New online service to apply for family reunification

Under what conditions is family reunification possible?

You can apply for family reunification if:

• you are a foreigner (outside the European Union);
• you are legally resident in France.

Requirements include:

• you must have been legally resident in France for at least 18 months (if you are an Algerian national, the minimum period is 12 months);
• you must hold a residence permit of at least one year (excluding talent passport, retired, seasonal) or the receipt for renewal of your residence permit;
• you must have a home to be able to accommodate your family: be a tenant, owner or occupant free of charge;
• you need to have sufficient and stable resources.

The OFFII website gives you all the information on the conditions to be respected concerning: eligibility for family reunification, housing criteria and conditions of resources.

One simulator lets you know if you can take advantage of it.

Which family members are involved in this procedure?

Eligible for family reunification are:

• your spouse (at least 18 years of age);
• your children under 18 years of age.

They must reside abroad.

Children from a previous union, as well as children adopted or taken in by kafala (guardianship without filiation, adoption procedure specific to Muslim law) can also enter the procedure.

How does the online service work?

The family reunification application service allows users to file an application independently online, with step-by-step help thanks to tooltips

You are guided throughout the process, the questions you are asked depend on the previous answers and the documents requested depend on the declared situation.

The territorial management identifies the missing elements in your file, it notifies the user by a letter or an email. In the near future, the user will also be able to deposit the additional documents directly in his follow-up area.

You can track the status of your application on your dashboard. When your case status changes, you are notified.

Finally, the user can always submit his file in paper format, by sending it to his competent territorial directorate.