Residence permit, stay at home parent: visitor, spouse or family?

Staying in France without working, to raise your children or follow your spouse: the question comes up often. Visitor card, spouse of a French national, family reunification? The right choice depends mainly on your family, not on a career plan. A lawyer guides you in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

Residence permit, stay at home parent: four possible routes

No residence permit for a stay at home parent exists as such. Four permits, however, allow you to live in France without a job. Here are their differences.

Permit	For whom	Resources	Right to work
"Visitor" card	Anyone with sufficient resources	At least €1,477.93 net a month	No, forbidden
"Private and family life" card, spouse of a French national	Husband or wife of a French national	No threshold	Yes, without authorisation
Family reunification	Spouse of a foreign national lawfully resident	The spouse's, at least the minimum wage	Yes, with the permit
"Private and family life" card, parent of a French child	Parent who supports the child	No threshold	Yes, without authorisation

The key point fits in one sentence. The visitor card forbids work, whereas the family cards allow it without requiring it. A "family" residence permit for a stay at home parent therefore leaves the door open to a future job.

The visitor card: living on your own resources

The visitor card rests on article L.426-20 of the CESEDA, the French immigration code. For a stay at home parent, it suits a person who lives on their own resources: savings, annuities, a pension, rental income.

Its conditions remain strict:

• Resources of at least €1,477.93 net a month, the net minimum wage, assessed over a year.
• Health insurance for the whole stay.
• A written undertaking not to carry out any professional activity.
• A "visitor" long-stay visa for the first application.

According to service-public.gouv.fr, the resources may also come from a family member or a reliable guarantor. The card lasts one year and can be renewed. It costs €350 the first time, then €250 at renewal.

The limit remains clear: no job at all, not even part time. If you change your mind, you will need to change permit. Our article on the visitor to employee status change explains that delicate move.

Spouse of a French national: the private and family life card

If your spouse holds French nationality, the "private and family life" card generally remains the best option for a stay at home parent. It sets no resource condition.

The main conditions:

• A marriage to a French national, entered in the French civil register if it took place abroad.
• An effective shared life since the marriage.
• A long-stay visa, in principle. An exception exists after a marriage in France and six months of living together.

This card allows you to work without any step by the employer. You can therefore stay at home, then take a job whenever you wish. It costs €350, according to service-public.gouv.fr.

Be careful, however: the permit depends on living together. A separation can call its renewal into question, except in cases of domestic violence.

Family reunification: joining a foreign spouse

If your spouse is a foreign national living in France, family reunification becomes the normal route for a stay at home parent. Your spouse applies for it, through OFII, the French immigration and integration office.

They must meet several conditions:

• Lawful residence in France for at least 18 months.
• Stable resources: at least the minimum wage, €1,867.02 gross a month, for a family of two or three people.
• Suitable housing for the size of the family, depending on the area.

Family benefits and the RSA do not count towards those resources. The prefect decides within six months. You then arrive with a long-stay visa, and later obtain a "private and family life" card. It allows you to work.

In principle, the procedure takes place from abroad. Reunification from within France remains exceptional. If you already live in France without a permit, that point deserves quick advice.

Parent of a French child

The parent of a French minor child living in France can also obtain a "private and family life" card. This residence permit suits a stay at home parent who raises the child day to day.

The central condition: contributing effectively to the child's upkeep and education. You must prove it since birth, or for at least two years. According to service-public.gouv.fr, this card remains available even to someone without lawful status.

So prove your role: school certificates, medical follow-up, statements, invoices. A stay at home parent often has plenty of such evidence.

Which permit to choose for your situation?

For a stay at home parent, the choice generally follows this order:

• Your spouse or your child is French: the "private and family life" card.
• Your spouse is a foreign national lawfully resident: family reunification, applied for by them.
• You have sufficient resources of your own: the visitor card.

The visitor card therefore often serves as the default solution. It also suits the spouse of a foreign national who does not yet meet the reunification conditions. After that, moving to a long-term card requires level A2 French and the civic exam in principle, unless exempt. Our guide to the civic exam sets out the position, as does our article on the resident card.

The traps to avoid

Some mistakes come up often in these files:

• Working on a visitor card, even for a few hours: renewal may be refused.
• Applying for reunification from within France without being entitled to it: risk of refusal and an OQTF removal order.
• Neglecting evidence of shared life as the spouse of a French national.
• Filing the renewal late: €180 more and a weakened stay.

Remember residence permit renewal, between four and two months before expiry.

When to consult a lawyer

As a stay at home parent, consult before applying for a visa or filing at the prefecture. A lawyer identifies the most protective permit for your family. They also check your resources, your evidence of shared life or your link with the child.

An immigration lawyer answers within 20 minutes. For custody or maintenance questions, a family lawyer can also help. The official conditions appear on the service-public private and family life page.