MCFA - France

Hi everyone,

Below you'll find a link to the official note from the French ministry of finances telling that the FP7 travel and mobility allowances should not be taxed:
http://www11.bercy.gouv.fr/boi/boi2007/5fppub/textes/5f1407/5f1407.pdf
but the living and career exploratory allowances are taxed.

(it was found by Eric in a 740-page guide on French taxes...)

This document is something very clear that can be opposed to an unwilling tax administration agent.

Other members of the MCFA are encouraged to submit similar links to important documents concerning MC fellowships in France or elswhere. Please share the information at the MCFA Discussion Forum (http://www.mariecurie.org/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi, section "Financial and legal aspects of Marie Curie projects") or just drop a note to office -at- mariecurie -dot- org

All the best,

Yegor

Local meeting in Lyon!

The next local meeting in Lyon takes place Tuesday, the 18th December 2007 in the "Bistrot à Tartines" at 20:30h (2, rue de la Monnaie). Besides eating delicious tartines we would like to discuss with you the organization/programme of the national meeting of the MCFA France so far planned for the 14th of March in Paris.

Happy to see you there, Marianne

It is important to state that nothing happens or at best goes slow if you do not have a Carte de Séjour, or evidence that you have applied for one.

FOR THE FELLOW: When a foreign researcher stays longer than 3 months in France, s/he must have a Resident's Permit mentioning scientific stay or all professional activities. The Resident's Permit always has a European Community description for nationals of the EU (on the contrary, for Algerians for example, it is called a Residence Certificate and has a different description according to the motive of the stay). The Carte de Séjour is free for EU citizens.

This document is the proof of the researcher's right to reside in France. French law states that it must always be carried with you. Usually, you first get a Temporary Resident's Permit (which can be used for most administrative matters) and the actual one afterwards. For EU residents, the duration of validity should be ten years.

To get this Carte de Séjour, you should present the originals of a number of documents, plus a photocopy of each, at the Préfecture or Sous-préfecture, depending on the region where you are. Phone them beforehand or check the website
http://www.prefecture-police-paris.interieur.gouv.fr/demarches/etrangers/etrangers.htm
and
http://www.prefecture-police
paris.interieur.gouv.fr/demarches/etrangers/paris/sejour/scientifique.htm

to find out the details; the list certainly includes the following items:

• A proof of identity (Passport or Identity Card);
• a document of your host institute stating that you are employed by it;
• a proof of address (EDF/GDF bill, attestation from your landlord, Attestation sur l'honneur'' of your cohabitant,...);
• a proof of health insurance (your Carte d'assuré social or at least a letter from the Sécurité Sociale stating that your employer has matriculated you);
• recent and good quality passport photographs (the required number depends on each Préfecture, but usually between 2 and 4), either in colour or black and white and in french format (3,5cm x 4,5cm), and the head uncovered. The surname, name, date of birth and nationality must be written on the back. In France, most metro stations have passport photograph machines as do some post offices, but it’s a good idea to have the photos ready before you arrive in france.

The item about the Securité Sociale can sometimes be a problem. Your host institute should make the necessary steps to get you a temporary card rapidly or matriculated (should be automatic but varies from institute to institute), which can be used to ask for your Carte de Séjour.

If the originals of any of the above documents (except for the passport obviously) are in a foreign language, they need to be accompanied by a french translation, but only translations from a certified translator are accepted. In France, you can certify copies of foreign administrative documents only if they have been translated by an organisation approved by the French Consulate. On the other hand, it is possible to obtain certified translations by translators of the High Court in the big cities, or by a private qualified translator (look in the Yellow Pages telephone directory).

If, by any chance, the researcher does not yet have a permanent address when he applies for his Resident's Permit, the host organisation may act as landlord, until the researcher can prove that (s)he has a fixed address.

There is no compulsory medical examination for EU citizens.

FOR YOUR FAMILY: Members of your family, if from the EU, have the same rights as you
have (i.e. they can get a Carte de Séjour, even if they neither work nor study).

FOR NON EU CITIZENS ACCOMPANYING THE RESEARCHER: In principle, the simple fact of being married to or being a child (under the age of 21) of a citizen of the European Union has as a consequence that that person should be treated as a European, as far as the Carte de Séjour and the work permit is concerned. Unfortunately, this does not always work that way. In fact, if you come to France with a non EU companion, it seems that the best thing to do is to get a Carte de Séjour of type scientifique for yourself. The procedure is somewhat different from what is explained above, but is described in great detail in http://www.fnrs.fr/fnak. When you get this Carte de Séjour of type scientifique, your family can get a Carte de Séjour temporaire (which is not free, but neither prohibitively expensive).

FOR A NON MARRIED COMPANION: There is nothing legally stated in this case, and fellows
have had rather varying experiences. Basically, your companion will be treated as an independent person, which means that (s)he can get a Carte de Séjour either as a student, as an employee, or as an autonomous worker, if any of these apply, but not as an accompanying family member as such. The other possibility is if s/he can prove that s/he has sufficient funds for her/his stay in France (the amount required is rather high). The simple fact that somebody lives in a stable relationship with a European person who is in possession of a

Carte de Séjour does not help at all, even if you have a Certificat de Concubinage. If you encounter problems for obtaining a Resident's Permit for your partner, the only thing that you can do is (and this holds for any administrative step), to be very polite, insisting, have some letters from your host institute,... and if nothing works you may ask help from your consulate/embassy.

For information check:

www.fnak.fr<br />http://sos-net.eu.org/etrangers/indexetr.htm

As soon as the researcher arrives in France, s/he should immediately confirm her/his arrival to her/his host institution and possibly also register with the Consulate; this is the most effective way that close relatives can get in touch in case of emergency.

Public libraries in the big French cities are usually free of charge if you just want to borrow books, cd’s and/or dvd’s. In Paris and Toulouse for example, general membership is free, but you have to pay if you want to borrow tapes, records and language courses, more to take out CDs, and videotapes.

If you are a sports person, you may be able to participate in the sports activities that are offered by your host institute/university for a small fee or free of charge. There are probably also courses and activities offered by the Mairie of your town. In Paris, you can obtain the free Guide du sport à Paris from the Mairie; this booklet contains a wealth of information on all kinds of sports facilities in Paris (in order of arrondissements).