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Applicable à GeneralThe CERN administrative service responsible for issuing legitimation cards, i.e. the Cards service or the Users office, depends on the category of the member of the personnel (see procedure paragraph 1 and the contacts’ section, in the right-hand column, depending on the service concerned).
The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) issues a French card (titre de séjour spécial or attestation de fonctions) to members of the CERN personnel and their family members, subject to the following conditions of award.
Members of the personnel who hold a French card enjoy immunity from jurisdiction in France in exercising their functions.
In addition, an AT, FI or CD-type titre de séjour spécial entitles the holder to live in France and to travel within the Schengen Area without a visa up to 90 days in a 180-day period.
To obtain a French card, the general conditions relating to the contract of employment or of association are as follows:
N.B. For all contracts strictly exceeding 3 months but strictly lower than 6 months in duration a card "without privileges" will be issued (additional information can be obtained on the Relations with the Host States Service website).
The category of document issued differs according to the nationality and country of residence of the individual, as shown in the following table:
The French authorities decide whether to award a card according to the level of functions at CERN.
For staff members in grades 1 to 4: Special AT-type residence permit
For staff members in grades 5 to 8: Special FI-type residence permit
For staff members in grades 9 to 10: Special CD-type residence permit
N.B. The initial request must be addressed to the MEAE as soon as the member of personnel arrives in France and takes up appointment at CERN.
Failing this, and notably after two months from that date, the MEAE cannot provide the documents for which the member of the personnel is eligible.
N.B. Requests for French cards for spouses/partners must be made as soon as they have moved to France, within a maximum of two months.
If member(s) of the personnel are officially separated or they no longer live under the same roof, they must contact hr-cards.support@cern.ch or users.office@cern.ch depending on their status to verify the impact on their family French card(s).
N.B. Requests for French cards must be made at the latest within two months from the birth or the installation in France (passport mandatory). When children of members of the personnel reach 21 years of age, their French cards must be surrendered (see Section 7, "Surrendering cards"); in the case of non-European citizens (i.e. those from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland), if they wish to continue living in France, they must contact their local préfecture two months before the card's expiry date.
Since 15 August 2013, members of the personnel who are French citizens or who have been resident in France for over three months no longer receive AR or FR-type cards.
However, they are brought to the MEAE’s attention by e-mail in order to guarantee their immunity from jurisdiction in France in exercising their functions.
CR-type cards (diplomatic status) continue to be issued by the French authorities.
Cards are not issued to family members. If family members are required to hold a visa, they must apply for a residence permit at the préfecture of their place of residence.
Whatever their nationality or type of contract, all staff members domiciliated in Switzerland must apply for an EF-type attestation de fonctions. Any breach of this obligation is prejudicial to the Organization in relation to its host States.
No cards are issued for members of the family.
The administrative service responsible for the handling depends on the category of the member of the personnel concerned:
a. Staff Members (STAF), Fellows (FELL), Graduates (GRAD) , Students (DOCT, TECH, ADMI), Trainees (TRNE), Project Associates (PJAS), Experiment Associates (EXAS), Scientific Associates (SASS), Corresponding Associates (CASS) and Guest Professors (GPRO) must contact
The CERN Community Support Centre collects and verifies the legibility and compliance of the documents, ensures that the files are complete, and issue, if applicable, and in particular upon return of cards, a certified true copy of said cards.
Once the documents have been sent by the CERN Community Support Centre to the Cards service, the latter processes the requests with the authorities of the host states, and remains the main point of contact for any advice or information on the various processes described below.
b. Users (USER), Cooperation Associates (COAS, except the COAS LIT) and Visiting Scientists (VISC) must always contact the Users Office that informs them also about the collecting of their French card.
In the following text these responsibilities are referred to, according to the category of the member of the personnel.
Members of the personnel who meet the conditions of award listed above must apply for French cards for themselves and their family members as soon as they have an official address in France or Switzerland and have taken up residence there, within a maximum of two months after taking up appointment.
N.B. Issue of a special AT, FI or CD-type residence permit to family members is a prerequisite for driving a vehicle with green plates.
Requests for French cards for spouses/partners/children must be made as soon as they have moved to France, within a maximum of two months. Beyond this date, he/she will be considered as a resident and will no longer be entitled to a special AT, FI or CD-type residence permit.
The procedure for applying for a French card is as follows:
If their address has changed since the start of their contract, members of the personnel must register their permanent address on the EDH form Changement d'adresse locale / Change of local address.
The Cards Service has made available to members of the personnel the application "Application for the new French card" accessible via the Service P ortal . The member of personnel accesses the application forms, uploads them, completes them, and attaches them, unsigned, to the request.
Depending on the case, the following forms must be completed:
It is important to name the form (s) indicating the name and family relationship for the family members (eg NNPF-WagnerOtto, NNPF-WagnerOtto-Spouse, NNPF-WagnerOtto-Partner, NNPF-WagnerOtto-Child1, NNPF-WagnerOtto-Child2 . ).
Once the documents are attached and in order to process the request as soon as possible, the member of personnel will answer a few questions and then submit his application. Depending on the status of the member of personnel, the request is then sent either to the Cards service or to the Users Office.
In addition, for each card’s application, members of the personnel must hand deliver as soon as possible the following supporting documents exclusively in paper form to the CERN Community Support Centre (building 33) from 7 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. Monday to Friday or to the Users office, depending on the category of the member of the personnel (see procedure paragraph 1):
| Member of the personnel | Spouse/Partner | Child/Children | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 identical (conformity of the photos requested by the Protocol), passport-format photos (ProntoPhot) | yes | yes | yes |
| One "fiche individuelle" duly completed, in capitals, and signed in black ink | yes | yes | yes |
| A photocopy of the passport or ID card (both sides) | yes | yes | yes |
| A photocopy of the carte de légitimation suisse (applies only to members of the personnel living in Switzerland) | yes | no | no |
| A photocopy of the visa, where applicable | yes | yes | yes |
| A photocopy of the marriage certificate or partnership certificate (document drafted in or translated into French)* | no | yes | no |
| A photocopy of the birth certificate (document drafted in or translated into French)* | no | no | yes |
| A school-attendance certificate for children aged of more than 18 years old | no | no | yes |
| A certificate attesting that your children aged of more than 18 remain dependent ("attestation de prise en charge") | no | no | yes |
* Documents issued by a Member State of the European Union can be accompanied by a "multilingual document" (UE regulation 2016/1191).
The file is sent to the MEAE which issues the French card (approximate delay: 6-8 weeks). Members of the personnel are informed of the arrangements for collecting their Swiss cards upon receipt by the service concerned, depending on the category of the member of the personnel (see procedure paragraph 1).
Members of the personnel are notified of the expiration of their cards by automatic reminders before the cards’ expiry date. The card of each family member must be renewed at the same time as that of the member of the personnel. If members of the personnel have been living outside the local area for more than 12 months, they must contact the Cards service or the Users Office, depending on the category of the member of the personnel (see procedure paragraph 1).
AR and FR-type cards will not be renewed and must be returned to the French authorities. Failing this, a declaration of loss/theft must be submitted to the MEAE (see the procedure "Loss / theft of legitimation documents of the Host States").Applications for extensions must be made in the six weeks preceding the card's expiry date. If the member of the personnel has been living outside the local area for more than 12 months, he must contact the Cards Office or the Users Office depending on the member of the personnel category.
Members of the personnel must hand deliver the following supporting documents to CERN Community Support Centre (building 33) from 7 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. Monday to Friday or to the Users Office, depending on the category of the member of the personnel (see procedure paragraph 1):
Reminder: children in possession of a special card must surrender it when they reach 21 years of age at the latest. Non-European citizens (those from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland) wishing to obtain an ordinary residence permit in order to continue living in France must apply through their local préfecture at least two months before the expiry of their special residence permit, by attaching the certificate of surrender of this permit, issued by the MEAE on express request.
The member of the personnel is given a certified copy.
The file is sent to the MEAE and the renewal will be granted within approximately 6-8 weeks.
Members of the personnel are informed of the arrangements for collecting their French card (see procedure paragraph 1).
The member of the personnel must register his new private address using the EDH form Changement d'adresse locale / Change of local address.
Members of the personnel who move from France to Switzerland need to change their French card, if they already hold one, or, if they did not have one when living in France, must make a first application.
Members of the personnel must hand deliver the following supporting documents to the CERN Community Support Centre (building 33) from 7 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. Monday to Friday or to the Users Office, depending on the category of the member of the personnel (see procedure paragraph 1):
For the formalities connected with the Swiss card, please see the paragraph 5. Removals from France to Switzerland in the corresponding procedure. For more details, please report to the article "Arrival/change of address in Switzerland and Swiss “Attestation de départ”".
N.B. The EDH document “Change of local address” will only be approved by the Cards Service/Users Office once all the above documentation has been received.
The member of the personnel is given a certified copy.
The file is sent to the French authorities (Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in Paris) and the card will be issued to the member of the personnel within approximately 6-8 weeks. The cards held by the family members are cancelled.
Members of the personnel are informed of the arrangements for collecting their Swiss cards upon receipt by the service concerned, depending on the category of the member of the personnel (see procedure paragraph 1).
For information on the export/import formalities relating to personal effects and vehicles, please consult the web pages of the Installation Service.
Members of the personnel must hand deliver the following documents to the CERN Community Support Centre (building 33) from 7 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. Monday to Friday or to the Users Office, depending on the category of the member of the personnel (see procedure paragraph 1):
N.B. The EDH document “Change of local address” will only be approved by the Cards Service / Users Office once all the above documentation has been received.
The procedure described in the section 2. "First application" must be followed for:
a) family members who satisfy the conditions for the award of a French card, and for
b) members of the personnel with diplomatic status (staff members in grades 9 and 10).
N.B. Associated members of the personnel employed by a Swiss organization who are not nationals of EU/EEA/Switzerland cannot live in France, the special French residence permit doesn't authorizing the issuance of a permis frontalier.
For the formalities connected with the Swiss card, please see the paragraph 6. Removals from Switzerland to France in the corresponding procedure. For more details, please report to the article "Arrival/change of address in Switzerland and Swiss “Attestation de départ”".
The member of the personnel is given a certified copy.
The file is sent to the MEAE which issues a special residence permit within approximately 6-8 weeks.
Members of the personnel are informed of the arrangements for collecting their Swiss cards upon receipt by the service concerned, depending on the category of the member of the personnel (see procedure paragraph 1).
For information on the export/import formalities relating to personal effects and vehicles, please consult the web pages of the Installation Service.
Promotion to grades 5 and 9 give rise to a change in card for Staff Members who reside in France. Members of the personnel in question are notified of the details by e-mail.
The Cards Service or the Users Office, depending on the member of the personnel category, are responsible for changing the card.
Upon contract expiry, the cards of the member of the personnel and family members must be surrendered to the CERN Community Support Centre (building 33) from 7 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. Monday to Friday or to the Users Office, depending on the category of the member of the personnel (see procedure paragraph 1). If necessary, the member of the personnel can be given a certified copy but this does not apply to border crossings within the Schengen area.
Surrendering these cards is a pre-condition for the issue of other documents by the French authorities in the future ("titres de séjour préfectoraux" and regularisation of green vehicle registration plates).
Two months before the end of their contract, non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who wish to keep their principal residence in France must enquire at the préfecture of their place of residence for the procedure to be followed in order to obtain a "titre de séjour préfectoral". In which case, a certificate stating that the special residence permit has been surrendered must be obtained from the MEAE through the Cards Service or the Users Office when returning special cards.
These formalities can be carried out at the earliest two months before the end of the contract, however, persons subject to a short-stay visa in the European area who have surrendered their titre de séjour spécial will then have to ensure that they have a valid visa when travelling outside French territory.
Members of the personnel who have been granted special leave or an authorised absence (unpaid) must surrender their card and those of family members before their leave period commences if it lasts more than 2 months and if they leave the local area.
Persons wishing to keep their principal residence in France during their special leave must enquire at the local préfecture for the procedure to be followed.