Residence Permit for FNL in France - the Case of a Successful Couple

"It’s not easy to make a life-changing decision and move abroad. But with my shift to freelancing and the purchase of an apartment in France, our dream came closer. Ten years ago, I couldn’t have imagined that life on the French Riviera would actually become a reality for our family!"

For Svetlana and Veniamin, moving to France had been a long-time dream. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple used their savings to buy an apartment in Nice, and that was when they first considered emigrating. With their grown children focused on their own families, only one obstacle remained on the path to their dream — work.

However, about a year before reaching out to our agency, they managed to overcome that as well. During the pandemic, both transitioned fully to remote work, making their long-desired move possible.

Case Work

For this couple in their mid-40s, we selected the French Residence for Foreign Nationals (FNL) program, having first confirmed they met all the requirements. Gathering the necessary documents took our specialists only 10 days, as most of the paperwork was already available.

The next step involved document translations and apostilles, which took an additional 10 days.

Once all formalities were completed, we scheduled their visa appointment at our office. The visa center processed everything quickly, and within just three business days, Svetlana and Veniamin had their visas in hand. All that remained was to book their tickets. A week later, we followed up with them to confirm their safe arrival in Nice.

The final step was activating their residence permits. After receiving copies of their visas with entry stamps, we submitted an application to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Three weeks later, Svetlana and Veniamin received an invitation for an interview with the Immigration Office and completed a medical examination.

A Smooth Transition to the French Dream

After reviewing Svetlana and Veniamin’s case, we determined that the FNL program was the optimal path. Since both spouses continued to work remotely and had substantial savings, the "visiteur" visitor visa was an ideal choice.

Following their example, other clients can also look forward to a swift relocation through this program. The entire process, from the visa application to residence permit activation, typically takes about 4-5 months.