“These countries don’t want people to come in illegally, but you’re making this process so hard and so complex it’s hard not to be illegal“ All I’m saying is, be glad Damon is an American trying to get into another country and not the other way around. Because hoo boy!
Imagine being someone from a third world country? Having to apply for visas everytime you enter Europe/USA? the process is cumbersome and they ask for so many documents.. it's so annoying. Being an American is already a privilege. I agree
And the many people that wait for YEARS to get same or similar visa in US and when the process is about to be done, they have to start all over again because their documents are not valid anymore (the documents used in the start of the process are now 2 years old or so).
This brought back all the feelings i had went I studied abroad in Paris .... so many annoying websites ... so many weird in-person meetings ...like France please let me love you I'm trying
How many times did you almost throw your passport out of the window during this video? Give it all up? Commit to your home country for the rest of your life? 🤦🏼♂️
Trying to renew my passport inside my own country, makes me want to give up! I already have a passport. Why do I need to prove that my mother was born in this country, when she too has a new passport?
I'm french and god's knows that those "hoops" are just insane and way to hard to go throught, it's so complicated, and basicaly, no one learn this at school even later xD u have to find out by yourself or ask parents how it works, 'cause no one's gonna tell ya anyway ...
I've just been thinking how grateful I am to live in the EU! I can basically just move around anywhere (within the EU) and never have to think about visas :) I've lived in the UK for a year and never even had to go to any government buildings there… For my work I had to bring some official documents but those weren't too difficult to get in Germany (my home country). Because I'm so young I don't even know it any different. My thoughts are with y'all that have to deal with unnecessary complicated government stuff 🙈
France is known for it's heavy bureaucratie. I guess that's part of the french charm! But yeah, it's time they change a thing or two and make the system more efficient
As a French person I cam tell you it is not charming at all but very problematic. Moreover the problems in the bureaucoracie disproportionately affects people of color. Damon as a white American was able to get a visa quite rapidly in my opinion when people in horrific situations (facing war, famine etc.) Can't even get papers in France. It's not cute at all.
I'm french and it isn't make me laught at all. I'm sad to Watch and listen that about my country, the french "administration" is so heavy for everything that so many people even french make mistake and i dont speak about foreigner. Not proud at all about it, cause it happens in my country i love so much !!!
Eh, bureaucracy, so fun, right? (I'm Italian, I feel the pain. The French website gave me major flashbacks) I always thought that bureaucracy was there to test you, and develop your street-smart. If you can survive the machine, you're on to a good start in life!!
I had to receive my residence permit in Switzerland, and luckily - it was super simple! No lines, very clear guidelines, and very responsive people! They even had took my Russian insurance (which I get for free in Russia) as a valid EU health insurance! Perfect! 🇷🇺 🇨🇭 💖
I love this video because his reactions are so real and also it's so revealing to see an American person going through 10% of what a latino goes - in terms of bureaucracy and documents - to get a visa to go mostly anywhere. They get so whiny, while for us, well it's just the way things are, be patient and do what you got.
Mucha CC oh my gosh sorta same expect I have been doing it since November, I don’t practice much😭😭. And I only got most of the sentence because they’re cognates😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
@@saraojut4697 Bonjour, tu as raison, c'est une langue difficile. Mais je te rassure, je parle anglais aussi, mais pour nous, les Français ses difficile aussi de parler l'anglais. Car de notre point de vu, vous parlez à l'envers. bisous
DAMON! I feeeel you! I have been going through this process every year to study in South Africa! EVERY FREAKING YEAR! Another form, another website, another new document needed and of course more cash... I don't even want to write a whole essay about my experiences cause they bring back so so so much anger! I cannot XD
LOL I am crying / laughing because I relate 100%! It been almost three years since I moved to Paris for my studies and I can truly say that your channel motivated me a lot to take the chance and do it :) I hope I will run into you at some point Damon, bisous
It really is very unintuitive. Even as a French person. But like it used to be sooooo much worse, you have no idea. Everything is now "available" on the Internet (if you get through the administration lingo and madness). Before 2013 -yep, you read it right- you were basically on your own to understand anything. It was a literal nightmare. It is a well-known thing that the French administration is literally a mad house. (CF Astérix et Obélix, forgotten which album though). Also mind you this as much of a pain in the ass for any welfare, unemployment agency stuff... Any administration thing is THE WORST.
Coucou Damon, je suis partagée entre 2 sentiments après avoir regardé ta vidéo, le premier l'hilarité tellement tu as tourné tout ça avec un humour savoureux ensuite le désarroi car tu confirmes ce que tout le monde pense de notre administration qui est un vrai boulet et qui plombe notre pays vue sa complexité. Encore heureux que tu parles couramment Français et que tu as une sacrée expérience de voyage, sinon jamais tu n'aurais réussi à avoir cette carte. On devrait montrer ta vidéo à notre Président.....En tout cas bienvenu chez nous !!!
Listen, I’m an algerian student in Paris and believe me we have it the same if not worse as you, often times we can not EVEN TAKE AN APPOINTMENT THROUGH PREFECTURE WEBSITE, so we need to go at la prefecture very early (when we have classes or even exams ON THE SAME DAY) TO TAKE AN APPOINTMENT SO WE CAN HAVE THE RIIIGHT TO COME BACK 3 MONTHS LATER minimum to present the « dossier » with all the papers needed to justify your request for a titre de séjour , THEN YOU HAVE TO WAIT 4-6months to get your titre de séjour Last year I went at la prefecture at around 8 am and finally got out at 1pm !! JUST TO HAVE AN APPOINTMENT. someone gotta do something about it, this is extremely stressful, time ,energy and money consuming
Ugh!!! This is the most relatable video you’ve ever made. I lived in Pau, France for a year and the French gouvernement process is horrible! Bonne chance à tous!
This reminds me of the movie L’Auberge Espagnole when the main character tries to get his study abroad Erasmus papers done in France and they keep presenting him with mounds of paperwork.
There should really be a trigger warning on this video 😂 I moved to France in October and this exactly sums up every. single. aspect. of the French administration system... at all levels 🙄 No one on board the logic train...
Omgggg I'm an expat in Paris and I've never related to a video sooo much!!!! I've shown it to all my American friends here and we were laughing so much! Thank you so much for making this
lol this reminded me of my residence permit application in Austria. a lot of stress and many trips to the goverment offices. But at the end i was like you " oh here it is finally " and everything was worthwhile
I can see how you find this so frustrating. But if you are a resident of a developping country and you don't have a resident to write you a letter, the process becomes much more difficult. Congrats at last, and can't wait to see the France videos:)
omg I totally relate to that. I'm french and my boyfriend is mexican. we live in bordeaux together now and the amount of back and forth to the prefecture we had to do (and are about to have to do again) both in france and in mexico is just sooo ridiculous. it took months for him to even get an appointment to apply for a visa, and now that the date of end of that visa is approaching we have to do it all over again, and the situation is exactly like you described. It's a borderline impossible process to complete if you don't have any relation with someone in the country that can vouch for you because how the hell you supposed to have a proof of residence if you can't have a legit apartment without your immigration paperwork completed, how can you have an apartment without a french bank account, that you can't have without having an appartment, arhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh??? so yeah this video speaks to me on many levels hahahah but good for you congrats you did it!! bienvenue en france!
Il est possible d'obtenir une adresse légale en France avec une "domiciliation", généralement fournie par la Croix Rouge dans les villes de France, ou d'autres organismes à but non-lucratif et reconnus par l'état. C'est ce qui permet à de nombreux transfrontaliers de toucher leur salaire en France, parce que pour ça il faut un compte en France donc une adresse en France... C'est un service qui conserve le courier aussi. Ça ne fait pas de miracle pour les visas, du tout, mais ça retire au moins cette épine illogique du pied. Courage à vous pour le processus de visa ! Même entre préfectures ils n'ont pas exactement le même fonctionnement c'est à s'arracher les cheveux....
It usually is the same in Spain. Specially now with the whole COVID19 situation (no appointments, people going to the police station without an appointment, no appointments available on the website, nobody answers the phone, etcetera). I totally agree with the “These countries don’t want people to come in illegally, but you’re making this process so hard and so complex it’s hard not to be illegal“ comment. That's how it is for many people in many countries as foreigners. I'm glad you've got your visa renewed for 4 years, it's such a relief :)
Salut, Damon! Long-time subscriber (since 2015 with your French tutorials with Jo-- love them!). I've been living in France for four years (non-consecutively), and I just got my titre de séjour yesterday after eight months of submitting my initial documents (back in June). The process was long, and unnecessarily so...I also almost didn't make my appointment to get my fingerprints scanned, because I'd moved apartments halfway during the process, and the Prefecture had sent my convocation to my old address; it wasn't until I went to the Prefecture to follow up after not hearing from them for months that I found out my appointment was for THE NEXT DAY. Also had to change my address so that the Prefecture could then send the NEXT convocation to pick up my titre de séjour, which I got yesterday. Eight months and 269 euros later (yes, that expensive!), I finally have a titre de séjour...that's valid until this November. Frustrating to say the least, but you gotta do what you gotta do to chase your dreams, right? Enjoy Paris; perhaps we could meet up sometime! :)
Yay...more Paris videos! I moved to Australia from Canada years ago and it was a bit of a hassle but not too bad, but that's because I got married here to an Australian. What people have to go through to stay in Australia now is crazy and can cost over $10,000. I've met people trying to stay on Defacto Visas and they have to submit tonnes of evidence that they are really in a committed relationship....like copies of their text messages with their partners.
You have no idea how soothing for my POOR soul watching this video was. I’ve been on a working holiday visa in Sweden for the past 6 months and sadly I can relate to every single thing in the video. I almost died in the process out of goddamn stress having to deal with the SO UNNECESSARILY COMPLICATED system and miss communications. Probably spent literal days in total on their websites and sending emails... Bref ca fait trop du bien de voir que je ne suis pas seule!
LITERALLY!!! I've done this process in Italy and in Spain both on student visas where my universities have prepared a good amount of the paperwork for me and even then it was a mess. I FELT YOUR PAIN THROUGHOUT THIS WHOLE VIDEO
Yeah it’s definitely tricky... One thing you have to keep in mind when fighting through French bureaucracy is that emails will not get you anywhere for the most part : calling the services directly is your best bet. I know it feels weird to some people, especially foreigners, but if you call them they are forced to answer you and your questions.
Hey Damon, i'm one of the lucky ones that have a double nationality (french/USA),i'm sorry to hear that it was so hard for you to get your visa. But if this brings you any comfort, any paper work in France is such a hassle to do ( a french passeport, a french ID, a french driver's license and anything with the word french in it...) the french system (prefecture etc ...) take for F****** ever to respond, just tell yourself you went through a real French experience that the french people have to go through everyday :) ( faire les papiers administratif) as we say in French hopefully i enlightened you on the subject and if never we are in Paris at the same time we should totally go out for a drink ;)
I know going through all that was not enjoyable but man this video was hilarious! Those frustration breaks were everything!! Especially the French one.
Totally understand the frustration. I went through similar moving from the USA to London but I will say that it went pretty smooth but took about 6 months from start to finish. Plus I was doing an intercompany transfer which actually helped. I absolutely love living on this side of the world. Be here for 10 years already. Enjoy all the best.
between the sarcasm and tantrums, this video was super helpful for me to kinda wrap my mind around what I need to do when I arrive in France. Thanks!! :)))))
Reminds me of when I was setting up a bank account in Paris! O la la :) That was hard work, it took a couple of appointments and countless pieces of paper that I have no idea why they had to have. Like my birth certificate, translated and my marriage certificate.
i have also had an unnecessarily frustrating experience with "le consulate de francais à los angeles". on top of that, they made me feel inadequate for having sweaty palms...it was salt in the wound at that point. so glad you got your visa in the end
I can relate to your visa process. I'm still fighting with migraciones in Peru. I applied for 1 year visa, and migraciones approved for 92 years! Yes, expire date 2110! So they didn't put this to my passport and refused to give me ID card. So for 2 months I was fighting for correcting my visa to 1 year. They corrected but for 3 months. So now I need to start new process for visa. Visa processes are HELL!
Seeing you so upset about this process was oddly very satisfying, maybe because I'm Parisian. Loved this sentence "you make it hard for us to be legal". You made me cry for laughing so much as I've binged your channel and I now subscribed ! Bisous !
REAL TALK!!!! I can relate to so much of this stuff. I was in Ireland when the french embassy in Sydney wrote me and said they can see me tomorrow for the visa. Literally bought a ticket right then and took the next flight ACROSS THE WORLD becuase gettinga rendez-vous is so so difficult. I had to get my visa validated here and after following up months after I submitted my apllication for the validation of the visa - they told me to reapply!!! Long story short: I learnt from others here, don't bother with calling or email - you have to put in the hours!!! And I could not have done it without a friend doing the "hosting" thing like you said. C'est trop complique. Even went to the clinic to get tested - you know trying to be all healthy * - and it took 4 HOURS after having been there WHEN THEY OPENED and I had to come back next week to wait to get the results. Perhaps this is why the wine is so popular. Stresses can't swim ~
Congratssssss!!! That was too much to endure.......and still what I HEAR IS THAT YOU AND JO ARE SPLITTING UP since you now “live” in France. 🙀 STILL Enjoy your self and we will be waiting for the France videos!!! 😊
When I had to get my student visa at the french consulate in NYC, I had a similar experience. Everything was definitely made a lot harder than it needed it to be. Not to mention the website campus France is like strangely difficult to navigate
Really liked this video (your storytelling skills are like waw!), it reminds me of my experience with the German bureaucracy .. maan, that was crazy. Also, can’t wait for the Paris videos❤️
I recently had to apply for a UK student visa. In all honestly it was not too bad, just expensive. The most annoying this is I still have to wait in the non-UK/ EU line at airports and get my passport re-stamped every time I return to the UK. With the money I spent on that visa it would be nice to just waltz through customs!
the EU line is made to work with special EU's passports because they hold a microchip and many other security stuff and it's all an electronic process. If the visa doesn't come with a new citizenship and new European passport, you'll never be able to go through that line :/ Unless they equip the same technology on resident card but I guess it would be too expensive to make it work all over EU's countries. Or customs could make a "long term visa" line...
Hey. Next month, I celebrate 14 years living in Paris. Your video brought back so many frustrating memories. I see they have not changed their "system." Unfortunately, the bureaucracy doesn't get better. But hey, we're in Paris !
I just went through all this. I submitted my documents at the end of July and didn’t get my titre de sejour until 6 months later in January. I called them in December and they said it was ready and to wait for the SMS. I waited a week and never got the SMS so I emailed them, and they responded saying to come DES QUE POSSIBLE (bolded and underlined) as if they were they ones impatiently waiting. I’m just glad I finally got it...
Living in the USA we definitely have this issue here where the websites get confusing and you call 500 phone numbers and get transferred another 500 times! and then you only get told HALF of what you need to know and then find out by another person there’s another half of paperwork or whatever that you didn’t even know you needed 😣 that’s why I’ll repeat myself and ask a ton of questions and people get sick of me QUICK lol. I try to keep my cool though, it’s tough sometimes 🙃
Paris videos 😍 I'm looking forward for those cause I'm going to Paris this year ☺️. Also going to Mont Saint Michel, Dinan and Dinard so if you guys are thinking about doing videos about those places, that would be really helpful. 😁
Oh my woooooord I feel you Damon! I moved from Canada to France thanks to my dual citizenship and yeah, France is frustratingly administrative. I moved here in August... AUGUST! And I still don’t have my carte vitale. C’est hyper chiant, mais il n’y a rien que je peux faire appart attendre. Heureusement j’ai de la famille ici alors j’ai toujours quelqu’un qui peux m’aider. Bon courage mon grand ! Also, lemme know if you’ll ever be in the Nantes region! 🤗
HI Damon! I'm glad you didn't give up or we wouldn't have beautiful shots of Paris on this channel anymore XD As a French citizen I feel you, I agree, this country is a bureaucratic HELL OF A MESS!! Let me give you and any other foreigner trying to get a legal visa to stay in France when you need an ADDRESS a piece of advice: - Go get a "domiciliation" certificate. I know the French Red Cross does it in my city but it is *not* Paris so you might check with their local staff there. Might be an easier website to go through. - "Domiciliation" gives you an address, a legal paper, and you only need to "get an appointment" (by phone or go at the desk) and "show your passport" (or any ID card). Yes, easy! Oh must be of legal age of 18 of course. - This helps get a phone number, a bank account, and many other useful things in France. It actually is used by many French people too when they get thrown out of home whatever their situation so it's kind of a social help thing. When you have no address (or no ex ;)) as a foreigner you get nothing in France, you're only a tourist. Even "your hotel manager" can be an *ss and refuse to give you any certificate. Whereas "domiciliation" is free, non-profit, a legal document... Oh yeah, only difficulty there: employees of the French Red Cross might be only speaking French. You can come with a helpful friend tho! b At least we're good social helpers in France, right? :)
HOLY SHIT I literally cannot with all of this "you need an appointment"... da fuq. Your desire to be there must be strong as hell! My desire to be in Ireland is just as strong but I'm hoping its not this hard.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING A VIDEO ABOUT THIS VISA APPLICATIONS ARE HELL. I'm in France now but I had to apply for a long stay visa for my study abroad program. I had to fly to San Fransisco, because that was the nearest consulate to me who lives in northern Oregon, and come with all my information. I said that I wanted 6 months and gave them my flight information, which had my arrival and departure dates of Jan 11 to July 11. They decided to give me 6 months from my APPLICATION DATE so basically it will expire a month before my departure date and there's nothing I can do about it besides leave the Schengen area and reenter. Bureaucracy man I can't
I had an INSANE experience trying to get my French visa as well... The WEBSITE OH MY GOSH. I am here in France now, and this video was so close to home... all too relatable lol.
Bonjour. Bravo à toi pour avoir tenu le coup et enfin eu ton visa. Ça me rappelle une épreuve du dessin animé "les 12 travaux d'Astérix ". Bonne continuation
One of my friends teaching through TAPIF (American going to France) had quite a hard time as well with both the American Embassy (DC) and the French embassy (Paris). I've only ever visited in France and I haven't stayed long term (yet), but it's something I think about on occasion! This doesn't deter me, if it's in the cards in my future, but I definitely feel your pain! À mon avis, la France vaut la peine ;) Also, I'd love to see more videos about how you get started living in France! Getting a cell phone set up, bank account, metro card, apartment! De vrai dire, je prendrai n'importe quelle vidéo sur la France, elle me manque trop ces jours-là!
In Italy the whole process is even worse, and longer!! But in Switzerland it takes 2 weeks, it is incredibile! Come to Zurich for a visit, you will love it!
Damon, you are adorable. And this situation is what all of us who is a non-european/non american/ non-owner of an useful passport (sigh) has to deal with every-single-time we want to step a toe out of our countries( yes,even for couple days) 🤗😌❤️
Omg I struggled so hard when I got my visa for study abroad!!! I live in SD and had to drive to LA to the consulate for a literal 5 minute appointment. Cracks me up.
At least you were doing your procedure at Paris. In the Parisian "banlieue" is, like, much much more difficult and complicated and bureaucratic. And don't worry, there will be the cool moment: to change the address of your titre de séjour. I was also officially living with a friend (I used to have her address in my document), but in a moment I had no choice and had to change the address: two more weeks going to the Préfecture. Niiiiice
I'm currently in France on a long stay visa for teaching. This video spoke to my soul, nothing beats that ridiculously non-sensical French bureaucracy.
I'm so feeling this.. Being non european studying in Holland and soon working in France, the Dutch process is just 50 times more efficient than the French one. France always finds a way to create frustration. - impressive
I swear, I applied for a long stay document in Antwerp as I'll be studying here for 4 years. (It's a type of official document that says "this person isn't Belgian, but we allow them to stay here for 5 years or less" and I need it or they'll kick me out of the country because I'd be an illegal.) With how the process is going, I applied in September 2023, I probably will have finished my first year in University in September 2024 before they get around to actually giving me that document! (Fun fact, the rule is that you have to apply 2 months after arrival or you're considered an illegal by default. I'm waaayyyyyy past that limit! I applied in time, they didn't respond in time though....) Like, sweetie, you need prove that I live here, study here etc? Sweetie, by the time you're done playing Minesweeper or whatever I can walk around this city blindfolded because I know it so well! Applying for visas, residence documents etc. makes sense. Until the bureaucracy takes so long you have 20 different ways to prove informally that you have lived, stayed, vibed in place X and the official document has basically lost all meaning to you and you have probably found a way to live life in place X without having it presuming you'll never get it..... AND THEN they give it to you!
“These countries don’t want people to come in illegally, but you’re making this process so hard and so complex it’s hard not to be illegal“
All I’m saying is, be glad Damon is an American trying to get into another country and not the other way around. Because hoo boy!
You mean the 10 year wait list for some countries lol
Imagine being someone from a third world country? Having to apply for visas everytime you enter Europe/USA? the process is cumbersome and they ask for so many documents.. it's so annoying. Being an American is already a privilege. I agree
cadr003 15-20 for some. Depends on population.
And the many people that wait for YEARS to get same or similar visa in US and when the process is about to be done, they have to start all over again because their documents are not valid anymore (the documents used in the start of the process are now 2 years old or so).
This brought back all the feelings i had went I studied abroad in Paris .... so many annoying websites ... so many weird in-person meetings ...like France please let me love you I'm trying
"Let me love you" 🤣
This is one hell of a mood
Say what you will about Damon, but he is persistent when getting what he wants.
YESSS, and he is in inspiration to us all to get our hussle on
Yeah I wanna be like Damon 😂
How many times did you almost throw your passport out of the window during this video? Give it all up? Commit to your home country for the rest of your life? 🤦🏼♂️
It almost almost made me want to not Shut Up And Go. Almost.
Love your positivity, realness, commentary, and everything else about your life! I love 💗Jo💖 too....
Trying to renew my passport inside my own country, makes me want to give up! I already have a passport. Why do I need to prove that my mother was born in this country, when she too has a new passport?
I'm french and god's knows that those "hoops" are just insane and way to hard to go throught, it's so complicated, and basicaly, no one learn this at school even later xD u have to find out by yourself or ask parents how it works, 'cause no one's gonna tell ya anyway ...
I've just been thinking how grateful I am to live in the EU! I can basically just move around anywhere (within the EU) and never have to think about visas :) I've lived in the UK for a year and never even had to go to any government buildings there… For my work I had to bring some official documents but those weren't too difficult to get in Germany (my home country). Because I'm so young I don't even know it any different. My thoughts are with y'all that have to deal with unnecessary complicated government stuff 🙈
France is known for it's heavy bureaucratie. I guess that's part of the french charm! But yeah, it's time they change a thing or two and make the system more efficient
As a French person I cam tell you it is not charming at all but very problematic. Moreover the problems in the bureaucoracie disproportionately affects people of color. Damon as a white American was able to get a visa quite rapidly in my opinion when people in horrific situations (facing war, famine etc.) Can't even get papers in France. It's not cute at all.
@@choupinoudr249 yes you make a very interesting point. It's gotta change!
I'm french and it isn't make me laught at all. I'm sad to Watch and listen that about my country, the french "administration" is so heavy for everything that so many people even french make mistake and i dont speak about foreigner. Not proud at all about it, cause it happens in my country i love so much !!!
Deutschland is the same !
@@choupinoudr249 I'm 99% sure that Nihel was being facetious.
Love how real this channel keeps it
So real the French government's about to kick me out 😂
Eh, bureaucracy, so fun, right?
(I'm Italian, I feel the pain. The French website gave me major flashbacks)
I always thought that bureaucracy was there to test you, and develop your street-smart. If you can survive the machine, you're on to a good start in life!!
It's like the overall mentality is...if you can beat the system, then you deserve to be here.
@@DamonAndJo ahaha so true!! Well, Damon, you earned your spot in France ;)
@@DamonAndJo I always thought that. Like, "so you figured it out? Bienvenue en France!
Boi stand still I’m trying to read your shirt
"CLUB SICK AND TIRED OF COMPLICATED AND INEFFICIENT IMMIGRATION PROCESSES"
Omg i love your shirt
@@DamonAndJo where can i get one of those
L'administration française est horrible même quand tu es français
Nous sommes d'accord haha
Ouais 😂
"WE WILL BE BACK SHORTLY" as Damon screams into a pillow in French
I had to receive my residence permit in Switzerland, and luckily - it was super simple! No lines, very clear guidelines, and very responsive people! They even had took my Russian insurance (which I get for free in Russia) as a valid EU health insurance! Perfect! 🇷🇺 🇨🇭 💖
Lol you are so entertaining Damon😝 I love it!
Yes! Love seeing polygots support other polygots. You're channel was one of the first I watched like 5 years ago.
Ambie You are subscribed to all my favorite channels lol!
@@ItsJrodtravel yesss haha😂
@@embracewithchristina thanks you!
I love this video because his reactions are so real and also it's so revealing to see an American person going through 10% of what a latino goes - in terms of bureaucracy and documents - to get a visa to go mostly anywhere. They get so whiny, while for us, well it's just the way things are, be patient and do what you got.
La logique du gouvernement français est vraiment compliquée Damon ce n'est pas toi qui es bizarre ! ;)
This is very random but i have been learning french for about a year and a half and i am so happy i can understand this comment.
@@claudiaciganova2633 I am so happy for you !
Mucha CC oh my gosh sorta same expect I have been doing it since November, I don’t practice much😭😭. And I only got most of the sentence because they’re cognates😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Omg I’m so happy I could understand this. Learning French is beautifully hard.
@@saraojut4697 Bonjour, tu as raison, c'est une langue difficile. Mais je te rassure, je parle anglais aussi, mais pour nous, les Français ses difficile aussi de parler l'anglais. Car de notre point de vu, vous parlez à l'envers. bisous
DAMON! I feeeel you! I have been going through this process every year to study in South Africa! EVERY FREAKING YEAR! Another form, another website, another new document needed and of course more cash... I don't even want to write a whole essay about my experiences cause they bring back so so so much anger! I cannot XD
LOL I am crying / laughing because I relate 100%! It been almost three years since I moved to Paris for my studies and I can truly say that your channel motivated me a lot to take the chance and do it :) I hope I will run into you at some point Damon, bisous
It really is very unintuitive. Even as a French person. But like it used to be sooooo much worse, you have no idea. Everything is now "available" on the Internet (if you get through the administration lingo and madness). Before 2013 -yep, you read it right- you were basically on your own to understand anything. It was a literal nightmare.
It is a well-known thing that the French administration is literally a mad house. (CF Astérix et Obélix, forgotten which album though).
Also mind you this as much of a pain in the ass for any welfare, unemployment agency stuff... Any administration thing is THE WORST.
Coucou Damon, je suis partagée entre 2 sentiments après avoir regardé ta vidéo, le premier l'hilarité tellement tu as tourné tout ça avec un humour savoureux ensuite le désarroi car tu confirmes ce que tout le monde pense de notre administration qui est un vrai boulet et qui plombe notre pays vue sa complexité. Encore heureux que tu parles couramment Français et que tu as une sacrée expérience de voyage, sinon jamais tu n'aurais réussi à avoir cette carte. On devrait montrer ta vidéo à notre Président.....En tout cas bienvenu chez nous !!!
Pivoine 59 On ne réalise pas à quel point être citoyen Européen supprime teeeeellement de complications 😂🇪🇺
That's why I love Japan. I got a residence card at the airport on my first entry cause I had a student visa for four years.
Tanvi Kejriwal yes Japan was much more efficient compared to this!
Watching this waiting in an airport for my international flight is a real Shut Up and Go moment
You should see how it is for a French citizen to obtain a visa in the U.S., it’s a nightmare
Beda Lens Amen, to anyone!
Getting a US visa IS THE WORST PROCESS EVER
Beda Lens and the US isn’t even all that to be taking that long lol
ive been having a really stressful and tedious day so seeing damon vent (about something complicated that should be easy !) is really therapeutic
Listen, I’m an algerian student in Paris and believe me we have it the same if not worse as you, often times we can not EVEN TAKE AN APPOINTMENT THROUGH PREFECTURE WEBSITE, so we need to go at la prefecture very early (when we have classes or even exams ON THE SAME DAY) TO TAKE AN APPOINTMENT SO WE CAN HAVE THE RIIIGHT TO COME BACK 3 MONTHS LATER minimum to present the « dossier » with all the papers needed to justify your request for a titre de séjour , THEN YOU HAVE TO WAIT 4-6months to get your titre de séjour
Last year I went at la prefecture at around 8 am and finally got out at 1pm !! JUST TO HAVE AN APPOINTMENT. someone gotta do something about it, this is extremely stressful, time ,energy and money consuming
Ugh!!! This is the most relatable video you’ve ever made. I lived in Pau, France for a year and the French gouvernement process is horrible! Bonne chance à tous!
This reminds me of the movie L’Auberge Espagnole when the main character tries to get his study abroad Erasmus papers done in France and they keep presenting him with mounds of paperwork.
I MISS DAMON AND JO DOING VIDEOS TOGETHERRRR 😭😭😭
There should really be a trigger warning on this video 😂 I moved to France in October and this exactly sums up every. single. aspect. of the French administration system... at all levels 🙄 No one on board the logic train...
It's to be sure that you really want to be in France :D
Omgggg I'm an expat in Paris and I've never related to a video sooo much!!!! I've shown it to all my American friends here and we were laughing so much! Thank you so much for making this
lol this reminded me of my residence permit application in Austria. a lot of stress and many trips to the goverment offices. But at the end i was like you " oh here it is finally " and everything was worthwhile
the fact that you did all your communicating with them in french is MINDBLOWING to me
I can see how you find this so frustrating. But if you are a resident of a developping country and you don't have a resident to write you a letter, the process becomes much more difficult.
Congrats at last, and can't wait to see the France videos:)
You are the comment I'm looking for!!! Soo true!
omg I totally relate to that. I'm french and my boyfriend is mexican. we live in bordeaux together now and the amount of back and forth to the prefecture we had to do (and are about to have to do again) both in france and in mexico is just sooo ridiculous. it took months for him to even get an appointment to apply for a visa, and now that the date of end of that visa is approaching we have to do it all over again, and the situation is exactly like you described. It's a borderline impossible process to complete if you don't have any relation with someone in the country that can vouch for you because how the hell you supposed to have a proof of residence if you can't have a legit apartment without your immigration paperwork completed, how can you have an apartment without a french bank account, that you can't have without having an appartment, arhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh???
so yeah this video speaks to me on many levels hahahah but good for you congrats you did it!! bienvenue en france!
Omg I can totally relate! My bf os mexican too and to make it come just 1 months what they asked for the custom service is unbelievable!
Il est possible d'obtenir une adresse légale en France avec une "domiciliation", généralement fournie par la Croix Rouge dans les villes de France, ou d'autres organismes à but non-lucratif et reconnus par l'état. C'est ce qui permet à de nombreux transfrontaliers de toucher leur salaire en France, parce que pour ça il faut un compte en France donc une adresse en France... C'est un service qui conserve le courier aussi. Ça ne fait pas de miracle pour les visas, du tout, mais ça retire au moins cette épine illogique du pied.
Courage à vous pour le processus de visa ! Même entre préfectures ils n'ont pas exactement le même fonctionnement c'est à s'arracher les cheveux....
It usually is the same in Spain. Specially now with the whole COVID19 situation (no appointments, people going to the police station without an appointment, no appointments available on the website, nobody answers the phone, etcetera). I totally agree with the “These countries don’t want people to come in illegally, but you’re making this process so hard and so complex it’s hard not to be illegal“ comment. That's how it is for many people in many countries as foreigners. I'm glad you've got your visa renewed for 4 years, it's such a relief :)
Salut, Damon! Long-time subscriber (since 2015 with your French tutorials with Jo-- love them!). I've been living in France for four years (non-consecutively), and I just got my titre de séjour yesterday after eight months of submitting my initial documents (back in June). The process was long, and unnecessarily so...I also almost didn't make my appointment to get my fingerprints scanned, because I'd moved apartments halfway during the process, and the Prefecture had sent my convocation to my old address; it wasn't until I went to the Prefecture to follow up after not hearing from them for months that I found out my appointment was for THE NEXT DAY. Also had to change my address so that the Prefecture could then send the NEXT convocation to pick up my titre de séjour, which I got yesterday. Eight months and 269 euros later (yes, that expensive!), I finally have a titre de séjour...that's valid until this November. Frustrating to say the least, but you gotta do what you gotta do to chase your dreams, right? Enjoy Paris; perhaps we could meet up sometime! :)
Yay...more Paris videos! I moved to Australia from Canada years ago and it was a bit of a hassle but not too bad, but that's because I got married here to an Australian. What people have to go through to stay in Australia now is crazy and can cost over $10,000. I've met people trying to stay on Defacto Visas and they have to submit tonnes of evidence that they are really in a committed relationship....like copies of their text messages with their partners.
You have no idea how soothing for my POOR soul watching this video was. I’ve been on a working holiday visa in Sweden for the past 6 months and sadly I can relate to every single thing in the video. I almost died in the process out of goddamn stress having to deal with the SO UNNECESSARILY COMPLICATED system and miss communications. Probably spent literal days in total on their websites and sending emails... Bref ca fait trop du bien de voir que je ne suis pas seule!
LITERALLY!!! I've done this process in Italy and in Spain both on student visas where my universities have prepared a good amount of the paperwork for me and even then it was a mess. I FELT YOUR PAIN THROUGHOUT THIS WHOLE VIDEO
Yeah it’s definitely tricky...
One thing you have to keep in mind when fighting through French bureaucracy is that emails will not get you anywhere for the most part : calling the services directly is your best bet. I know it feels weird to some people, especially foreigners, but if you call them they are forced to answer you and your questions.
So stoked for the Paris videos to come!! Et beaucoup plus en français j’espère ! Amuse toi bien en France Damon! Je suis tellement jalouse !!!!!!
I am so fricking hyped for more Paris/French videos!
Hey Damon, i'm one of the lucky ones that have a double nationality (french/USA),i'm sorry to hear that it was so hard for you to get your visa. But if this brings you any comfort, any paper work in France is such a hassle to do ( a french passeport, a french ID, a french driver's license and anything with the word french in it...) the french system (prefecture etc ...) take for F****** ever to respond, just tell yourself you went through a real French experience that the french people have to go through everyday :) ( faire les papiers administratif) as we say in French
hopefully i enlightened you on the subject and if never we are in Paris at the same time we should totally go out for a drink ;)
I know going through all that was not enjoyable but man this video was hilarious! Those frustration breaks were everything!! Especially the French one.
Totally understand the frustration. I went through similar moving from the USA to London but I will say that it went pretty smooth but took about 6 months from start to finish. Plus I was doing an intercompany transfer which actually helped. I absolutely love living on this side of the world. Be here for 10 years already. Enjoy all the best.
between the sarcasm and tantrums, this video was super helpful for me to kinda wrap my mind around what I need to do when I arrive in France. Thanks!! :)))))
Reminds me of when I was setting up a bank account in Paris! O la la :) That was hard work, it took a couple of appointments and countless pieces of paper that I have no idea why they had to have. Like my birth certificate, translated and my marriage certificate.
Yaaaasss French Fridays here we come!!! I love the full French vids
can't wait for more french videos! I love the paris videos, but i would be interested in seeing the south of france and more rural parts too :)
i have also had an unnecessarily frustrating experience with "le consulate de francais à los angeles". on top of that, they made me feel inadequate for having sweaty palms...it was salt in the wound at that point. so glad you got your visa in the end
I can relate to your visa process. I'm still fighting with migraciones in Peru. I applied for 1 year visa, and migraciones approved for 92 years! Yes, expire date 2110! So they didn't put this to my passport and refused to give me ID card. So for 2 months I was fighting for correcting my visa to 1 year. They corrected but for 3 months. So now I need to start new process for visa. Visa processes are HELL!
Seeing you so upset about this process was oddly very satisfying, maybe because I'm Parisian. Loved this sentence "you make it hard for us to be legal". You made me cry for laughing so much as I've binged your channel and I now subscribed !
Bisous !
This is awesome. Sums up EXACTLY what it’s like in france!! Every time i try to do anything official i need 5 drinks afterwards.
REAL TALK!!!! I can relate to so much of this stuff. I was in Ireland when the french embassy in Sydney wrote me and said they can see me tomorrow for the visa. Literally bought a ticket right then and took the next flight ACROSS THE WORLD becuase gettinga rendez-vous is so so difficult. I had to get my visa validated here and after following up months after I submitted my apllication for the validation of the visa - they told me to reapply!!! Long story short: I learnt from others here, don't bother with calling or email - you have to put in the hours!!! And I could not have done it without a friend doing the "hosting" thing like you said. C'est trop complique. Even went to the clinic to get tested - you know trying to be all healthy * - and it took 4 HOURS after having been there WHEN THEY OPENED and I had to come back next week to wait to get the results. Perhaps this is why the wine is so popular. Stresses can't swim ~
I’m going to Paris tomorrow! Can’t wait to see more French videos!
Congratssssss!!! That was too much to endure.......and still what I HEAR IS THAT YOU AND JO ARE SPLITTING UP since you now “live” in France. 🙀 STILL Enjoy your self and we will be waiting for the France videos!!! 😊
When I had to get my student visa at the french consulate in NYC, I had a similar experience. Everything was definitely made a lot harder than it needed it to be. Not to mention the website campus France is like strangely difficult to navigate
Really liked this video (your storytelling skills are like waw!), it reminds me of my experience with the German bureaucracy .. maan, that was crazy.
Also, can’t wait for the Paris videos❤️
I recently had to apply for a UK student visa. In all honestly it was not too bad, just expensive. The most annoying this is I still have to wait in the non-UK/ EU line at airports and get my passport re-stamped every time I return to the UK. With the money I spent on that visa it would be nice to just waltz through customs!
the EU line is made to work with special EU's passports because they hold a microchip and many other security stuff and it's all an electronic process. If the visa doesn't come with a new citizenship and new European passport, you'll never be able to go through that line :/
Unless they equip the same technology on resident card but I guess it would be too expensive to make it work all over EU's countries.
Or customs could make a "long term visa" line...
He is the best story teller! Hahahahahaha. This video was amazingly informative and funny.
Ahhhhh this takes me back to my first years living in Portugal with temporary visas, it was sublime, amazing, so not complicated and time wasting -.-
J’vais à la France tôt en février avec mon lycée! Tes vidéos m’a appris beaucoup du français avec toi et Jo, merci pour ça aussi, bonne chance! 🇫🇷🇺🇸
YAYY IM SO EXCITED FOR THE PARIS VIDEOS BABYYYYY
Hey. Next month, I celebrate 14 years living in Paris. Your video brought back so many frustrating memories. I see they have not changed their "system." Unfortunately, the bureaucracy doesn't get better. But hey, we're in Paris !
I just went through all this. I submitted my documents at the end of July and didn’t get my titre de sejour until 6 months later in January. I called them in December and they said it was ready and to wait for the SMS. I waited a week and never got the SMS so I emailed them, and they responded saying to come DES QUE POSSIBLE (bolded and underlined) as if they were they ones impatiently waiting. I’m just glad I finally got it...
Living in the USA we definitely have this issue here where the websites get confusing and you call 500 phone numbers and get transferred another 500 times! and then you only get told HALF of what you need to know and then find out by another person there’s another half of paperwork or whatever that you didn’t even know you needed 😣 that’s why I’ll repeat myself and ask a ton of questions and people get sick of me QUICK lol. I try to keep my cool though, it’s tough sometimes 🙃
Paris videos 😍 I'm looking forward for those cause I'm going to Paris this year ☺️. Also going to Mont Saint Michel, Dinan and Dinard so if you guys are thinking about doing videos about those places, that would be really helpful. 😁
Damon ain’t holding back! 😂 love your videos!! I can’t with the “logic train” 😂
This video alone makes me grateful of the EU and freedom of travel
Your comment makes me sad about Brexit.
I had to go through a similar process to study in France and it was a nightmare! This video definitely brought me back to all of that!
Oh my woooooord I feel you Damon! I moved from Canada to France thanks to my dual citizenship and yeah, France is frustratingly administrative. I moved here in August... AUGUST! And I still don’t have my carte vitale. C’est hyper chiant, mais il n’y a rien que je peux faire appart attendre. Heureusement j’ai de la famille ici alors j’ai toujours quelqu’un qui peux m’aider.
Bon courage mon grand !
Also, lemme know if you’ll ever be in the Nantes region! 🤗
This is beyond true! Living in France is great, but the Visa process is no joke.
HI Damon! I'm glad you didn't give up or we wouldn't have beautiful shots of Paris on this channel anymore XD
As a French citizen I feel you, I agree, this country is a bureaucratic HELL OF A MESS!!
Let me give you and any other foreigner trying to get a legal visa to stay in France when you need an ADDRESS a piece of advice:
- Go get a "domiciliation" certificate. I know the French Red Cross does it in my city but it is *not* Paris so you might check with their local staff there. Might be an easier website to go through.
- "Domiciliation" gives you an address, a legal paper, and you only need to "get an appointment" (by phone or go at the desk) and "show your passport" (or any ID card). Yes, easy! Oh must be of legal age of 18 of course.
- This helps get a phone number, a bank account, and many other useful things in France. It actually is used by many French people too when they get thrown out of home whatever their situation so it's kind of a social help thing.
When you have no address (or no ex ;)) as a foreigner you get nothing in France, you're only a tourist. Even "your hotel manager" can be an *ss and refuse to give you any certificate. Whereas "domiciliation" is free, non-profit, a legal document...
Oh yeah, only difficulty there: employees of the French Red Cross might be only speaking French. You can come with a helpful friend tho! b
At least we're good social helpers in France, right? :)
As a grad student living in France right now, I RELATE AND AM TRIGGERED!
LOVING these longer videos
Thanks Damon's Ex!
HOLY SHIT I literally cannot with all of this "you need an appointment"... da fuq. Your desire to be there must be strong as hell! My desire to be in Ireland is just as strong but I'm hoping its not this hard.
so funny, I work at la PP and happy to see you discovered the French bureaucracy!
THANK YOU FOR MAKING A VIDEO ABOUT THIS VISA APPLICATIONS ARE HELL. I'm in France now but I had to apply for a long stay visa for my study abroad program. I had to fly to San Fransisco, because that was the nearest consulate to me who lives in northern Oregon, and come with all my information. I said that I wanted 6 months and gave them my flight information, which had my arrival and departure dates of Jan 11 to July 11. They decided to give me 6 months from my APPLICATION DATE so basically it will expire a month before my departure date and there's nothing I can do about it besides leave the Schengen area and reenter. Bureaucracy man I can't
I had an INSANE experience trying to get my French visa as well... The WEBSITE OH MY GOSH. I am here in France now, and this video was so close to home... all too relatable lol.
DAMON IM LIVING FOR ALL THIS CONTENT,, thank u sir
Bonjour. Bravo à toi pour avoir tenu le coup et enfin eu ton visa.
Ça me rappelle une épreuve du dessin animé "les 12 travaux d'Astérix ". Bonne continuation
I'll be in Paris this summer! You should do a meet up in July! I will be there for two weeks!
PREACH! SO many horrible experiences like this while wading through French bureaucracy!
This is wonderful!
I lived in Lyon, France from
Oct. 1991 to Feb. 1999 didn't work.
lovin’ this uploading schedule
Tuesday/Friday!
Living here for one month but can relate to everything about the paperwork lol. Love your videos Damon❤
I feel your pain lol currently dealing with the DMV - nowhere even near as bad as your situation but still SO annoyinggggggggg
Still trying to get my Italian citizenship after 23 years...we love our bureaucratic queens
One of my friends teaching through TAPIF (American going to France) had quite a hard time as well with both the American Embassy (DC) and the French embassy (Paris). I've only ever visited in France and I haven't stayed long term (yet), but it's something I think about on occasion! This doesn't deter me, if it's in the cards in my future, but I definitely feel your pain! À mon avis, la France vaut la peine ;)
Also, I'd love to see more videos about how you get started living in France! Getting a cell phone set up, bank account, metro card, apartment! De vrai dire, je prendrai n'importe quelle vidéo sur la France, elle me manque trop ces jours-là!
In Italy the whole process is even worse, and longer!! But in Switzerland it takes 2 weeks, it is incredibile! Come to Zurich for a visit, you will love it!
Damon, you are adorable. And this situation is what all of us who is a non-european/non american/ non-owner of an useful passport (sigh) has to deal with every-single-time we want to step a toe out of our countries( yes,even for couple days) 🤗😌❤️
"...he let me in." I cracked up here 😂 beautiful
Omg I struggled so hard when I got my visa for study abroad!!! I live in SD and had to drive to LA to the consulate for a literal 5 minute appointment. Cracks me up.
I'm looking to move to Paris thanks to your videos! Going there for two weeks next month maybe I'll see u around!
At least you were doing your procedure at Paris. In the Parisian "banlieue" is, like, much much more difficult and complicated and bureaucratic.
And don't worry, there will be the cool moment: to change the address of your titre de séjour.
I was also officially living with a friend (I used to have her address in my document), but in a moment I had no choice and had to change the address: two more weeks going to the Préfecture. Niiiiice
Wow... it's my first time here before thousands and thousands of views.
I'm currently in France on a long stay visa for teaching. This video spoke to my soul, nothing beats that ridiculously non-sensical French bureaucracy.
I'm so feeling this..
Being non european studying in Holland and soon working in France, the Dutch process is just 50 times more efficient than the French one. France always finds a way to create frustration. - impressive
You are brave!! You've done it!!! You pass the test ... welcome to the bread castle man :D
i was shook when you said "and that was the end of part one" like whaat?! theres more... lol
I swear, I applied for a long stay document in Antwerp as I'll be studying here for 4 years.
(It's a type of official document that says "this person isn't Belgian, but we allow them to stay here for 5 years or less" and I need it or they'll kick me out of the country because I'd be an illegal.)
With how the process is going, I applied in September 2023, I probably will have finished my first year in University in September 2024 before they get around to actually giving me that document! (Fun fact, the rule is that you have to apply 2 months after arrival or you're considered an illegal by default. I'm waaayyyyyy past that limit! I applied in time, they didn't respond in time though....)
Like, sweetie, you need prove that I live here, study here etc? Sweetie, by the time you're done playing Minesweeper or whatever I can walk around this city blindfolded because I know it so well!
Applying for visas, residence documents etc. makes sense. Until the bureaucracy takes so long you have 20 different ways to prove informally that you have lived, stayed, vibed in place X and the official document has basically lost all meaning to you and you have probably found a way to live life in place X without having it presuming you'll never get it.....
AND THEN they give it to you!