PyrenBrit

Hi everyone.
We are a British couple who have lived in France continuously for over 14 years now, and are both currently 'demandeurs d'emploi'. Due to the Brexit fiasco we are trying to apply for a carte de séjour. When trying to make an appointment at the préfécture at Toulouse on their website, it's necessary to give a ''nature de la demande'. None of the cases apply to us. When I try to contact them I get a standard reply that in no way answers my question. One reply even told us we didn't need an appointment but when we went were told they can't see us as we do need an appointment. We've made the 300km return trip twice already and waited in line for hours each time, getting no further forward. Any help/advice is appreciated.
​​​​

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
I've not seen the forms, since I'm French by marriage and don't need a CdS, but while waiting for tweedpipe - who recently applied for one and knows the forms to fill in - to come along, what were the alternatives in reply to "nature de la demande"? First-time application? Renewal? Appeal? etc... Sorry to be dim, but it's not clear what type of CdS application there can be which doesn't apply to your case...
Hope you sort things out soon!

Tweedpipe

DMU, you rang......?

One can request the CdS based on:
i) Desire to exercise an activity with a salary
ii) Desire to exercise a self employed activity
iii) You are a student
iv) Non-active persons
v) Applying for a permanent residence card (requires proof of residence over the last 5 years).

@PyrenBrit - Are you saying that none of the above applies to you? From the info you supply I would expect either i), ii), or v) to apply.
In my case I applied as (v) met the criteria, and I had all the necessary documents to substantiate the requirements, i.e. Justificatif de la continuité de résidence pendant 5 ans : un document par semestre prouvant le séjour continu (quittances de loyers ou de charges, factures, proof of healthcare etc).
I applied at a prefecture not too far from Toulouse, and found initially it paid to contact them directly (just turned up without a rdv), and they gave me a document on exactly what their requirements were (these not always being the same as those appearing on the Ministere de L'Interieure - 'Etrangers' website).

dmu

Oooops, my bad. I understood "nature de la demande" to be the type of request....
If each of the OPs' official status is demandeur d'emploi, then surely they're in category i), since they "desire" to exercise an activity with a salary? And will have papers from the Pôle-Emploi justifying this? If they are looking for work but aren't registered at the P-E, then I suppose they're considered 'inactive".
@PyrenBrit : Are you still covered by the French S.S. for healthcare, based on earlier employment?
You need to give more info on your situation!

EuroTrash

As the above replies have suggested - cds applications are personal things. With so little info it's impossible to advise you. Basically what you have to produce depends on what your status is/has been in France - worker (employed or self-employed), self supporting inactif or retired. Jobseeker is however not a good status for claiming legal residence. Presumably you have worked here in the past, so I guess you'll have to gather together details of dates when you worked, dates when you didn't work etc and put together a case. If you could get yourselves jobs before you put in your applications, you might be on safer ground because then you could apply as workers.
Either come back with more details, or read the criteria for qualifying for a cds and think about how you can best prove you've met them.

Tweedpipe

I may be wrong but my understanding of 'inactive' is a person not wishing to seek employment, often of retirement age, or early retiree - both with sufficient means of financial support. Vous êtes non actif - Vous êtes ressortissant(e) de l’UE EEE/Suisse. Vous pouvez demander un titre de séjour européen - Vous êtes ressortissant(e) de l’UE, de l’EEE ou de la Suisse ou membre de famille d’un(e) ressortissant(e) de l’UE,
Had I not been living in France continuously for many years, I would have applied for the CdS under the 'inactive' catagory.

Edit: As just mentioned by ET above, I would say that whatever 'nature de la demande' you choose, the most important aspect is that you are able to meet the stated document requirements.
One could however apply as (v) - for a permanent residence card - under the exception to the 5 years prior stay conditions, or permanent incapacite condition etc. See: Cas particulier : dérogations à la condition de 5 années de séjour préalable'
http://accueil-etrangers.gouv.fr/dem...arte-de-sejour

dmu

That's my understanding of "inactive", too, but, if the OPs aren't working and aren't registered at the Pôle-Emploi, then surely they're officially considered inactive as far as the powers-that-be are concerned? And the "sufficient means of financial support" must be complied with, in addition to healthcare insurance. As ET says, the status of jobseeker is not a good status when applying for a CdS.
Without all the info on the OPs' circumstances, we can only advise in general, hoping that something corresponds to their situation....

PyrenBrit

Thank you everyone for taking the time so far to give us replies.
To give some more information:
We are both registered at Pole Emploi, I have done various CDDs here and currently receive the ARE. My partner has never worked here, she has an ALD and did receive the AAH for a few years but this has lapsed. She is also registered at the CAF but receives nothing as my ARE is above the threshold.
When trying to make an appointment at the préfécture the options for the nature de la demande are :
- Retraité
- Actif titulaire d'un CDI
- Non actif titulaire de ressources propres et suffisantes
- Travailleur indépendant non salarié
- Étudiant
- Membre de famille pays tiers de ressortissant britannique

dmu

Thanks for the additional info.
I think I would be inclined to go to the Pôle-Emploi to ask what category you're in and whether your own ARE is sufficient for your CdS applications.
You speak of your "partner". If you aren't married or pacséd, she may have to justify sufficient financial means separately. The CAF seems to be partner-friendly, but many other French Administrations aren't. Apart from her ALD, is she covered for health insurance covering other ailments not connected with it?
Sorry to sound inquisitive, but there are so many aspects to take into account...

PyrenBrit

We both have a carte vitale and pay for a mutuelle.
It has always been my understanding that we would automatically be eligible for a CdS permanante due to being here for over 5 years. This was implied at our last trip to the préfécture but I am confused by what option to put for the nature de la demande when making a RDV on their site.
I will try again asking for an answer from the préfécture.

dmu

Have you rung them up? (number available in the Pages Jaunes), or used the Contact page of the Services de l'Etat en Haute Garonne to leave a message, as per the link below? Selecting "ETRANGERS Titre de Séjour" in the Thème box? Other than that, I'm sorry I can't suggest anything else. Good luck!
Contactez-nous / Accueil - Les services de l'État en Haute-Garonne

PyrenBrit

Yes I have used the 'contactez-nous' on the site several times but each time get a standard reply of a link to the ressortissants britanniques page. I've just contacted them again trying to be more direct in my question.:

Question : Quand je prends un RDV pour un CdS, quelle option il faut choisir pour 'nature de la demande'? Notre situation : Nous sommes un couple de ressortissants britanniques et nous sommes vécus en France depuis plus de 14 ans consécutifs. Courrament, nous sommes des demandeurs d'emploi. Cordialement.

I'll let you know when I get a reply.

EuroTrash

If you are applying on the basis of 5+ years residence you still need to have had a "status" during that period, and you have to provide documents to justify it. For instance I was self employed and for my application I had to provide an income statement for each quarter going back 5 years, so they could see there were no gaps. As I said before, I guess you would need to get together all your contracts and payslips for a 5 year period. But as DMU says - ask them the question.

Tweedpipe

@PyrenBrit,
It may be worth reminding that when preparing your dossier for a CdS - especially if it's a request for a permanent residence card as mine was, you should take along some proof of the date that you arrived in France, 'Justificative date arrivée en France'. This wasn't noted in the listing of originaly required docs and only asked for when I handed in my completed dossier.
Ditto for an original 'Attestation de Droits Couverture Sociale' which is a proof certficate of Assurance Maladie. (I had taken along my original Carte Vitale and also a copy but was told that the aforementioned 'Attestation' was a prerequisite).
Just in case you didn't read it, I gave mention of these in an earlier thread.
Please eventually report back on your experience as I'm sure it will be of interest to many others swimming against the French CdS request tide.

Chatter Static

The "nature de la demande" on their web site is moderately irrelevant to the actual CdS application, fill in the paperwork get your dossier prepared and then when setting up an appointment with them tick any box on the website to justify the rendezvous claim ignorance on the basis of language if they get upperty about it and beg their forgiveness if it's not the right person they will help you see the right person.....