Do you actually need a titre de séjour?
Not everyone in France needs a titre de séjour. EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens don't need one (though they can apply for a voluntary registration card). Non-EU nationals staying longer than 3 months do need one. If you entered France on a long-stay visa (visa de long séjour), you must register with OFII within 3 months of arrival — this is your first mandatory step before applying for a titre de séjour.
The OFII registration: your very first step
Within 3 months of arriving in France on a long-stay visa, you must register online with OFII (Office Français de l'Immigration et de l'Intégration) at ofii.fr. You'll then attend a welcome appointment (contrat d'intégration républicaine), a medical check, and receive an OFII stamp in your passport. Without this stamp, your visa is not fully validated and you cannot apply for a titre de séjour.
⚠️ Miss the 3-month OFII registration deadline and your situation becomes complicated. Do this as soon as you arrive.
Which type of titre de séjour do you need?
France has many types of residence permits. The most common for new arrivals:
- Étudiant — for students enrolled at a French university
- Salarié — for people with an employment contract
- Vie privée et familiale — for family reunification, spouses of French nationals, long-term residents
- Visiteur — for people not working but financially independent
- Passeport talent — for highly skilled workers, researchers, artists
Where to apply: your préfecture
First applications for a titre de séjour are made at the préfecture (or sous-préfecture) of your département of residence. Most require an online appointment. In large cities, wait times of 2-3 months for an appointment are common — book as early as possible.
Core documents required
- Valid long-stay visa (still valid or recently expired — within the 3-month window)
- OFII-stamped passport
- Proof of address in France less than 3 months old
- Valid passport with copies of all pages
- 2 ID photos (French standard)
- Specific documents for your permit type (employment contract, enrolment letter, etc.)
- Application fee (timbre fiscal) — check current amount at the préfecture
What happens on the day of your appointment
Arrive on time with all original documents and photocopies. The agent will review your file. If complete, they issue a récépissé and tell you when your permit will be ready for collection (usually 4-12 weeks). If documents are missing, you may be asked to come back.
The récépissé: your legal status while you wait
The récépissé proves you've applied and authorises your legal presence in France. It's renewable every 3 months while the préfecture processes your file. If you need to work during this period, check whether your récépissé authorises work — some do, some don't.