Hi all, I have visa appointment this coming week. I'm a US citizen, applying for a 1 year salarié (work) visa. I would really appreciate it if I could share and hear opinions on my situation and preparation. I see lots of information online regarding student, tourist and spouse visas, but nearly nothing for work visas. I was also surprised to see that the list of required documents for a work visa are nothing like that of the old student visa that I applied to years ago. For example, on their document list, other than the obvious ID photo, passport, application papers, and confirmation of the appointment, the only required documents are the autorisation de travail (work permit), and justification of professional experience (my CV, diploma photocopy, and internship attestations are what I will be giving in my case). There is nothing they say about providing a return ticket, proving ties to your home country, financial means, or lodging. I guess this makes sense becuse this visa is for a permanent contract. Here are the documents I've compiled so far:
-Official autorisation de travail (work permit) for my CDI
-Demande de visa de long séjour form dated and signed, along with the Récépissé d'enregistrement checklist
-Appointment confirmation form from VFS
-My passport, valid with two blank pages, and a photo copy of the ID pages and stamps/old visas.
-Photo copy of my diploma and attestations des stages
-My fully updated CV in French
-Two passport/ID photos
-An attestation d'herbergement/commodat ou contrat de prêt à usage, signed by both my employer and I. (I will be lodged in an apartment owned by my boss's family. Although this is not on the required list, I figured it would help to show that I already have lodging prepared).
-Plane ticket
Also, I have extensive travel experience in and out of the schengen area and have an old French student visa I applied to a few years ago. My diploma was earned in France and my stages (internships) have also been done in France as well. Additionally, it's worth noting that the work permit and contract in question is with the same employer I had previously done a 2 month CDD with a month ago. I also have the old work permit for this. He was very happy with my performance so he decided to sign me on a permanent contract.
I really just want everything to go well. I've gone through the list of all my needed documents and have poked around reddit and several other forums. But if anyone has any advice to share for my particular situation, or what to expect, I would be grateful!
