Updated October 2026
You live in France and you want your spouse and children to join you? The visa your family can get depends on your own residence permit. Here are the 3 main routes in force in 2026, and the right to work of your spouse, explained simply.
In short
- Talent Passport or EU Blue Card: a simplified "talent-famille" procedure.
- Most other permits: family reunification, after 18 months in France.
- Students: usually a visitor visa, without the right to work.
- Only your spouse and children under 18 are concerned.
Want to know which route fits your family? Take the free eligibility test
You hold a Talent Passport or an EU Blue Card
Your spouse and minor children can come with you through the simplified "accompanying family" procedure, without family reunification:
- No 18-month waiting period, and no OFII examination of your resources and housing
- Your family receives a "talent-famille" card, for the length of your stay
- Your spouse can work in France
See our
Talent Passport service.
You hold another residence permit
With an employee card, a
vie privée et familiale card or a resident card, for example, you use family reunification:
- At least 18 months of legal stay in France, with a permit valid for at least 1 year
- Stable resources from €1,867.02 gross per month for a family of 2 or 3 people
- A home big enough for your family (from 22 m² for 2 people in the Paris area)
- A decision of the prefect within 6 months after your complete file, then the visa at the consulate
- On arrival, your spouse receives a vie privée et familiale card, which allows them to work
All the details are on our
family reunification page.
18 monthsof legal stay before family reunification
€1,867.02gross per month of resources for a family of 2 or 3 people
Under 18only minor children can join you through these procedures
You are a student
- There is no simplified procedure for the family of a student, and family reunification is usually out of reach
- Your spouse and children can apply for their own long-stay visa, often as visitors, with enough resources and accommodation
- A visitor cannot work in France
- PhD researchers with a Talent Passport can use the "accompanying family" procedure
Other situations
- You are French: your foreign spouse applies for a spouse of a French citizen visa. Read our article on marriage abroad with a foreign national.
- You are a refugee or have subsidiary protection: your family uses a special procedure (réunification familiale), without conditions of resources or housing. See our asylum service.
Be careful: adult children are not concerned by these procedures. They must apply for their own visa, for example to study or to work in France.
How TSA helps you
- We check which route fits your residence permit and your family
- We prepare the family reunification or "talent-famille" file with you, in your language
- We help your family with the visa application at the French consulate
- After arrival, we help your spouse with the residence card and the right to work
- In case of refusal, our partner lawyers take over before the court
HelloBonjourவணக்கம்नमस्तेආයුබෝවන්
Talk to us in your language
Our Paris team supports people from all over Asia, from the first visa to French nationality. We speak English, French, Tamil, Hindi, Sinhala and other Asian languages.
Official sources: Service-public.fr, family reunification and Service-public.fr, Talent residence permit and accompanying family (both checked 1 June 2026)
