Trying to deal with these guys is a giant pain...

What the hell is a PACS and why did I get one…

After causing a minor scare on Facebook leading people to believe I was suddenly married, I thought I would take a moment here on my blog to explain just exactly what I have gotten myself into, and why…

In France, one would say “je me suis pacsé” meaning I am pacsed, with a boyfriend or girlfriend, partner, or roommate. However to those living outside of France, the term PACS is meaningless, and when explained as a civil union, becomes automatically interpreted as a marriage. It is most definitely not a marriage, but it closely resembles one in that a contract is signed and registered with a local court recognizing not a matrimonial union, but rather merely cohabitation between two people of differing or same sex.

The Perks:

Thus, for those who do not feel inclined to marry, or cannot legally marry, there is the PACS. With a PACS I can now work, travel, and live in France legally. Hooray!! I can also benefit from the free universal healthcare of the person I pacsed, and we only have to file one set of French taxes!! Double Hooray!! For foreigners looking to settle in France with someone special (who is French – that is the key to this), the PACS lets you do so in a “relatively easy” fashion if you know what you need to so to get one.

The Pain:

So the first thing is that the PACS is not advertised, or hardly advertised on official websites due to the fact that France is laying down the axe on immigrants and making it extremely difficult for foreigners to gain legal status in the country. So below I have included some links for anyone looking to get the gritty details of the PACS, but basically is requires a significant amount of paperwork (giant pain), translating official documents such as recent copies of birth certificates (costly), making appointments.

http://www.vos-droits.justice.gouv.fr/index.php?rubrique=10062&ssrubrique=10209

http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/N144.xhtml

Lastly, as a foreigner, you must change your legal status in France to obtain the Carte vie privée et familiale – which enables you to stay in France without a visa and give you the right to work etc… This is what is really hard to find information about, and essentially, the PACS, as a marriage, gives you personal ties to France. Ties that according to the French constitution, you are not allowed to be deprived of or deported for that matter…  The catch is that you have to have lived at least one year together in order to qualify for it.

So voilà, there it is. PACS 101. Questions are welcome!

As you can see, I haven’t taken the plunge into the world of marriage yet, I’m just legalizing my tushe in France in the hopes of continuing ma petite vie parisienne!!

A bientôt!!

Thinking about signing that PACS

ok, now I am really signing it!