Arriving in France on a long-stay visa (étudiant, salarié, visiteur, conjoint…) marked VLS-TS ("valant titre de séjour")? The visa only becomes your residence permit once you validate it online within 3 months of arrival and pay the tax. Skip it and you are irregular at month 3: no legal re-entry after travel, problems with CAF, and a compromised renewal.
Éligibilité / Qui est concerné
- Everyone entering with a visa sticker bearing « VLS-TS ». (Visas marked « carte de séjour à solliciter » follow a different path — a préfecture application, not the online validation.)
Étapes
- Arrive in France; keep the passport with entry stamp.
- Within 3 months: validate on the ANEF portal (declare arrival date, address, pay the taxe de séjour online).
- Receive the validation confirmation (PDF) — it serves as proof of regular stay alongside the visa.
- Diary the visa's end date: renewal (titre de séjour) starts 2–4 months before expiry, at the préfecture / on ANEF depending on status.
Pièces justificatives
- Passport (visa page + entry stamp), arrival date, address in France, payment
card for the timbre fiscal électronique. See
../pieces/pieces-justificatives.md.
Délais et échéances
- 3 months from entry to validate. Renewal window opens 2–4 months before the visa expires.
Portail / Où faire la démarche
- ANEF: administration-etrangers-en-france.interieur.gouv.fr (see
../portails/portails-gouv.md— beware paid look-alike sites; the real portal charges only the official tax).
Pièges connus
- Le téléservice ANEF bloque ? (erreur à l'enregistrement, dépôt impossible) — causes connues, spec des preuves et échelle d'escalade : section « En cas de blocage » de renouvellement-titre-de-sejour.
- The 3-month clock runs from entry into the Schengen area, not from settling in.
- Students often conflate CVEC payment / campus registration with VLS-TS validation — they are separate obligations.
Sources
- service-public.fr — « Visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour (VLS-TS) » (checked 2026-07-11)
- ANEF — étrangers en France portal (checked 2026-07-11)