To apply for family reunification, you must be in this situation:

• You have refugee or stateless person status or you have subsidiary protection in France
• You have a residence permit or proof of application for a residence permit (a certificate of extension of processing).
• You were married, in a civil partnership , or living as a couple before applying for asylum in France
• You declared your family members to the OFPRA at the time of your asylum application.

If you are in this situation, some members of your family may be able to join you as part of a family reunification:

• Your husband, wife, civil partner (if over 18), or the person with whom you lived as a couple in another country before arriving in France. Please note that you must be able to prove that you had a stable and continuous life together before applying for asylum in France.
• Children of your couple under 19 years of age and unmarried, born before or after your asylum application
• Your children under 19 years of age born from previous relationships, for whom you have custody following a foreign court decision
• Children under 19 years of age of your current husband or wife, civil partner, or former partner, for whom he or she has custody following a foreign court order. Please note that you must be able to attach the official document of the court order and authorization from the other parent allowing the minor child to come to France.

After verifying that family reunification is possible, you must prepare a long-stay visa application file.

This file will be to be submitted by members of your family to the French embassy or consulate closest to their home (in their country of origin or in their country of installation). -> See step 4.

For the family reunification file, each member of your family must apply for a long-stay visa and add several documents.

Documents concerning your family member:

• One long-stay visa application form per person
• 2 identity photographs conforming to the European format (see the Réfugiés.info sheet “Make an e-photo” )
• The full copy of the birth certificate from the country of origin accompanied by the sworn translation (see the Réfugiés.info sheet “Request the official translation of a document” )
• Copy of the marriage certificate from the country of origin OR a document which proves the stability and continuity of the family bond
• The equivalent of €99 per person in local currency (according to exchange rate in effect at the time of payment)
• A passport or travel document that must still be valid for at least 3 months after the visa end date.

Documents about you to add to the files of your family members:

• The reference of your OFPRA file or failing that CNDA OR a copy of your residence permit with your status as refugee, stateless person or beneficiary of subsidiary protection
• Your current postal address in France. Please note, if you change your postal address, do not forget to notify the Office for Refugee Families.

The visa application for family reunification can be submitted as soon as the Ofpra has granted you protection.

First, you need to go to the website France-visas.gouv.fr and create an account .

Choose the country in which the visa application will be filed, the "long stay" visa, the "family or private settlement" project (major or minor), the reason "child or spouse or partner, or father/mother of a refugee, beneficiary of subsidiary protection or stateless person".

Then, the information need to be completed.

France Visas directs your family members to the nearest French consulate or embassy in their country of origin or a neighboring country.

To find out where your family can submit the application, select their country by clicking here.

Once your pre-application is validated on the France Visas website, you will receive a receipt. To finalize your application, you must then schedule an appointment to provide your fingerprints and pay for the visa.

Once your family has submitted their visa application, the Refugee Family Office of the Visa Sub-Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior will send you a form concerning your marital and family situation to complete, sign and return by mail to this address:

Ministère de l'Intérieur
Direction générale des étrangers en France
Sous-direction des visas
Bureau des familles de réfugiés
11, rue de la Maison Blanche
44036 Nantes Cedex 1

This form requires you to send several documents:

• a double-sided copy of your residence permit or proof of application for a residence permit (or certificate of extension of processing)
• proof of your current address
• all the "elements of possession of status". These are unofficial proofs, but they show the family link: photos, message conversations, call history, gift list, videos of ceremonies, Western Union money transfer receipts (if they are not in the person's name, a statement on plain paper from the recipient, saying that they received the money and explaining why they cannot go and collect it themselves: no identity document, no possibility of traveling...).

To track the progress of your visa application, you can complete this online form: https://www.france-visas.gouv.fr/formulaire-de-contact-bfr

Before your family arrives in France

If the visa is granted to members of your family, a visa sticker will then be affixed to their travel document.

Upon your family's arrival in France

Your family must then go to the prefecture no later than 2 months after arrival to be registered and apply for a residence permit.
> Read: the Refugees.info fact sheet "Obtaining a residence permit"

The consulate or embassy may refuse the visa application for several reasons:

• if you or your family do not meet the conditions for family reunification
• if the family link could not be proven
• if the arrival of your family constitutes a threat to public order
• if you do not respect the essential principles of family life in France (for example: prohibition of polygamy).

If the visa is refused:

1. You can send an appeal within 1 month, by mail to this address:
   Commission de recours contre les décisions de refus de visa d’entrée en France
   BP 83.609 - 44036 Nantes Cedex 1
2. If you do not receive a response after 2 months, you can file a request with the Administrative Court of Nantes.You must send a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt to this address:
   
   Tribunal Administratif de Nantes
   6 allée de l’Île-Gloriette BP 24111
   44041 Nantes Cedex 01