How to Get France’s Recherche d’Emploi ou Création d’Entreprise Residence Permit: Our Personal Experiences
For many international students in France, graduation does not mark the end of their time abroad. However, it’s not as simple as deciding to stay – foreigners like us have to follow stringent rules to maintain residency in France. Maria and I always knew that we wanted to look for work in France upon successful completion of our master’s degrees at the Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA), and the recherche d’emploi ou création d’entreprise residence permit (RECE) grants this opportunity. Read on for more information about the RECE, what the procedure is really like, and a detailed timeline of our own experience obtaining the RECE as American graduates of French university.
Note: Please keep in mind that verified French governmental sources are the best place to get information about your residency in France. This article recounts our personal experience obtaining the RECE, and any advice should be considered unofficial.
Table of Contents
➤ What is the RECE?
➤ How to Get the RECE
➤ What Happens at the RECE Appointment?
➤ How to Pick Up Your RECE Card
➤ Our Complete RECE Timeline
What is the RECE?
The RECE, or the job seeker/new business creator residence permit, gives recent graduates having completed a qualifying degree program in France one year to look for work, get professional experience, or start a business. Qualifying graduates can apply for the RECE from within France in the form of a carte de séjour before the expiration of their student residence permit or from their home country in the form of a visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour within four years of finishing their studies. Maria and I opted to apply from within France before the expiration of our student residence permits.
How to Get the RECE
Our RECE process took place through the Sous-Préfecture de Reims, much like our student visa renewal and Maria’s student residence permit extension. However, unlike these previous experiences, the RECE procedure took place entirely in person. The Sous-Préfecture de Reims instructed us to request appointments by email. Once we did that, we were assigned appointments and sent a list of documents that we needed to assemble and bring to our rendez-vous.
The Sous-Préfecture de Reims asked us to bring the original, a copy, and an official translation, if applicable, of each of the following documents.
Formulaire de demande d’autorisation provisoire de séjour (Request for a provisional residence authorization form)
- The Sous-Préfecture de Reims included this document in the email confirming our appointments. We printed one copy each, filled out our basic contact information and details about our master’s degrees, and brought them to our appointments.
Visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour ou carte de séjour en cours de validité (Valid long-stay visa or valid residence card)
- We brought our student residence cards and photocopies of both sides to our appointments. Maria also brought her attestation de prolongation d’instruction that extended the validity of her student residence card.
Justificatifs d’état civil et de nationalité (Proof of civil status and nationality)
- Passeport (pages relatives à l’état civil, aux dates de validité, aux cachets d’entrée et aux visas) [Passport (pages containing personal information, validity dates, stamps, and visas)]
- We brought our physical passports as well as photocopies of the relevant pages of our passports to our appointments.
- Un extrait d’acte de naissance avec filiation ou une copie intégrale d’acte de naissance (A birth certificate mentioning the parents of the child or a full copy of the birth certificate)
- We both brought our original birth certificates, a copy, and certified translations to our appointments. The agent did not look at or take these documents.
- Carte de séjour du conjoint (ou carte d’identité) [Spouse’s residence permit (or identity card)]
- We brought originals and one copy of each other’s residence permits to our appointments. The agent did not look at or take these documents.
- Extrait de mariage (Marriage certificate)
- We brought the originals and one copy of our marriage certificate to our appointments. The agent did not look at or take these documents.
Justificatif de domicile datant de moins de trois mois (Proof of address dated within three months)
- We each printed one copy of our most recent taxe d’habitation, or residence tax document, and brought them to our appointments.
Trois photographies d’identité récentes (Three recent ID photos)
- We took photos at a photo booth and brought them to our appointments. Only two of the three requested photos were taken by the agent.
Diplôme au moins équivalent au grade de master ou diplôme de licence professionnelle, obtenu dans l’année (ou attestation de réussite définitive au diplôme si vous le présentez plus tard) [Degree equivalent to the master’s level or vocational bachelor’s degree obtained during the year (or certificate of successful program completion if diploma is presented later)]
- At the time of our appointments, we had not yet received our diplomas. Therefore, we brought the originals and one copy of our attestations de réussite to our appointments.
Justificatif d’un projet de création d’entreprise dans un domaine correspondant à votre formation (si c’est votre objectif) [Proof of plans to start a business in a field related to your studies (if that is your goal)]
- At the time of the appointments, we did not intend to start a business. Therefore, we did not need to bring any documents in this category.
In addition to the documents that the Sous-Préfecture de Reims instructed us to bring, we brought the following documents of our own accord.
Convocation de la Sous-Préfecture de Reims (The Sous-Prefecture de Reims’ summons)
- From prior experience with the Sous-Préfecture de Reims, we knew that in order to be let into the building, we would have to prove that we had appointments. Therefore, we each printed out a copy of the email confirming our rendez-vous and brought them to our appointments.
Justificatif d’assurance maladie (Proof of health insurance)
- While cross-checking the list of documents sent to us by the Sous-Préfecture de Reims with the list found on the French government’s website, we noticed that we would need to bring proof of health insurance. Though the Sous-Préfecture de Reims did not instruct us to do so, we each brought an attestation de droits à l’assurance maladie (proof of entitlement to health insurance), and the agent took this document at our appointments.
Relevés de notes (Transcripts)
- Out of an abundance of caution, we brought the originals and one copy of our university transcripts as further evidence of successful completion of our master’s degrees. The agent did not look at or take these documents.
What Happens at the RECE Appointment?
We arrived at the Sous-Préfecture de Reims, rang the doorbell, and showed a copy of the email confirming our rendez-vous to the attendant who checked for our names on a list before directing us to the waiting room. We waited until we heard our names called and then sat down with an agent. We handed in all of our paperwork, which the agent verified. The agent created our récépissés (expiring on April 17th, 2023 for Jalen and on April 12th, 2023 for Maria) and informed us that we would receive text messages when our cards were ready for pickup. The agent explained that the cards’ start dates would be backdated to match the dates on our attestations de réussite (beginning September 13th, 2022 for Jalen and September 30th, 2022 for Maria) and that we could begin our job search immediately with our récépissés.
How to Pick Up Your RECE Card
Once our cards were ready for pickup, we made appointments to pick them up at the Sous-Préfecture de Reims. We received emails confirming our appointments that included a summons with a list of the following documents required to pick up our RECE cards.
Convocation de la Sous-Préfecture de Reims (The Sous-Préfecture de Reims’ summons)
- We printed out a copy of the summons that we received from the Sous-Préfecture de Reims via email.
Pièce d’identité (Passeport) [Proof of identity (Passport)]
- We both brought our passports to our appointments.
Dernière carte de séjour (Last residence card)
- Jalen brought his carte de séjour pluriannuelle mention étudiant and Maria brought her carte de séjour temporaire mention étudiant-élève along with a copy of the attestation de prolongation d’instruction that extended the validity of her student residence card.
Récépissé actuel (Current extension document)
- We both brought the récépissés we received at our initial appointments.
Timbre fiscal (Tax stamp)
- We each bought a 75 € timbre fiscal électronique (electronic tax stamp) and printed them to bring to our appointments. We bought our timbres fiscaux online, but they can also be purchased in a bureau de tabac (tobacco store).
We both made sure to arrive a few minutes early for our respective appointments with all of the necessary documents in order. Our rendez-vous were both straightforward, and neither of us had to wait more than ten minutes before we spoke to an agent. The agent quickly reviewed our documents and handed us our new residence cards.
Our Complete RECE Timeline
- June 2, 2022: We contact the Sous-Préfecture de Reims via email for information about applying for the RECE.
- June 3, 2022: The Sous-Préfecture de Reims responds via email that the procedure takes place entirely in person, and that appointments are to be requested by email.
- September 12, 2022: Jalen’s program’s jury deliberates on his final grades.
- September 13, 2022: Jalen’s final transcripts and attestation de réussite are ready for pickup at URCA.
- September 21, 2022: Jalen picks up his final transcripts and attestation de réussite from URCA.
- September 21, 2022: We request appointments to apply for the RECE at the Sous-Préfecture de Reims via email.
- September 23, 2022: The Sous-Préfecture de Reims responds via email and assigns us appointments on October 13th, 2022.
- September 30, 2022: Maria’s program’s jury deliberates on her final grades. Maria is notified that her final transcripts and attestation de réussite will be ready for pickup at URCA the following week.
- October 3, 2022: Maria picks up her final transcripts and attestation de réussite from URCA.
- October 13, 2022: We have our appointments at the Sous-Préfecture de Reims and are granted récépissés.
- October 17, 2022: Jalen’s carte de séjour pluriannuelle mention étudiant expires.
- October 18, 2022: Maria’s attestation de prolongation d’instruction extending the validity of her carte de séjour temporaire mention étudiant-élève expires.
- November 14, 2022: Jalen contacts the Sous-Préfecture de Reims via email requesting an update on the status of his application.
- November 15, 2022: Jalen receives a text message stating that his card is ready for pickup at the Sous-Préfecture de Reims. In light of this, Maria decides to contact the Sous-Préfecture de Reims via email requesting an update on the status of her application.
- November 15, 2022: We begin monitoring the Sous-Préfecture de Reims website for appointments. There are none available.
- November 16, 2022: Maria receives an email stating that her card is ready for pickup at the Sous-Préfecture de Reims. She does not receive a text message.
- November 20, 2022: Maria contacts the Sous-Préfecture de Reims via email requesting to be sent the official text message confirming that her card is ready for pickup.
- November 21, 2022: We successfully make appointments to pick up our RECE cards at the Sous-Préfecture de Reims for December 21st, 2022.
- November 25, 2022: Maria re-contacts the Sous-Préfecture de Reims via email requesting to be sent the official text message confirming that her card is ready for pickup. The Sous-Préfecture de Reims responds via email with the same information that the official text message confirming that a card is ready for pickup would contain, but never sends a text message.
- December 8, 2022: We each buy a 75 € timbre fiscal électronique.
- December 21, 2022: We have our appointments at the Sous-Préfecture de Reims and pick up our RECE cards.
On the whole, getting the RECE went according to plan for us. We hope that sharing our experience gives other foreign students in France insight into a process that can feel daunting! If you have additional questions, make sure to leave us a comment or send us a message.
3 Comments
Jay
Hey guys, thank you for keeping this useful resource! I have a question regarding the backdating of the carte which you mention.
I finished a masters in June of 2023 but due to admin processing times could not receive my diploma until December of 2023. Since my student visa was to expire in July 2023, I was invited by the prefecture to renew my student visa (despite not having further studies to complete) and received an extension of my student status valid through April 2024 (i.e. an extra 9 months of student status beyond the end of my masters).
My understanding was that when my RECE visa was granted (I now have my convocation/interview scheduled for early April 2024) it would give me a year starting from the delivery of the carte, i.e. from around May of 2024 until May of 2025. HOWEVER, reading your story about receiving a card that was backdated to the date that your degree was conferred by the jury gave me pause and me wonder if there’s a chance the RECE visa I receive will be likewise backdated, with a validity spanning from summer 2023 (when my degree was technically conferred, although not delivered) up through summer 2024.
Do you have any thoughts about this? Assuming you were on a still-valid student visa when you applied for the RECE visa, did that not affect the date that they issued for it to start from ? In your case, since your student visas expired in October 2022, I would have imagined your one year of RECE validity would begin from around Oct/Nov of 2022 instead of September, when you got your diplomas. Two months difference, so perhaps not a big deal in your case, but it would mean losing a year of job-seeking time in my case!)
Apologies for the lengthy question and thanks again for providing this lifesaving resource!
Jalen & Maria
Hi, Jay. Thanks for reading our blog! We have shared our experiences going through different administrative processes in France, but we are unable to know exactly how these processes may go for others.
Our particular sous-préfecture’s policy at the time was to give the RECE a start date identical to the date found on the provided document showing that the qualifying degree had been completed (attestation de réussite or diploma). We provided our attestations de réussite dated for September 2022 because with student residence cards expiring in October 2022, we could not wait for our actual diplomas (which we didn’t end up getting until December 2022).
We would be interested to hear what comes of your situation and wish you good luck! Sorry we can’t be of more help.
Mico
Hello Jay, I hope you are doing well.
I am about to graduate this July 2024 and I also plan to apply for the RECE afterwards. However, my student residence permit will expire in August and I would like to extend it as well, since the diploma will only be available by the end of 2024.
May I ask what kind of extension you got from the prefecture, is it an attestation de prolongation (pdf document) or an attestation de decision favorable with a new card?
Thank you very much!