Carolyn and I both enjoy listening to the Pivot podcast hosted by Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway. Despite being a business guy, Mr. Galloway often talks about relationships, and one of his tips for relationship success is to “put away the scorecard.” It’s a tip I remind myself of often as I grumpily unload the dishwasher.
“Put away the scorecard” is especially good advice if you are part of a couple who splits their time between two countries. When I’m ten days into painting and repairs in France or clearing lint out of the dryer ducts in the US, I get into a snit cataloging my efforts; I have forgotten the DAYS of time Carolyn spent searching for flights, buying train tickets, booking hotels in the US and France, making sure there’s room for the dogs on the flights/trains, and that they’ll be welcome in the hotels. When Carolyn is peevish after being on the phone all day trying to work out some problem with the French utility company, she has forgotten the hours I spent comparing health insurance plans during the open enrollment period or the three times I’ve been to the hardware store that day. We both have slogs that we endure for the team, so yeah - put away the scorecard.
One of the good things - perhaps the only good thing - about the process of renewing our visas for France is that it requires more of a shared effort than other tasks. Together we strain our memories and rifle through mountains of real and virtual paper to collect and organize information. Several weeks ago I spent two frustrating days completing the applications for our new one year visas (half of that time was just trying to sign into the website). Filling out the applications is pretty straightforward, but it requires me to interrupt Carolyn constantly: What are our travel dates? Where is your passport? Do you remember how we answered this last time? I ask all of these questions while she’s trying to concentrate on writing the latest chapter of her graphic novel or reworking the murder mystery she wrote recently. What day do you want to go to Houston? Is the 21st okay?
Once the visa applications are submitted and an appointment has been set with VFS Global, the third party vendor that assembles visa information for the French Embassy, we have to gather the rest of the documents on the visa application checklist. This is also very much a shared effort. GO TEAM!
Purchase and provide proof of health insurance that will cover us in France. This is different than our regular US health insurance. The travel insurance has to cover €30,000 of health services plus emergency evacuation and repatriation, if needed. Last year, I bought the wrong kind of coverage and then we had to buy the right coverage during a short break from our visa interview. Fortunately, VFS let us email the new policy information.
Bank statements showing proof of sufficient funds to support us during our stay in France. This isn’t terribly difficult, but this year we have to decide if we are showing our US bank account, French bank account, or both. (We’ll take both, they can retain whichever they like.)
Letter of employment or copy of business license (we are both self-employed) and a letter promising not to engage in professional activity while we are in France. Easy. We didn’t realize we needed this last year, but were thankfully able to hand write letters and download copies of our business licenses. The hand written letter is the secret solution to any catch-22/intractable-red-tape situation in France.
Proof of accommodation in France, either a receipt for a hotel/rental or proof of ownership if you own a home. We do this with a mix of papers from our closing documents for the apartment purchase and a copy of our utility bill from the electricity provider in France.
We leave for Houston on Tuesday, our visa interview is on Wednesday morning. We are taking an extra day to meet up with old family friends, visit a museum, and have dinner out as we celebrate Carolyn’s birthday.
I’m happy the visa interview is dovetailing with Carolyn’s birthday. It’s an excuse to have some fun while we jump through the hoops. I lucked out in the wife department: Carolyn is funny, adventurous, and loving, and she matches or exceeds my efforts in everything we do. Happy birthday, my love!
Jusqu’à la prochain fois,
Roberto
If you can share, I am curious how you manage 1) being self-employed, proven by your licenses and 2) following the visa promise of not working in France. Do you work only while you are in the US? Or did you find a legal avenue to working for your US businesses while in FR? (I am self-employed in the US so the issue is relevant to me!)