Validating your Passeport Talent VLS TS visa as a residence permit

Researchers holding a Passeport Talent Chercheur long stay visa valid for 4 up to 12 months (VLS TS)

Validating a visa on line? Holders of visas issued for a term of more than three months and up to one year marked « PASS.-TALENT-Chercheur» and « CESEDA R311-3 9° » or « 431-16 10° » or « PT4 VLSTS valider en ligne » are exempted from applying for a temporary residence card during the first year of their stay in France. In the case of the absence of any mark « carte de séjour à solliciter » on the visa (residence permit to be requested), this visa is indeed a « Visa Long Séjour Valant Titre de Séjour » (VLS-TS).

Holders of this visa are required to have their visa « validated as a residence permit » as soon as possible and within three months after their arrival in France.This procedure is mandatory for all holders of this visa.

Watch out :

Algerian researchers, whose status is governed by the Franco-Algerian Agreement of 27 December 1968, have a « scientifique-chercheur » (scientist-researcher) visa marked « carte de séjour à solliciter dans les deux mois suivant l’arrivée » (residence card to be requested within two months of arrival) and are therefore not concerned by this procedure.

On line procedure: how to validate one’s VLS TS Passeport Talent as a residence permit

Since February 18th, 2019, the validation of this type of visa has to be done on line on the Administration Numérique des Etrangers en France (ANEF) web site

After having entered their visa number, provided different information (passport number, surname, first name, nationality, date of birth, address in France) and paid a tax of 200 euros in the form of an electronic tax stamp, researchers confirm the registration of their visa and receive a validation certificate in PDF format.

The purchase of the tax stamp can be done on line on the ANEF web site

This certificate must be saved, printed and kept for the duration of their stay in France.

The validation certificate includes your “foreign number” which will be your personal identifier, useful and necessary throughout your stay in France, in particular:

• – to request the renewal of your visa if you wish to extend your stay in France,
• – to benefit from your rights (health insurance, work, housing allowance, etc.)
• – to cross the borders of the Schengen area after the first three months of the stay.

Please check the FAQ on the ANEF website (in French only) for more details: https://administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr/particuliers/#/faq

In case of technical issue on the ANEF web site, it is advisable to refresh the webpage or change the browser. If the problem persists, send a message from the ANEF contact form to explain your problem, attaching screenshots if necessary : https://administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr/particuliers/#/contact

What next: how to stay in France for longer and extend one’s visa?

esearchers who wish to stay in France after the expiry date of their visa must apply for the renewal of their residence permit between 2 and 4 months before the expiry date of the visa « valant titre de séjour » (VLS TS).

Holders of this visa who wish to stay in France after the expiry date of their visa must apply for a renewal at the earliest 4 months and at the latest 2 months before the expiry date of their validated VLS TS visa, still on the ANEF website Beware: in case of delay, a penalty of 180 euros will be applied and will be added to the tax of the requested residence permit. Beware: in case of a late application (less than 2 months prior the expiry date), a penalty of 180 euros will be applied and will be added to the tax of the requested residence permit.

The residence permit number that will then be requested by the Prefecture is the visa registration number indicated on the validation certificate (pdf).