laid back, a nice mix of traditions. I had a kir royal (although I prefer crémant with my créme de cassis),

Kir Royal

and we experimented with a pintade farcie (Guinea Fowl, semi-de-boned and stuffed with a mix of other meats and flavorings),

Guinea Fowl - Yummy!

alongside our traditional spicy carrots and cheesey broccoli.

Even though we started near 8:00 (normal for us here), that was much earlier than the French Christmas Eve tradition of midnight! And our dinner was much less elaborate, but very nice :-)

Christmas Season

Sète was leading up to Christmas with weekends full of mini-parades, music, and decorations; we decided to check it out!

On our way home, we couldn't resist a taste of a tradition or two: on the right, a bûchette (a small part of a Bûche de Noël, or Yule Log), on the left, a chocolate éclair (our own French tradition, falling any time during the year)

Winter Sky

Winter Sky

Titre de Séjour - Residence Card

Titre de Séjour - Residence Card

When I first checked in with OFII (the French office of immigration and integration), the official told me to go online at the end of October for a "Titre de Séjour" appointment some time in December (but certainly before my visa expired at the end of January). She also said to make sure to complete all of my contract of integration elements and bring the certificates to that appointment. I'm glad she did, because those aren't on the online list, and are clearly important!

So, I had this note in my calendar - make appointment:
Check dossier needs
For December +/-
http://www.herault.gouv.fr/Prendre-un-rendez-vous
Read: http://southtosud.com/renewing-my-visa-carte-de-sejour-in-france/

And, October 27, I went online - sure enough, all slots were full except December 15 (mornings only, 12 minutes each!). I grabbed one, and started getting my dossier together.

I kept re-reading SouthToSud's posts - our situations are very similar, so this detailed accounting was very helpful!

This is the starting point for finding the all-important list of items required for my dossier: http://accueil-etrangers.gouv.fr many clicks later, my list looked like this (Someone else's list will, of course, be quite different):
- Visa page of passport
- Justificatif d’état civil et de nationalité :
-- passport id page and entry stamp
-- birth certificate
-- marriage certificate (we could order the French version, for free!)
- Justificatif de domicile = electric bill (less than 3 months old)
- Justificatif d’acquittement du droit de timbre au moment de la remise du titre.*
- 3 recent photos (no copies)**
- Medical cerificate from when I went to OFII for my vignette. ***
- Marriage certificate (again)
- Rick's French ID card
- Communauté de vie = a form letter stating that we have actually lived together as a married couple. Also, any documents that will help prove this, such as rent receipts or utility bills in both names. Twenty-five years is a long time to have to prove...
-- maybe also tax returns, old USA house mortgage, bills, bank statements...

Other items to include:
- All other OFII documents, Class certificates, DELF certificate
- appointment printout
- list printout

And, make sure everything on the list is an original, and include a copy to leave with them.

~~~
* So, I misread one item - I thought I had to have the stamps (timbres) for my dossier appointment. We looked online (as we were able to buy them this way for my visa), but! look at what happened - the official website that says what timbre we need links to where to buy them. And they aren't listed as a choice!

More, the FAQ on how to buy them even shows a screenshot of the available types - and it includes ours!

Can you say broken?
Well, not to worry; "every" tabac sells them...
We ran all over town asking at tabac after tabac for them. Each and every one said "no, we don't sell those - try the one just over there!"
I finally remembered that I had seen a similar question on one of my forums, and searched - bingo! You can buy them at the préfecture (mornings only) or at the tabac nearby.
And, the post definitely said (confirmed by a more careful translation of the list) that the timbre is needed to pick up the card, not to request it :-)

** I also needed another set of official photos. I kept putting it off, thinking that it was a good excuse to finally get my hair cut, then putting off the haircut (haven't decided on a place to try; ok, I'm intimidated by the whole process). Time was running out, and my bangs were getting out of hand; with a party to go to on Sunday, I broke out the scissors and made a chop or two (yeah, the coiffeuse can fix it; I can hear the tsk tsk tsk already). Now I have less than a week till my appointment - busy Monday and Tuesday, maybe aim for haircut Wednesday, photo Thursday, appointment Friday. Plans are meant to change - Tuesday, I woke up a little under the weather, Wednesday was worse. Then Rick got it. And we're low on sicky food. Thursday, I convinced myself I was not so bad, and hoofed it to the grocery store - where there is a photo booth :-) I got my photos! My hair behaved, and I *hardly* look sick at all! Good thing, because this is what I'll be carrying around as ID for 10 years (if I'm lucky) =-O

Oh yes, I also got food. And yes, there is a photo booth at the préfecture, just in case.

*** This was listed. But fortunately, not only did I remember that my OFII agent had told me that I would need the other documents (especially the contract of integration) from that day as well as my Class certificates and any language certificates (yay, DELF diplôme !), but my go-to blogger also mentioned it.

~~~~~~~~
Day of: it's a cold, windy, grey, miserable day, I'm still sick. It takes all morning to get to Montpellier when you have to be there at a given time (just in case any of the buses or trains are late), and I got there about an hour before my appointment. I had plenty of time to ask all sorts of administrative questions (no, the préfecture no longer sells the timbres needed for a card, but the tabac across the square does) :-)  Then! it's my turn. And they ask where my husband is?!?
Apparently, they need to witness his signature on the yes-we-live-together document...
Well, after I got my jaw back in place, I explained that he was sick; I showed his ID and the signed document, but, no, they need to witness it. No budging. OK, well the good news is that I don't have to try for another appointment waaay out there. They arrange for us to all get together the next week (this time in the afternoon - yay!). And I snapped this on the way out of town

~~~~~~~~
The Other Day of: it's a significantly nicer day - sunny, and less wind. There was still a lot of waiting-around time, but we were together. We had about an hour to kill in Montpellier, so we investigated the tabac near the préfecture - sure enough, the cashier confirmed that I could buy my timbres/stamps there when the time comes (and a credit card is fine).
At the préfecture, we sat and relaxed - I set an alarm for 5 minutes before the appointment time so I wouldn't constantly distract myself watching the clock. Well, our appointment was pretty anticlimactic - we showed our IDs, then spent a few minutes tossing documents around. She took all the copies, hardly glanced at the originals (quite the opposite of my original visa appointment), and didn't care at all to see any of our life-together documents (I had a scattering of documents from 1998, 2005, and 2015). I goofed on my visa though - I had a copy of my original visa, but not of my vignette! (that's the second half, put in my passport by OFII). "Pas grave" (not a bad problem), madame took my passport and made her own copy. We signed the we-live-together document, and madame asked if Rick was feeling better (yeah, she remembered he was sick!). A few minutes later, she returned with my récépissé (receipt and temporary document). I asked if I could apply for the 10 year card, and she said it was up to her boss. So I didn't get an appointment for an interview, unlike she-who-has-gone-before. On our way out, I apologized for putting her out, and thanked her for seeing us on an irregular basis - she said, oh no, it's my job! It's not a problem! :-)

~~~
What's next? I expect a few bumps along the way, so these are some things that might happen:
- maybe/hopefully an interview for my 10 year residence card. Probably in about a month. I'm not sure if I'll get a text for it, or how they'll tell me about it. I'll have to brush up on all things French... (UPDATE: it was less than 2 weeks, and I'm approved! Read about it here)
- UPDATE: Because I live in a town outside of the territory normally covered completely by the préfecture, I also had an interview at my Mayor's office. Read about it here.
- a "surprise visit" from the gendarmes (police), so they can assure themselves that we really are married. But this would only happen if/after I have my 10-year interview (UPDATE: This also happened quickly - read about it here)
- possibly a visit to the préfecture to ask what's taking so long (I've heard of this happening, so I'm mentally prepared) ;-)
- possibly a visit or two to the préfecture to get a new récépissé (receipt and temporary card that says I'm waiting for a real card - it lets me legally stay as well as travel). My current one is good through (almost) the end of April (and I have a trip planned for May). (UPDATE: yep, here's how my 2nd récépissé trip went. I will be so glad when this is settled!) (UPDATE 2: My second récépissé is nearly expired - here's what they said...)
- an hour or two waiting in line at the préfecture (fortunately in the afternoon, 1:15-3:00, and only one line now) to pick up my card. This would follow a notification text from them, and a visit to a tabac (in Montpellier, not Sète! And not at the préfecture!) to buy the stamps. Possibly 3 months (no 10-year card), possibly 6 months if/after the 10-year interview. Possibly earlier (holding my breath?).
(FINAL UPDATE! I got my carte! The 10-year one! Seven months after my appointment! Details are here :-D)

~~~
Another update (7 January 2018): they fixed their website! Now you can buy the timbres online:
https://timbres.impots.gouv.fr/pages/achat/choixSeries.jsp

End of the Year Parties!

It's coming up on the end of the year, which means - Parties!!

In France, this means food, wine, and music! All with a lot of very nice people :-)

Today, my hiking club had their party - and oh, what fun it was!

We started off with a bus ride to a restaurant on the étang - first a greeting, then a photo show of all the different hikes, then the "brasucade" - grilled mussels this time - yum! (This is what was left, as I was too busy beforehand to get a picture)

Then came the charcuterie and fruit de mer (basically cured meats and seafood) - isn't that pretty!

Wine and the picture slideshow continued throughout, and dancing punctuated the courses

I completely missed a photo op of the guardien de taureau (it was yummy, of course), then came the cheese

And champagne (with dessert, which was also demolished before a photo could be had)

We finished with coffee, then piled back into the bus. Today's lunch was from about 10:30 to 5:30 ;-)

November Outings

November felt like a month for resting - I didn't post much, even though we did get out and about!

We finally made it to a coffee morning with a group of Anglophones who live in and around Sète. It's a nice bunch of people, and more than a few like to paint!

There was a very pleasant brunch to celebrate the Beaujolais Nouveau at our "welcome" club. The grapes from this year's harvest are processed by a quick-ferment method, and the "new wine" is always released on the third Thursday of November - immediately followed by a lot of parties! This is more of a celebration of the wine grape harvest than anything else - and everyone seems to enjoy insulting the wine (while drinking and toasting, of course)!

This same group organized a tour of the Opera house in Montpellier - we met at the train station, piled in, toured the opera house, then had lunch (across the street, at the theater bistro - very typical French). Some stayed on to do some shopping in the "big city," and some walked around to enjoy the sites.

Our tour guide, knowing we were from Sète, mentioned that The Théâtre Molière was the "little brother" of this opera house. You can see why on my previous post about it here.

Model

Model

Model, interior

Model, interior

The original Three Graces, replicated in the plaza just outside

The Stage

From the Stage

On to the related French lesson: two things are no-nos in the French theater (1) saying the word "corde" (rope), because it evokes thoughts of hangings (I asked what they do about the string section, les cordes, and they agreed that probably they were refered to individually, as in violins, Cellos, etc), and (2) using the color green, for an unknown reason - quite a contrast to USA theaters that all seem to have a green room!

It wasn't all gadding about; we stayed home (out of the cold) for various comfort food. And we tried another new fish - at the fish counter, it said "lieu noir," and it did look dark! But it seemed mild, so I took a chance - it turns out that it is Black Pollock (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollachius_virens), funnily enough, a type of whitefish :-)