Documents issued by the french ministry of foreign affairs and international development

New provisions and reminder


In the interests of simplifying administrative procedures and formalities, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development (hereinafter referred to as “the MAE”) and CERN have decided that members of the CERN personnel domiciled in France, whether of French nationality or long-term residents1, will no longer be issued with an AR- or FR-type “attestation de fonctions”.

The MAE also wishes to remind members of the personnel of the following rules concerning the documents that it issues and to point out that compliance with these rules is essential for the proper operation of all international organisations established in France. 

This notification replaces the one that appeared in issue 19/2006 of the Bulletin (ref. CERN/DSU-DO/RH/13173/Rev.2).

1.         Types of document and use

a)   Special CD-, FI- and AT-type residence permits

These permits serve as residence permits for members of the personnel and their family members who are not of French nationality and do not have the status of long-term resident1.

They certify that their holders enjoy the privileges and immunities provided for by the Status Agreement between CERN and France (immunity from legal process in the discharge of their duties, entitlement to drive a vehicle registered in a special series, etc.; it should be noted that members of the personnel holding a full-time contract of less than six months duration with CERN do not enjoy any such privileges).

Furthermore, holders of a special residence permit are not required to obtain a visa for tourist trips (including conferences) to countries applying the Schengen Convention (currently: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland).

b)    AR-, FR-, CR- and EF-type “attestations de fonctions”

All members of the CERN personnel, whatever their status, enjoy the immunities provided for by the Status Agreement between CERN and France (in particular, immunity from legal process in the discharge of their duties).

CERN and the MAE have decided that AR- or FR-type attestations de fonctions need no longer be issued to French nationals residing in France and non-French long-term residents in France, provided that CERN sends to the MAE each month a list of the members of the personnel falling into those categories, ensuring that the immunities provided for by the Status Agreement are applied to them.

EF- and CR-type attestations de fonctions will continue to be issued as previously. As a reminder, while these documents are proof of the holder’s status as a member of the CERN personnel, they have no validity as residence permits since they are issued both to members of the personnel residing in France, whether French nationals or long-term residents (CR-type), and to those residing in Switzerland (EF-type).

N.B.: holders of an EF-type attestation de fonctions are not required to obtain a French visa for temporary travel in France for professional reasons. This dispensation is not valid for travel in the other countries applying the Schengen Convention.

 

2.         Persons issued with a special residence permit

The following persons are required to be in possession of a valid document:

a)    members of the personnel, from the date on which they take up their appointment, who have a full-time contract with CERN for a period of more than three months, unless they hold a temporary long-stay visa ("visa de long séjour temporaire”, VLST).

b)    the family members of a member of the personnel falling into the category defined under paragraph 2.a) above, from the date of their arrival in France, namely:

-      spouses, whether by marriage or by a Pacte Civil de Solidarité (PACS) or its legal equivalent;

-      single children up to 21 years of age if they live with their parents and can provide proof of dependency on the permit holder and a valid certificate of enrolment at an educational establishment;

-      dependent parents (parents and parents-in-law living with the member of the personnel).

N.B.: nationals of a member state of the European Economic Area (hereinafter referred to as the "EEA"2) or Switzerland are no longer required to apply for a French residence permit. However, they may, within three months of arriving in France, apply for a special residence permit, in particular in order to be entitled to drive a vehicle registered in a special series.

3.         Visa

a)    Special residence permit

To qualify for a special residence permit issued by the MAE, persons who are not nationals of Switzerland or an EEA member state must present the following documents within three months of arriving at CERN:

                                        i.       either a D-type (long-stay) French visa marked “carte PROMAE à solliciter à l'arrivée”, even if they are not subject to the requirement to obtain an entry and short-stay visa in France3;

                                      ii.       or, if they are the spouse, dependent child or dependent parent of a national of Switzerland or an EEA member state (excluding France), a photocopy of a valid residence permit issued by a European Union (EU4) member state marked "EU family member".

N.B.: the family members of a French national who are not themselves nationals of Switzerland or an EEA member state must present a D-type visa5 under ordinary law in order to obtain a residence permit issued by the prefecture.

b)    EF-type "attestation de fonctions"

Members of the personnel who are not nationals of Switzerland or an EEA member state, for whom an application for an EF-type attestation de fonctions must be made, must hold a Swiss D-type visa or a Swiss legitimation card.

4.         Initial application

The initial application for a document issued by the MAE must be made via the Users Office (in the case of users, cooperation associates and visiting scientists) or the Cards Office (in the case of all other members of the personnel) as soon as the member of personnel concerned arrives at CERN.

In the event of failure to do so, the French authorities cannot issue the documents to which those concerned may claim entitlement.

Furthermore, those who fail to apply for a document run the risk of infringing French regulations with regard to residence permits as all persons of full legal age are required to obtain a residence permit:

-      if they are not nationals of an EEA member state or Switzerland, and

-      if they reside in France for more than 90 days or, in the case of intermittent periods of residence, are physically present in France for more than 90 days in any six-month period.

5.         Renewal

Applications for the renewal of a document issued by the MAE must be submitted via the Users Office (in the case of users, cooperation associates and visiting scientists) or the Cards Office (in the case of all other members of the personnel), no later than one month prior to the document’s expiry date. As a general rule, these offices send a reminder via e-mail to the persons concerned.

Those whose legitimation document has expired are in violation of the regulations, which could create difficulties for them, in particular when crossing international borders.

6.         Change of name, change of country of residence and promotion

In the following cases, an application for a new special residence permit and attestation de fonctions must be submitted via the Users Office (in the case of users, cooperation associates and visiting scientists) or the Cards Office (in the case of all other members of the personnel) as promptly as possible:

a)    change of civil status (name, nationality, etc.);

b)    removal from France to Switzerland or vice-versa;

c)     a promotion to a salary band requiring a different type of legitimation document to be issued:

-      personnel classified in bands Aa to Ae, Ba to Bc, Ca, Cb and Da: AT-type document,

-      personnel classified in bands Be, Cc, Db to De, Ea to Ee, Fa and Fb: FI-type document,

-      personnel classified in bands Fc and Ga to Gc: CD- or CR-type document.

7.         Surrender

a)    Requirement

It is imperative that all documents issued by the MAE are surrendered to the ministry via the Users Office (in the case of users, cooperation associates and visiting scientists) or the Cards Office (in the case of all other members of the personnel):

-      at the end of the contract with CERN, or

-      if the contract no longer covers full-time activities or activities lasting more than three months.

Moreover, a child’s special residence permit must be surrendered when the child concerned reaches 21 years of age. Children wishing to continue to reside in France beyond that point must submit a request for a residence permit to their local prefecture no later than two months prior to their 21st birthday.

b)    Professional activity

Family members authorized to take up gainful employment in France henceforth keep their special residence permit.

N.B. : Applications to take up gainful employment by family members holding a French special card are handled on a case-by-case basis. They must be addressed to the MAE via CERN, by note verbale accompanied by an offer of employment, mentioning the expected remuneration (which must be in accordance with the French minimum wage regulations, regardless of the hours worked – information in French only at http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F2300.xhtml) and a copy of the request submitted to the competent authorities.

c)     Certificate of surrender

If so requested via the Users Office (in the case of users, cooperation associates and visiting scientists) or the Cards Office (in the case of all other members of the personnel), the MAE may – exceptionally and subject to the presentation of proof of having applied for a residence permit from the prefecture, whose issue is decided by the Interior Ministry – issue a certificate of surrender of the special residence permit.

8.         Duplicates

In the event of loss, theft or deterioration of a document issued by the MAE, the holder must apply for a duplicate via the Users Office (in the case of users, cooperation associates and visiting scientists) or the Cards Office (in the case of all other members of the personnel), after having reported the loss or theft as required (please see the procedure in the CERN Admin e-guide, https://admin-eguide.web.cern.ch/en/procedure/french-cards, section 6). The MAE will issue a duplicate only once.

In the event of non-compliance with the aforementioned rules and in accordance with international law, the MAE reserves the right to take appropriate measures, in particular to refuse to issue a special residence permit or an attestation de fonctions.

Consequently, members of the personnel are urged to co-operate with the services responsible for the above-mentioned formalities (departmental secretariats, the Cards Office, the Users Office, etc.) to ensure that all formalities are completed in accordance with the regulations.


Relations with the Host States service
http://www.cern.ch/relations/
relations.secretariat@cern.ch
Tel. 72848/75152


1Any persons not of French nationality who have been residing in France for more than three months on the date on which the MAE is notified of their recruitment are considered by the MAE to be long-term residents.

2http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F2712.xhtml (in French only)

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/venir-en-france-22365/formalites-d-entree-en-france/article/les-etrangers-titulaires-d-un (in French only)

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/coming-to-france/

5 http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/vivre-a-l-etranger/le-retour-en-france/avant-le-retour-conseils-et/article/conjoint-etranger (in French)