Acceptance certificate

Verified 01 December 2022 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

You want host one non-European foreigner for a tourist stay of less than 3 months ? You must request a acceptance certificate with your town hall. The certificate is issued if you meet certain conditions. The certificate must be validated by the town hall before applying for a visa (or before travel in case of visa waiver). She must then be envoy to the person abroad before his departure.

We guide you through the process.

Step-by-step approach

The acceptance certificate shall cover any foreigner non-European wishing to stay less than 3 months in France, as part of private or family visit.

Be careful, there is no need to ask for a welcoming certificate if the person you are accommodating is in one of the following cases:

  • She has a Schengen travel visa
  • She has a visa "residence card to be requested within 2 months of arrival in France"
  • She is coming as part of a humanitarian stay
  • It comes as part of a cultural exchange
  • She's in a medical emergency
  • She's coming for a relative's funeral

The welcoming certificate costs €30.

This sum shall be paid by tax stamps.

You can buy the tax stamp on the internet or in a tobacco store.

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On the Internet

You must use an online service:

Online purchase of the tax stamp - Certificate of welcome

The electronic stamp can be issued on 2 media:

  • PDF document with a 2D code that can also be scanned directly from a phone or tablet by the service responsible for receiving your request
  • SMS containing the 16-digit stamp identifier that will be accepted by the agent in charge of processing your file.

Payment is possible with the following bank cards:

  • Blue Card (CB) and e-Blue Card
  • Endorsement
  • Mastercard.

However, payment by Paypal or American Express card is not accepted.

In a tobacco office

You can buy a tax stamp from a tobacco office if the store is equipped to edit them.

Warning  

Don't buy a fine stamp by mistake.

This fee shall be payable even if the application is refused. It will not be refunded.

The list of documents to be supplied depends of your nationality.

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You are French, European, Swiss, Andorran or Monegasque

You must submit the originals the following documents:

  • Proof of identity (identity card or passport)
  • Document proving that you are the owner, tenant or occupant of the dwelling in which you intend to house the visitor(s) (property title or notice of property or residential tax or a rental lease with last rent receipts for example)
  • Recent proof of residence related to the accommodation (water, electricity or telephone bill or rent receipt)
  • Any document justifying your assets (last 3 salary slips, last tax notice) and your commitment to financially support the foreigner if it no longer has enough assets
  • Any documentation on your capacity to house the foreigner(s) under normal housing conditions (in terms of space, safety, health and comfort of the dwelling)
  • Proof of payment of the fee (€30)
  • If the reception certificate concerns an unaccompanied minor, a certificate on free paper from the holders of parental authority, specifying the duration and purpose of the child's stay

You must also have the passport number of the visitor(s). You must enter this number(s) on the form that is given to you at the City Hall when the application for certification is filed.

You are a national of another country

You must submit the originals of the following parts:

  • Proof of identity (residence permit)
  • Document proving that you are the owner, tenant or occupant of the dwelling in which you intend to house the visitor(s) (property title or notice of property or residential tax or a rental lease with last rent receipts for example)
  • Recent proof of residence related to the accommodation (water, electricity or telephone bill or rent receipt)
  • Any document justifying your assets (last 3 salary slips, last tax notice) and your commitment to financially support the foreigner if it no longer has enough assets
  • Any documentation on your capacity to house the foreigner(s) under normal housing conditions (in terms of space, safety, health and comfort of the dwelling)
  • Proof of payment of the fee (€30)
  • If the reception certificate concerns an unaccompanied minor, a certificate on free paper from the holders of parental authority, specifying the duration and purpose of the child's stay

You must also have the passport number of the visitor(s). You must enter this number(s) on the form that is given to you at the City Hall when the application for certification is filed.

You must to lodge the application to the town hall of the planned accommodation.

In the most town halls, you must take date. Ask your local council for more information.

Please note

in Paris, Lyon and Marseille, the application must be submitted to the borough hall.

The form original request (cerfa n°10798) is counter-delivery from the town hall. You have to fill in and the sign on the spot.

You have to fill it out a foreigner form welcomed. However, the husband or wife and minor children of the receiving foreigner shall appear on the same welcoming certificate.

Who shall I contact

This step allows the mayor to check that you are welcoming. This also makes it possible to check that the normal housing conditions are met.

The delivery is not necessarily immediate. A thorough review of the case or an investigation in the accommodation may be necessary. In this case, a deposit receipt is given to you.

You are informed by the City Hall that your certificate is available.

In most town halls, you have to make an appointment. Ask your local council for more information.

The welcoming certificate shall indicate in particular the following:

  • Identity of the signatory
  • Passport number, identity and nationality of the host foreigner (and those of his/her husband (wife) and minor children if accompanying him/her)
  • Intended reception area and the characteristics of the accommodation
  • Identity of the person (the foreigner or the host) who takes out an insurance covering (up to €30,000 minimum) expenditure on any treatment received during the stay in France

Then you need to to forward the welcoming certificate validated (original) abroad which you wish to welcome.

If the foreigner needs a visa to come to France, he must attach the welcoming certificate to his application for a short-stay visa.

The original may be checked by the police authorities as part of transit.

If he is exempt from the visa requirement, he will have to present the welcoming certificate at the Schengen external borders.

The mayor may refuse to validate and therefore issue the certificate in the following cases:

  • You are unable to submit the required supporting documents
  • The foreigner cannot be accommodated under normal housing conditions
  • The particulars given on the certificate are incorrect
  • The attestations that you have previously requested reveal a misuse of procedure

The refusal decision may be:

  • Explicit, i.e. written and reasoned,
  • Or implicit, if the mayor has not replied within 1 month.

You can file a hierarchical appeal with the prefect within 2 months from the refusal of the mayor.

The prefect may:

  • either validate the welcoming certificate,
  • dismiss the action.

Dismissal of the action may be:

  • explicit that is, written and reasoned,
  • or implicit , if the prefect has not replied within 1 month.

In the event of a prefectural refusal, it is then possible to form a litigation before the administrative court.

In case of loss, you must reapply for a welcoming certificate. You will need to resubmit supporting documents and tax stamps.

Who can help me?

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