003

In January we were invited to the prefecture in Troyes to complete some formalities for our registration to live in France. In the build up to this we had received emails asking for more information and some clarification on what we had sent. We supplied everything that was asked for, including professional translations of key documents and certificates. As we had received the invite to attend the prefecture we hoped that meant they had all they needed and we could progress to the next stage. We had to take our passports, birth certificates and, for me, our marriage certificate. It’s tricky in France, as in my experience the French systems tend to refer to my maiden name as opposed to my married name for legal documents. So proof of marriage is required.

On arrival we waited in line outside until our names were called, then we were invited in and both given a numbered ticket and asked to wait in the waiting area for our numbers to be called. As there were COVID restrictions Brian and I had to sit apart.

There were three booths being used. I had ticket 003 and it wasn’t long before my number came up. We were obviously both anxious as this was an important day for us and our French still isn’t as good as we would like it to be. However, the interviewer was very patient, and spoke slowly and clearly. We just needed to provide our ID, and a passport sized photo along with our fingerprints, which they took digitally. 

We are now just waiting for our identity cards to arrive in the post, which does seem to be taking a long while, however the comforting thing is that the confirmation email they sent to us inviting us to visit the prefecture is what I used to confirm I was registered to live in France when I returned recently, so we think all is well - we just need to be patient.