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)

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