Family of EU/EEA/Swiss citizen (Directive 2004/38)
Pathway for foreign family members (including Vietnamese nationals) of an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen — OTHER than French — exercising free movement in France. Per service-public.gouv.fr/F2653 and Directive 2004/38/EC: spouse, children under 21 (or dependent if older), direct dependent ascendants, and dependent ascendants/descendants of the spouse may accompany or join the EU citizen. The EU sponsor must have a right to stay in France as worker, inactive, student, or retiree (note: students may bring only spouse + direct descendants, NOT ascendants). **Structural difference from other long-stay tracks**: Vietnamese applicants enter France on a **Schengen short-stay visa** (NOT a VLS-TS), then apply within 3 months for a **carte de séjour « membre de famille d'un citoyen UE/EEE/Suisse »** (F19315) at the préfecture. The carte is **free** per Directive 2004/38 — no fee. Distinct from family-of-french (which uses VLS-TS « vie privée et familiale » for spouses of French citizens) and from family-of-foreign-resident (regroupement-familial under OFII pre-authorisation for spouses of foreign residents).
Family of foreign resident (Regroupement familial — sponsor-initiated)
Family-reunification pathway under the **regroupement familial** procedure (CESEDA L434-1 et seq) for spouses and minor children of foreign nationals legally resident in France. **Structurally distinct from all other family-immigration paths**: the SPONSOR (foreign resident in France) initiates the procedure with the OFII (Office français de l'immigration et de l'intégration) BEFORE any visa application by the applicant in Vietnam. The applicant cannot file directly from Vietnam — the sequence is: (1) sponsor files OFII regroupement-familial request → (2) mayor of sponsor's commune verifies housing + resources → (3) OFII territorial delegation completes instruction → (4) prefect decides within 6 months → (5) only after prefect's positive decision does the applicant in Vietnam apply for the long-stay visa at TLS Contact. Per F11166, eligible family = sponsor's spouse (≥18, legally married) + minor children (<18) — **ascendants are NOT eligible** under regroupement familial and must go through visiteur (F302) instead. Distinct from family-of-french (spouses of French citizens use VLS-TS « vie privée et familiale ») and from family-of-eu (spouses of EU citizens use Directive 2004/38 path with Schengen short-stay entry + free carte).
Adoption (visa long séjour « adoption » — MAI) — SUSPENDED FOR VIETNAM 5 MAR 2026–~5 MAR 2027
**SUSPENDED FOR VIETNAM — 5 MARCH 2026 to ~5 MARCH 2027.** Per service-public.gouv.fr F935 (verbatim): «Les procédures d'adoption internationale par toute personne résidant en France sont suspendues … Pour une durée d'1 an à compter du 5 mars 2026, pour les enfants ayant leur résidence habituelle au Vietnam.» French adopters cannot initiate adoption procedures for children residing in Vietnam during this suspension. The information below describes the pathway as it stands once the suspension lifts — do NOT initiate Vietnamese adoption procedures during the suspension period; advise affected adopters accordingly. Re-verify the suspension status on F935 before each consultation, as it may be lifted earlier or extended. Long-stay visa pathway « adoption » for a foreign minor child adopted by a French national or by a foreign national usually residing in France. **The visa is issued only after approval by the Mission de l'Adoption Internationale (MAI)** — without MAI approval no visa can be delivered. Per france-visas.gouv.fr/adoption: the MAI is competent when there is a **foreign court decision authorising the adoption** AND the **adopter is French or a foreign national usually residing in France**. The MAI is NOT competent when the child is adopted under the laws of their country of residence by parents themselves usually residing abroad — those cases are routed instead through the « enfant de Français » sub-track of family-of-french (if the parent is French) OR through the regroupement-familial procedure (if the parent is a non-EU foreign resident). For Vietnamese-applicant context: this is the path for a Vietnamese minor adopted via a Vietnamese court decision by French (or foreign-resident-in-France) adoptive parents. Vietnam is a Hague Adoption Convention country (acceded 2012), so the procedure runs through the **Hague mechanism via the AFA (Agence Française de l'Adoption)** or an OAA (Organisme Autorisé pour l'Adoption) on the French side and the **DAI / MoLISA** (Cục Con nuôi — Department for Adoption under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs) on the Vietnamese side. Distinct from family-of-french (biological children), family-of-eu (Directive 2004/38), and family-of-foreign-resident (regroupement-familial, ascendants- and minors-only without adoption decision).
Spouse of French national — Conjoint(e) de Français(e)
Long-stay visa (VLS-TS « vie privée et familiale ») for a Vietnamese national married to a French citizen. The canonical national-policy source is service-public.gouv.fr F1764. The defining pre-step — mandatory before the visa application can be filed — is transcription of the foreign marriage into the French état civil by the Service Central d'État Civil de Nantes (SCEC). Without transcription the marriage does not exist in French civil-registry law and the consular post cannot issue the visa. On arrival the holder validates the VLS-TS on ANEF within 3 months; after 1 year on the VLS-TS they apply at the préfecture for the 2-year carte de séjour pluriannuelle (F2209); after 3 years total they may apply for the 10-year carte de résident (F2208). Legal basis: CESEDA L.312-1 and L.312-1-1 (visa-side anchors per F1764) and L.423-1 to L.423-6 (residence-permit conditions).
Child of French national — Enfant de Français (minor child of a French parent)
Long-stay visa (VLS valid 3 months, not VLS-TS) for a minor Vietnamese child of a French parent. The canonical national-policy source is service-public.gouv.fr F16162 (Visa de long séjour — overview) and france-visas.gouv.fr famille-de-français portal. After arrival on the 3-month VLS, the holder applies for a carte de séjour at the préfecture of the département of residence. Legal basis: CESEDA L.423-12. Where one parent is French at the time of birth, the child inherits French nationality by descent — this subtype covers cases where filiation is contested, where one parent acquired French nationality after the child's birth, or where the child's French nationality is legally unresolved at the time of the visa application.
Ascendant of French national — Ascendant(e) de Français (parent of an adult French citizen)
Long-stay visa (VLS valid 3 months, not VLS-TS) for an elderly Vietnamese parent or grandparent of an adult French citizen, where the French citizen takes them financially in charge (à charge). The primary legal anchors are CESEDA L.423-11, and the famille-de-français umbrella at france-visas.gouv.fr. The defining condition is genuine, pre-existing financial dependency — not dependency created for the purpose of the visa application. After arrival on the 3-month VLS, the holder applies at the préfecture for the 10-year carte de résident « ascendant de Français à charge » (CR 1502).
Parent of French minor — Parent d'enfant français mineur (foreign parent of a French minor residing in France)
Long-stay visa (VLS valid 3 months, not VLS-TS) for a Vietnamese national who is the parent of a French minor residing in France, where the Vietnamese parent has made a real and continuous contribution to the child's maintenance and upbringing. Legal basis: CESEDA L.423-7. The canonical national-policy procedural reference is service-public.gouv.fr F2209 (Vie privée et familiale — étranger parent d'enfant français). Conditions per Article 371-2 of the French Civil Code: filiation proven + child is French + child is a minor + Vietnamese parent has contributed effectively to maintenance and education since birth OR for at least 2 years before the application. After arrival: carte de séjour « vie privée et familiale » at the préfecture.