My parents are nationals of a non-EU country. I am an EU national going to live in France (and I am not French).
I am wondering whether I can invite them (i.e. ask French authorities to issue visitor visa) while I stay in France?
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1expatriates.stackexchange.com/questions/341/… might be relevant. – Gala Jan 23 '15 at 2:03
If your parents require a visa (that would depend on their citizenship), then they will have to apply for it themselves at the relevant French consulate. You could probably prepare the application and mail it to them so they just have to submit it to the consulate but you can't apply on their behalf from within France.
If they are going to stay with you and you are going to sponsor them, you need to get a specific form (called “attestation d'accueil”) from the administration of the town where you live. Once you have the form (signed and legalized), you have to send it to your parents who can join it to their application. The procedure is detailed in As an EU national just moved to France, how do I get a "Attestation d'accueil" for a friend's visa?
The only difference between EU citizens and others for this purpose is that third-country citizens who want to invite someone also have to prove they are themselves in France legally by showing a carte de séjour, whereas EU citizens do not. You only need to show your passport or national ID card.
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EU rules give the same right of residence enjoyed by spouses to dependent direct descendants and ascendents. But I do not see any provision for these rules in the French Consulate's pages. If, however, France has somewhere implemented this rule, and if the OP's parents are dependent, they should qualify for a free visa issued on the basis of an expedited procedure. Do you know why this type of visa is absent from the consular web site? – phoog Mar 5 '15 at 22:07
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@phoog France did implement these rules (and already had similar rules for non-EU residents anyway), although I assumed they would not apply here (dependent means your parents have no independent income and would often live with you, you have to prove they have no income and you sent them money regularly). They are mentioned on service-public.fr. Consulate websites are (haphazardly) maintained by each consulate, the structure and quality vary widely but vosdroits.service-public.fr can be relied upon. – Gala Mar 6 '15 at 3:57
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The link discusses long-term stays for family members, saying they have to apply within 3 months of entering France, but I have not seen a compliant mechanism for getting them into France in the first place (namely, a free short-term visa issued on the basis of an expedited procedure.) Ah -- never mind, I found it: vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F13512.xhtml#N100E1 – phoog Mar 6 '15 at 15:45
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@phoog I focused on long stays because I thought that it was what you were alluding to. For short stays there is no specific “EU family members” visa and no need for any specific mechanism (Schengen rules are defined in a set of EU regulations and as such are directly effective). You just apply for a regular Schengen visa, fill in box 43 on the application form, omit those marked with a ‘*’ and the fee and some of the documentary requirements are waived. The UK created a separate procedure because they are not part of the Schengen area. – Gala Mar 6 '15 at 16:19
