Co-habitation in France/Belgium??

[LinaBun]

Hi, I apologize if this is a redundant question, but I suppose we all feel like our situations are different in some ways

Me= non-eu citizen
Girlfriend= Belgian citizen BUT lives in France.
Met when we were kids. Dated briefly broke up. Met again and have been dating for a year but never "lived" together.

I am finally planning to move to EU and live with her under Belgium's co-habitation permit then hopefully become a resident and citizen. The only problem I see is that although she is Belgian, she works in France. I understand that the co-habitation permit may be granted only if the couple lives in Belgium.
If this is the case Can she still apply for me from France as her partner (since its all in the EU)? If not, does France offer something similar?

I suppose in a nutshell my question is---- is it possible to work with a co-habitation/reg-partner visa of one country in another?....

Thanks! So glad I found this site.

[Wanderer]

I suppose in a nutshell my question is---- is it possible to work with a co-habitation/reg-partner visa of one country in another?.....

Only if u've lived together in a 'durable' relationship for EU rules, usually means two years.

I dunno if France has a similar to Belgium permit but I never heard of one.

Sounds she lives on the border, so why not live in Belgium?

[nextonever]

dunno if this helps but i m non EU and my boyfriend is Belgian. we had a long distance relationship over a year and half, me malaysian by the way though he did come and stay with me for 3 months in kuala lumpur. i applied for the cohabitation visa and got the approval in about 4-5 weeks. i think yr partner needs to stay in belgium cos one of the documents required was the official address of my partner in belgium issued by the local town council. we also needed a pledge from him that he can support me financially in belgium. once arrived in belgium u need to report urself to the local council and the police will check and pay a visit to the address to ensure u're both really staying together, so that's why again i think ur gf needs to be in belgium.
the immigration dept did confirm that the cohab visa comes with a work permit but i am yet to confirm that personally cos i've just arrived last friday!
there is quite a number of official documents required. amongst them pics and emails, letters, cards as proof.
best to contact ur local belgian/frenh embassy for further details...

[LinaBun]

GOOD NEWS. For anyone in same situation. For non-eu getting permit to live and work in France even though your partner may not be of French nationality. Now I only wonder how you would go about during the "waiting period". Can you still be in France or must you be outside. Funny how every answer comes with another set of questions!!!!


FRANCE

A foreign-national partner in a "civil solidarity pact" (PACS) can obtain a permit to live in France ("permit de sejour") if their partner is a French* citizen, subject to a 1 year waiting period. It is subject to annual renewal through the local Mayor's office and permanent residence (a 10 year permit) is possible after 5 years.

The Minister of the Interior has stated that a PACS has to be at least 3 years old to be considered a defining factor for a permanent residency application. A PACS of less than 3 years can still be a contributing factor to whatever degree the individual area decides, but such decision will be affected by the recommendation (or otherwise) of your local mayor and an often variable interpretation of the rules by regional (departmental) immigration officials. It is only when the regional immigration office has decided that all the criteria have been met, that applications are sent to the Ministry for decision. This process can easily take 18 months.

If you are registered as a couple or married under the laws of another EU country, it seems this can be helpful to obtain a family entry visa to France, but not a family permit. The permit will depend on the existence of a PACS and it is currently unclear if you can have a PACS without first dissolving your existing registration or marriage (which might well be giving you more legal rights in the other country).

*In principle, as long as one of the couple in a PACS has the right to a 5 or 10 year “permit de sejourâ€