Fun with visas!

After 3 months of false starts and missed deadlines (which is a whole other post), we finally had our visa appointment at the closest consulate (San Francisco) this week.  With some exceptions for small children, anyone applying for a visa to France must apply in person, so L, the little one and I took a (much needed!) 48 hour mini-vacation.  We rode the cable car, visited Fisherman's Wharf, ate our way through North Beach, and enjoyed surprisingly sunny and warm-ish temperatures. Of course, the real reason for our trip was to bring all of our paperwork to the French Consulate.  Given Europe's reputation for being relatively progressive on gay and lesbian issues, we were surprised to find out that France does not recognize same-sex marriage.  They do have a form of civil union (called a PACS) open to French residents, but for immigration purposes, same sex couples are left with few options.  To clarify, I will be in France on a work visa.  For most heterosexual couples and their kids, this means (almost) automatic approval for the spouse and children (as accompanying family members).  For us, on the other hand, my wife and son essentially had to apply on their own (as "Long term visitors").  As you can imagine, the difference in paperwork is substantial:

Married, heterosexual couple with kids - paperwork requested:*
- Passports
- Application forms and processing fees
- Marriage certificate
- Birth certificates for the kids

Married, lesbian couple with kids - what we provided:
- Passports
- Application forms and processing fees
- Marriage certificate (Canada)
- Registered domestic partnership certificate (State of Oregon)
- Birth certificate for the little one (note: because of Oregon's registered domestic partnership rights, both of our names were automatically put on his birth certificate at the time of his birth.  If this hadn't been the case, we would have also needed a notarized letter from the donor giving permission for him to move overseas)
- Notarized letter written by L stating that she promises not to seek employment while in France
- Notarized letter written by me guaranteeing that I will provide financial support for L and the little one(s) while in France
- Copies of bank statements
- Copies of retirement account statements
- Proof of health insurance while abroad
- Proof of a residence while abroad - lease or deed (which, of course, we don't have yet, but we did provide a letter from the housing agency that I will work with upon my arrival)
- Letters from our local police department stating that neither of us have criminal records (while this wasn't listed as a required document for the SF consulate, it was a requirement for other French consulates in the USA)

As crazy as this all sounds, this is just the beginning of the bureaucracy that one must navigate in order to become a legal resident of France.  Once we arrive in France, I'm told, it gets even more fun: pour yourself a nice glass of wine and check out this incredible blog, written by two gay American expats who have also made a home for themselves in Paris. 

What's the most frustrating is that after all of this documentation, L and the little one's visas are still not guaranteed.  As the visa officer put it, all of the proof of our relationship above does not equal a marriage certificate (even though we got married in Canada, it's not recognized by the French government as legitimate).  All of this means that even though we already have our plane tickets (yup, another requirement - your confirmed itinerary must be included at the time of application), we still don't have approved visas in-hand.  We'll be checking the mail religiously for the next two weeks, every day hoping to see the Express Mail envelopes that will contain our passports and, ideally, our visas.

- E


*Common Sense Disclaimer: Immigration is a tricky subject.  This is in no way meant to represent official requirements to obtain a visitor's visa - rather, this reflects our experience with a single consulate.