Before you start

A long-stay visa appropriate to your situation, obtained before travel
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
A French address
An ANEF account and the visa's reference numbers

Step-by-step

1
Validate your VLS-TS within three months of arrival
Done online with the visa number, your entry date and an electronic tax stamp. This converts the visa into a valid residence permit. Missing the deadline puts you out of status and the remedy is far worse than the original procedure.
OnlineWho: YouWithin 3 months of arrival
2
Create and maintain your ANEF account
Almost all immigration procedures run through the national platform. Set it up on arrival and check it weekly during any live procedure — document requests appear inside the account rather than by post, and a missed one stalls a file for months.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
3
Get a utility bill in your own name quickly
France has no municipal registration, but constantly demands a justificatif de domicile in your name. An electricity or internet account is the usual source, and getting one early unlocks a surprising number of other procedures.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1–2
4
Start renewals at the earliest permitted date
Préfecture processing times exceed the published guidance in most départements. Applying early gets you a récépissé that protects your status while the file is considered, which is the whole point of applying early.
OnlineWho: You
5
Keep the récépissé and know what it permits
While a file is under consideration you hold a receipt confirming your right to remain and usually to work. Some allow travel and some do not, and the distinction is checked at borders. Read yours rather than assuming.
OnlineWho: You
6
Document every submission
Screenshot each ANEF submission and keep every confirmation. Files get lost and requests appear and vanish; being able to show exactly what you sent and when is the only leverage you have when something stalls.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the long-stay visa
Proof of entry date into the Schengen area
Justificatif de domicile in your name
Employment contract or proof of resources, depending on the route
Passport photographs to French specification
ANEF account credentials

Things most newcomers don’t know

The three-month validation deadline is the one that ends people's stay.

A long-stay visa marked VLS-TS is not a residence permit until you validate it online and pay the tax stamp. Miss the window and you are out of status with no simple remedy — you may have to leave and restart. It is a fifteen-minute procedure that arrivals postpone because the visa in the passport looks like it is already doing the job.

Source: service-public.fr

ANEF notifications do not arrive by post, and files stall silently.

The platform posts requests for additional documents inside your account and nothing tells you they are there. Files sit for months because an applicant never saw a request they could have answered the same day. Check the account weekly during any live procedure and treat email as unreliable.

Source: service-public.fr

Apply for renewal at the earliest permitted date, not the sensible-looking one.

Préfecture processing times exceed the guidance almost everywhere. Applying early gets you a récépissé that protects your status while the file is considered. Applying at what feels like a reasonable time can leave you between a lapsed permit and an undecided file, which affects your right to work and your ability to travel.

Source: service-public.fr

France has no empadronamiento, and the justificatif de domicile does that job instead.

Unlike Spain or Germany there is no municipal registration to complete. Instead French administration constantly asks for a proof of address in your own name, usually a utility bill. This makes getting an electricity or internet account an unexpectedly high-priority early task, because so many other procedures depend on producing that document.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Missing the three-month deadline to validate a VLS-TS online.
Not checking the ANEF account and letting a document request stall the file for months.
Applying for renewal too late and falling between a lapsed permit and an undecided file.
Having no utility bill in your own name when a justificatif de domicile is demanded.
Not keeping evidence of what you submitted and when.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.