Family reunification in France: the steps after arrival (VLS-TS, OFII, CPAM, CAF)

Information checked on 25 October 2026.

Your spouse and children have just arrived in France through family reunification. The spouse who received a long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit (VLS-TS) must validate it online on arrival, and within 3 months at the latest, paying a fee of €100. You then notify the OFII, which summons the family to a welcome interview and a medical exam: the certificate issued there is essential for the residence permit and for the CAF. The spouse and children over 16 sign the republican integration contract, the children start school on arrival, and the first residence permit is requested between 4 and 2 months before the visa ends.

This guide follows the order of the steps, from the airport to the first residence permit. It complements our page on arrival steps in France according to your visa. Algerian nationals fall under a separate regime, described further down.

First: which visa did your family receive?

After the prefect's approval, the OFII forwards the decision to the consulate, and each family member applies for a visa. According to the French Ministry of the Interior, the consulate then issues either a VLS-TS or a visa marked « carte de séjour à solliciter » (residence card to be applied for). The difference matters for what follows.

• VLS-TS « vie privée et familiale »: it counts as a residence permit for the first year, provided it is validated online. This is the general case for the spouse.
• Visa « carte de séjour à solliciter »: the sticker does not count as a residence permit; you must apply for a card at the prefecture. Service-public states that for Moroccan and Tunisian families, adult family members apply for their permit within 2 months of arrival.
• Minor children: they enter with a visa marked « regroupement familial » and need no residence permit while they are minors.

A useful reminder: the family must enter France within 3 months of the visas being issued, and the journey is at its own expense.

Validating the spouse's VLS-TS: on arrival, within 3 months at the latest

Validation is online only, on the website of the digital administration for foreigners in France (ANEF): administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr. You enter the visa number, the date of entry into France and the address, then pay the fee. The detailed walkthrough, valid for every VLS-TS, is in our guide to validating your VLS-TS online.

The amount: since 1 May 2026, the VLS-TS fee at the reduced rate, which applies to family reunification, is €100 (it was €50). You pay by bank card, or with an electronic tax stamp bought online or at a tobacconist.

What you get: a validation confirmation by e-mail. Keep it with the passport: it proves the stay is lawful. The validated VLS-TS allows the spouse to stay in France for the first year without applying for a permit at the prefecture.

If you are late: after 3 months, the visa no longer counts as a residence permit and the spouse is unlawfully present. If this happens to you, do not leave France and quickly contact the prefecture or an association that helps foreigners.

Notifying the OFII and answering its summons

Once the family has arrived, the ministry's page asks you to send the OFII territorial office a copy of each beneficiary's passport (identity page, visa, entry stamp), with the family reunification application number. The OFII then summons the family to a welcome interview and a medical exam.

The summons is mandatory. If a date does not suit you, you need a valid reason and must tell the OFII before the appointment.

The medical exam

It includes a general clinical exam, a vaccination check and screening for certain infectious diseases, with a chest X-ray depending on the country of origin. In countries where the OFII is represented, the exam may take place before departure: the OFII will tell you.

At the end, the doctor hands over a medical certificate. Make several copies: one for the prefecture (it is essential to obtain a residence permit), one for the CAF, which asks for it for children who entered through family reunification.

The republican integration contract (CIR)

The spouse and children over 16 sign the CIR, usually at the end of the welcome interview. The contract includes civic training in four sessions, 24 hours in total, and an assessment of French. If the level is below A2, language training is prescribed.

Since 1 January 2026, the CIR carries more weight: to obtain a multi-year card, you must have attended the training diligently, pass the civic exam (at least 32 correct answers out of 40) and prove A2 level in French. The full process, exemptions and 2026 changes are covered in our article on the OFII summons and the republican integration contract.

Health insurance: the CPAM

Minor children can be attached as dependants (ayants droit) to the parent who is already insured: that is the first step at your CPAM, with their birth certificates and passports. According to ameli, the notion of dependant no longer exists for people aged 18 and over: the adult spouse is insured in their own right.

• If the spouse works, their job opens their rights.
• If they do not work, they are covered by universal health protection (PUMa) on the basis of residence. The general rule requires stable residence of 3 months in France. Some categories are exempt; ask your CPAM whether family reunification exempts you, as answers vary from one office to another.

The application is made with form S1106 and supporting documents (passport, validated visa, proof of address, marriage certificate). Once rights are open, request the carte Vitale from the ameli account.

The CAF: family benefits and the OFII certificate

Children who arrived through family reunification are entitled to family benefits (family allowances depending on the number of children, housing aid, etc.). For a child born abroad, the CAF asks for proof of lawful entry: the OFII medical check certificate in the child's name, issued after the medical exam.

In practice: report the family's arrival on caf.fr as soon as they are here, then send the certificate as soon as you have it. Without it, the children's file stays blocked. Also update your housing aid: the number of people in the household changes the amount.

Getting the children into school on arrival

Education is compulsory from 3 to 16, and enrolling a foreign child cannot be made conditional on showing a residence permit.

• Nursery and primary school: enrolment starts at the town hall (mairie), which issues a certificate naming the assigned school. From age 6, the certificate follows an assessment of the child's skills. The school completes the enrolment on presentation of that certificate and the vaccination record.
• Collège and lycée: contact the CASNAV of your education authority (centre for the schooling of newly arrived children who do not speak French). A national education psychologist assesses the child's background, then the authority assigns the school. The child must be present in France for enrolment.

The documents required vary by education authority; call the mairie or the CASNAV before going.

Bank and daily life

The spouse can open an account in their own name with their passport, validated visa and proof of address. If a bank refuses, the Banque de France can designate a bank under the right to an account (droit au compte). The advice in our article on opening a bank account on arrival in France also applies to families.

For a minor child who needs to travel outside France and come back, the travel document for foreign minors (document de circulation pour étranger mineur) costs €50 and is requested from the prefecture.

The first residence permit, to prepare from the 8th month

The VLS-TS covers the first year. After that, the spouse applies for a residence permit online on the ANEF, no earlier than 4 months and no later than 2 months before the visa ends. According to service-public:

• general case: a temporary residence card « vie privée et familiale »; a multi-year card can be issued if the CIR, civic exam and A2 conditions are met;
• Moroccan and Tunisian families, and nationals of countries bound to France by an agreement (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo): family members can receive the same permit as the person they are joining;
• cost: €150 for a first issue at the family reunification rate (€100 tax and €50 stamp duty). A late application exposes you to a regularisation visa of €180.

The next renewal, its deadlines and what to do if the prefecture is slow to answer are covered in our article on renewing your residence permit in France.

Algerian families: the Franco-Algerian agreement

Algerians do not fall under the VLS-TS. The spouse applies for a long-stay visa at the French consulate in Algeria, the family enters France within 3 months, then each adult family member applies for an Algerian residence certificate (certificat de résidence) at the prefecture. This certificate is marked « vie privée et familiale » and has the same validity as that of the person being joined.

According to service-public, the first residence certificate is free under family reunification; however, an OFII fee is due when the favourable decision is issued. The OFII medical exam and the CIR apply as for other families. Filing arrangements (appointment, platform) vary from one prefecture to another: check them on your prefecture's website on arrival.

The timetable in one table

And in Belgium?

Belgian rules are different: registration at the municipality, cohabitation check, residence card issued by the municipality. They are set out in our article on family reunification in Belgium after arrival. To compare the steps country by country, see our page on arrival steps in Europe with a long-stay visa.

Finding your compatriots

A newly arrived family's first months often hinge on local details: the school that welcomes non-French-speaking children well, the CPAM office that answers quickly, the paediatrician still taking new patients. Compatriots settled in the same city know these details. On Compatri, join for example Senegalese in France, Cameroonians in France, Algerians in France or Moroccans in France, and browse the communities of your city, such as Paris or Lyon, among all the cities of France. Compatri does not carry out any step on your behalf: for your file, only the OFII, the prefecture and the official websites are authoritative.

Official sources

• Service-public: family reunification
• Ministry of the Interior: what to do after a favourable family reunification decision
• Ministry of the Interior: the mandatory medical exam at the OFII
• Service-public: new residence fees from 1 May 2026
• Service-public: the republican integration contract
• Service-public: « vie privée et familiale » residence card
• Website of the digital administration for foreigners in France (ANEF)
• Service-public: universal health protection
• Ameli: universal health protection
• CAF: conditions for opening rights and residence permits
• Service-public: primary school for a pupil coming from abroad
• Service-public: collège or lycée for a pupil coming from abroad