Getting a Carte de Sejour

The last big job on my to do list is to apply for a carte de sejour. I haven't applied yet because I had to wait for Ferbent to get a job. Now that he has and he's completed the probation period I can go ahead. I've been a bit worried about it because technically I am living in the black here. I think if someone stopped and asked to see my passport I could say I arrived yesterday but there's a stamp in my passport to say otherwise. They almost never stamp passports these days but just when I didn't want one they did. It was when I flew from Ireland to Paris. It's not likely that anyone would stop me but I do see others getting stopped by police on quite a regular basis. Of course, they are usually men and of Arab origin but that's another story.

I've already asked the Prefecture what I need to do and it's the usual book of documents. I need a copy of Ferbent's passport, a copy of my passport, 2 photos of each of us, a copy of our marriage certificate (translated in French of course), proof of medical insurance (which I don't have) and a copy of his work contract. That's just for starters, I'm sure they'll come up with some other things I'll need to do later.

Once they approve it, which I'm sure they eventually will, I'll get permission to live and work in France for 10 years. Thankfully I won't have to worry about it again until then.