France Family Reunification Visa: Bringing Spouse & Kids
最終更新日: 2026年5月21日
If you hold a French residence permit and want to bring your spouse and minor children to live with you, the route is regroupement familial (family reunification), filed with OFII. This guide walks through who qualifies in 2026, what you must prove, what it costs, and how long it takes.
Last updated: May 21, 2026
Who can sponsor a spouse and children
Family reunification is designed for non-EU nationals legally residing in mainland France who want their immediate family to join them. The rules are tighter than many applicants expect, and they have not loosened in 2026.
To sponsor your spouse and children, you (the regroupant) must meet all of the following as of 2026:
- You have lived legally in France for at least 18 months before filing.
- You hold one of these documents: a temporary residence card valid for at least 1 year, a multi-annual residence card, a 10-year Carte de Résident, an EU long-term resident card, or a valid renewal receipt (récépissé) for one of these.
- You are not in a polygamous situation. If a first wife already lives in France under your sponsorship, a second wife cannot be brought in.
- For Mayotte specifically, the rule is stricter: 3 years of legal stay with a residence permit valid at least 5 years.
EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens use a different, lighter regime (free movement of family members) and are not subject to regroupement familial. Refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection also use a separate, faster réunification familiale procedure.
Who counts as eligible family
- Spouse: must be at least 18 and legally married to you. PACS partners and unmarried cohabiting partners (concubins) are excluded from this procedure. They must use other visa categories.
- Children: your minor children under 18, including children of your spouse if you have legal custody and the other parent consents (or has lost parental rights).
If the marriage took place in France and your spouse is already on French territory legally, you may be eligible for regroupement familial sur place, but the marriage must have been celebrated in France for that path.
Income and housing requirements
The two pillars of the application are stable income and adequate housing. The prefect (after consulting OFII and your mayor) checks both before approving the file.
Income threshold
For a household of 2 or 3 people, you must show resources at least equal to the average gross monthly SMIC over the 12 months preceding the application. As of 2026 this benchmark is €1,823.03 per month. For larger households (4 or 5 people the threshold rises to 1.1 × SMIC; from 6 people, 1.2 × SMIC), check the current figure on service-public.fr.
What counts:
- Salary (net taxable), self-employment income, pensions, rental income.
- Income of your spouse if already legally working in France.
What does not count toward the threshold:
- RSA (income support)
- APL and other housing benefits
- Family allowances (allocations familiales)
- Prime d'activité
- ASS and ASPA solidarity allowances
This exclusion catches many applicants off guard. A household living comfortably with CAF top-ups can still fall short on paper.
Housing
You must prove you have, or will have on the family's arrival date, accommodation considered "normal" for a similar family in the same region. The mayor of your commune inspects the file (or sends an OFII agent to visit) and has 2 months to issue an opinion. Silence is treated as a favorable opinion.
Minimum surface area depends on the zone (zones Abis/A like Paris are smallest, zone C largest) and on family size. The exact m² thresholds should be confirmed on service-public.fr for your specific commune, as zonal rules vary.
Document checklist
The OFII file is bilingual French paperwork heavy. Missing one document restarts the clock. Prepare originals plus full copies, and have foreign civil status documents translated by a sworn translator (traducteur assermenté) and apostilled or legalized as required by your country of origin.
For the sponsor in France:
- Valid residence card (recto/verso copy)
- Passport copy
- Birth certificate (recent, translated, legalized)
- Marriage certificate (recent, translated, legalized)
- Children's birth certificates
- Proof of address: lease, recent utility bills, taxe d'habitation or taxe foncière
- Floor plan or surface attestation of the housing
- Last 12 months of payslips
- Last 3 years of tax notices (avis d'imposition)
- Employer attestation (or Kbis if self-employed)
- Bank statements (last 3 months minimum)
For the family abroad:
- Passports valid well beyond the planned move
- Birth certificates
- Children's school records (useful, not always required)
- Custody decisions if children come from a previous relationship
- Civil status documents in original + sworn translation
Keep at least two complete sets. OFII keeps one; the consulate that issues the visa will request another.
Step-by-step application process
The procedure runs in two phases: the file in France, then the visa abroad.
Phase 1: File the regroupement familial with OFII
- Download the application form from the OFII website and complete it in French.
- Submit the dossier to the OFII territorial office of your place of residence. This is filed with OFII, not directly at the prefecture. Submission can be by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt or in person, depending on the regional office.
- OFII verifies completeness and issues a receipt (attestation de dépôt).
- The mayor of your commune is consulted on housing and resources. The mayor has 2 months to respond; no answer counts as favorable.
- OFII transmits the file to the prefect with its recommendation.
- The prefect issues a decision within 6 months of the complete file being submitted. Silence at 6 months is an implicit refusal, which can be challenged.
- Approval is notified to you, to the French consulate in your spouse's country, and to OFII at destination.
Phase 2: Long-stay visa at the consulate
Once the prefect approves the application, your spouse and children apply for a long-stay visa (VLS-TS for the spouse, equivalent for the children) at the French consulate competent for their country of residence.
- Book an appointment via France-Visas.
- Pay the consular visa fee.
- Submit biometrics and supporting documents.
- Receive the visa, typically within a few weeks once OFII has signaled approval.
- Travel to France within the visa's validity.
Phase 3: Arrival in France
- Validate the VLS-TS online within 3 months of arrival on the official ANEF portal. This is when the validation tax is paid.
- Attend the OFII appointment: medical examination and signing of the Contrat d'Intégration Républicaine (CIR) for the spouse and any child aged 16 or over. The CIR includes civic training and up to 200 hours of French language instruction depending on tested level.
- After 1 year, the spouse applies at the prefecture (via ANEF) for a 1-year vie privée et familiale residence card.
For nationals of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo, bilateral agreements mean the family member receives the same type of residence permit as the sponsor, which can simplify the long term.
Fees and processing time in 2026
The 2026 finance law (Loi n° 2026-103 of 19 February 2026, Article 128) raised most immigration taxes from 1 May 2026. Budget accordingly.
Item | Amount (2026) |
|---|---|
Long-stay visa application fee (per person) | €99 |
VLS-TS validation tax, reduced rate (family reunification beneficiaries) | €100 |
VLS-TS validation tax, standard rate | €300 |
First vie privée et familiale card, reduced rate | €150 (€100 tax + €50 stamp) |
First vie privée et familiale card, standard rate | €350 (€300 tax + €50 stamp) |
Renewal of residence card, reduced rate | €100 |
Renewal of residence card, standard rate | €250 |
Regularization visa (irregular stay), with €100 non-refundable at filing | €300 |
Family reunification beneficiaries qualify for the reduced rate on the validation tax and on the first residence card. Refugees recognized by OFPRA, and EU/EEA/Swiss citizens and their non-EU family, remain exempt from these taxes.
An OFII processing fee for the family reunification dossier itself has been cited in third-party guides at around €265, but confirm the current figure directly on the OFII site before paying anything.
Total processing time from filing to family arrival typically runs 8 to 14 months: up to 6 months for the prefectoral decision, then several weeks for the visa, plus travel and OFII appointments after arrival.
Common pitfalls
- Filing too early. The 18-month residence clock starts from your first valid permit, not from your arrival in France on a short-stay visa. Filing before the threshold means automatic rejection.
- Counting CAF benefits as income. Many applicants build a budget around APL or prime d'activité and find their resources insufficient on paper.
- Undersized housing. A studio that worked for a single tenant rarely meets the surface requirement for a couple, let alone with children. Move before filing if you can.
- Marriage not transcribed. A marriage celebrated abroad must be transcribed in the French civil registry (via the consulate of the country of marriage) before it produces effects in France. Without transcription, OFII may reject the file.
- Expired civil status documents. France generally requires marriage and birth certificates issued within the last 6 months (some sources say 3 months for documents from certain countries). Old certificates get rejected.
- Missing translations. A sworn translation by a traducteur assermenté registered with a French Court of Appeal is required. Standard translation agencies do not count.
- Polygamy. A second spouse cannot join under family reunification if a first spouse is already on French territory under the sponsor's status.
- Skipping the CIR. Failing to attend OFII civic and language sessions can block the renewal of the residence card after the first year.
If you arrived on a work permit and are still navigating the broader French residency system, our guides on the salaried worker visa and on top-up health insurance (mutuelle) are useful background. If your spouse will look for work in France after arrival, the practical French CV format guide saves time.
Frequently asked questions
Can my PACS partner come through family reunification?
No. The procedure is reserved for legal spouses aged 18 or over. PACS and concubinage are excluded. PACS partners typically apply via a vie privée et familiale permit on other grounds.
Can I file from outside France for my spouse if I just arrived?
No. You must have legally lived in France for at least 18 months on a qualifying residence document before filing.
My spouse is already in France on a tourist visa. Can we apply on the spot?
Regroupement familial sur place exists, but the marriage must have been celebrated in France, and other conditions apply. In most cases, the spouse must return to their country of residence to receive the long-stay visa.
How long can children stay? Do they need their own visa?
Minor children receive a long-stay visa as part of the procedure and are documented through the family file. At 18, they apply for their own vie privée et familiale card.
What happens if the prefect doesn't reply within 6 months?
Silence after 6 months is an implicit refusal. You can challenge it via a recours gracieux to the prefect, a recours hiérarchique to the Minister of the Interior, or directly before the administrative court within 2 months of the implicit refusal.
Does my spouse get the right to work?
Yes. The VLS-TS issued under family reunification grants the right to work in France, and the subsequent vie privée et familiale card carries the same right.
What if I'm a French citizen?
You do not use family reunification. The spouse of a French national applies for a long-stay visa as conjoint de Français, which is a different (and generally faster) procedure.
Settling into French administrative life is much smoother when you can read the OFII letters, avis d'imposition, and prefecture portals yourself. If you're preparing for the move, building your French with real French content helps the daily paperwork stop feeling like a wall, and Migaku is built for learning a language from the shows, articles, and conversations you already encounter.