I also have a visiteur VLS-TS visa, issued in 2022. And I've seen, up close, the visas of three other people who have the same. All of our visas looked alike:

The visa has two columns of information. On the left is information about the person. On the right is info about the visa itself. Mid-way down that right column is the word VISITEUR, in large type, capital letters. And a few blank lines below that is the "regulatory reference." It's a series of letters, numbers and special characters, all in small type.

If you've examined the visa closely, and still can't find the regulatory reference, then the prefecture. It would indicate an istrative problem that you'd want to sort out sooner rather than later.

 

Thanks, Grace, especially for taking the time and effort to check your vise and others'. Below "VISITEUR" my visa says "V1 VLSTS"; below that, ""VALIDER EN LIGNE"; and finally,"Signé :," with a name below it. There's definitely no regulatory reference anywhere, for sure no instance of either phrase the website offers.

I'll try the page on the istration-etrangers website today, and if I haven't heard anything by late this week, I'll email the prefecture.

Thanks again.

 

Thanks, Grace, especially for taking the time and effort to check your vise and others'. Below "VISITEUR" my visa says "V1 VLSTS"; below that, ""VALIDER EN LIGNE"; and finally,"Signé :," with a name below it. There's definitely no regulatory reference anywhere, for sure no instance of either phrase the website offers.

I'll try the page on the istration-etrangers website today, and if I haven't heard anything by late this week, I'll email the prefecture.

Thanks again.

Ours is exactly the same as yours and we need to validate within the next two weeks or so. If you get an answer, please post it here.

 

drex, Thanks for posting this question. My wife and i, we have the EXACT same comments under "Remarks" as you and Nunthewiser. Do you mind if I ask which departement you are in? We are in 84 Vaucluse. if you hear anything back from the istration-etrangers website, or from your Prefecture or other resource... please share what you learn.

 

Hi Wayne. I'm in 87 - Haute-Vienne.

It may be irresponsible speculation, but I wonder if this might be a case where they made a change to the visa, but forgot to tell the website programmers.

I don't know that it helps, but a little further research shows that CESEDA R431-16 16* has the same meaning as CESEDA R311-3 5*. Or maybe I should say that it applies to the same group of visa applicants - visiteur with a one-year VLS-TS. R431 seems to have replaced R311 in May of 2021.

 

Here we go. I got the following response from the -us-for-help page at the istration-etrangers website:

"Nous comprenons que vous souhaitez savoir quelle référence réglementaire vous devez sélectionner pour la validation de votre Visa Long Séjour valant Titre de Séjour (VLS-TS). Dans votre situation, il convient de sélectionner la référence réglementaire 'CESEDA R311-3 5°'. En effet, cette référence correspond bien au VLS-TS "VISITEUR" dans notre système."

I'm saving the email. That way, if I'm ever challenged on this, I have proof that I got it from someone in authority.

 

___

YES, Definitely. Save the Email.
Because I received the same response, with the exception that mine said: "Dans votre situation, il convient de sélectionner la référence réglementaire « CESEDA R431-16 16° ». (i had clcked on the " Us" button late yesterday, after reading through this thread).

Best regards, good luck with everything this next year. - wayne

 

Oh good grief. Gotta love that French bureauocracy.

Wayne, if what I read about the change in CESEDA in May of 2022 is correct, the answer you got is probably the right one.

Maybe Nun can submit the same request to the page, and we can go for 2 out of 3.

 

I'm having the same exact issue except the remarks on my visa are a little different

"LONG SEJOUR
TEMPORAIRE
V2 VLST
DISPENSE TS"

Tried calling and they told us to the local prefecture. Tried emailing and I got this in response:

"Dear X, thank you for your email.
We understand that you hold a visa bearing the mention “Long stay. Temporary” and you want to know how to validate it.
In your situation, no matter what the reason for your visa, if it bears this mention it is advisable to consult the website of the prefecture of your department of residence in order to know their of reception.
Your request for a residence permit should be made directly to their services.
You do not need to validate your visa.
We hope that these recommendations will be useful to you and that we have met your expectations."

Does anyone know how I can find the info for my local prefecture? Thanks.

 

I'm having the same exact issue except the remarks on my visa are a little different

"LONG SEJOUR
TEMPORAIRE
V2 VLST
DISPENSE TS"

Tried calling and they told us to the local prefecture. Tried emailing and I got this in response:

"Dear X, thank you for your email.
We understand that you hold a visa bearing the mention “Long stay. Temporary” and you want to know how to validate it.
In your situation, no matter what the reason for your visa, if it bears this mention it is advisable to consult the website of the prefecture of your department of residence in order to know their of reception.
Your request for a residence permit should be made directly to their services.
You do not need to validate your visa.
We hope that these recommendations will be useful to you and that we have met your expectations."

Does anyone know how I can find the info for my local prefecture? Thanks.

Your visa is not a renewable one, which is why you do not need to and cannot validate it.

It would be necessary for you to tell us which département you are staying in for us to be able to advise you on how to the Préfecture.

 

I'm trying to validate my visiteur VLS-TS at the istration-etrangers website and have hit a roadblock.

The first step after entering the visa number requires my visa start date, expiration, and issuance date; type; and a "regulatory reference," which is supposed to be in the Remarks section.

The page's drop-down choices are CESEDA R311-3 5* and CESEDA R431-16 16*. However, neither number is anywhere to be found on my visa.

The ? button next to that field brings up a visa with the answer highlighted - and the visa shown looks nothing like mine.

The page won't let me advance without filling out this field, but I have nothing to put in it.

Is there a safe choice for this question, or will I have to go have a chat with the folks over at the prefecture?

My wife had the same problem.I emailed dgef-@interieur

I'm trying to validate my visiteur VLS-TS at the istration-etrangers website and have hit a roadblock.

The first step after entering the visa number requires my visa start date, expiration, and issuance date; type; and a "regulatory reference," which is supposed to be in the Remarks section.

The page's drop-down choices are CESEDA R311-3 5* and CESEDA R431-16 16*. However, neither number is anywhere to be found on my visa.

The ? button next to that field brings up a visa with the answer highlighted - and the visa shown looks nothing like mine.

The page won't let me advance without filling out this field, but I have nothing to put in it.

Is there a safe choice for this question, or will I have to go have a chat with the folks over at the prefecture?
For my wife visa it shows four kind of cessada to choose from.I emailed to: [email protected] and in three days got an answer back with the right cesseda code to choose .Good luck

 

I used the one suggested in the email response from the help link:,CESEDA R311-3 5. I haven't yet heard anything back. I have no idea how long it takes before OFII s registrants, though.

Don’t use the website.Send an email to the one I gave you early.
[email protected]. You will get the correct answer in 3 to 4 days. They are very helpfull.

 

I used the one suggested in the email response from the help link:,CESEDA R311-3 5. I haven't yet heard anything back. I have no idea how long it takes before OFII s registrants, though.

 

Don’t use the website.

The help page worked fine for me. I got a response iin a very reasonable amount of time. I'm glad that email worked for you.

I suspect that both go to the same place. One advantage of using the web form might be that it's not likely to be spam-blocked, whereas some email might be.

 

For the Visiteur you would choose R431-16 16 as yours was issued recently.

 

For the Visiteur you would choose R431-16 16 as yours was issued recently.

Thanks! After some further research in the giant library with all its books on the floor, I agree that R431-16 16 is almost certainly the correct response. However, an email from the folks at the istration-etrangers website said to use R311-3 5. I've printed that email and added it to my file. If anyone questions me about it, I can show that I did as I was told by French bureaucracy.

 

My visa duration is only 3 months and I am struggling as I have a visa which have the below remarks :

.TALENT
CBE
PT2 VLS

I sent an email also to know my regulatory reference and the reply was as below:
"We understand that you want to validate your visa online.
After verification, it turns out that the title in your possession is not a Long Stay Visa equivalent to a Residence Permit (VLS TS).
Therefore it should not be validated by the teleservice.
More information about your visa is available on the site: Les visas de long séjour
We hope that these recommendations will be useful to you and that we have met your expectations."

 

My visa duration is only 3 months and I am struggling as I have a visa which have the below remarks :

.TALENT
CBE
PT2 VLS

I sent an email also to know my regulatory reference and the reply was as below:
"We understand that you want to validate your visa online.
After verification, it turns out that the title in your possession is not a Long Stay Visa equivalent to a Residence Permit (VLS TS).
Therefore it should not be validated by the teleservice.
More information about your visa is available on the site: Les visas de long séjour
We hope that these recommendations will be useful to you and that we have met your expectations."

now my problem is that i cannot find any website or reference to determine my visa type

 

It looks like you have a eport talent carte bleue européenne. @mohsel can probably assist.

 

If what you have is a eport talent then the initial "titre de séjour" is only good for 3 months and you have to (somewhere, I'm not sure where - probably the préfecture) within that first 3 months to get the multi-year "residence permit" you're entitled to. You don't validate your visa using the online system, I suspect (but I could be wrong). the prefecture for info on how to proceed.

 

normally eport talent (at leas that was the case for me few years ago) you do not have to validate the visa as it is not a VLS-TS for a year, but it was 3 months valid with an instruction on the visa that I have to the prefecture directly within 3 months of my arrival with the proper docs to create my TDS ...
Not sure if this still exists or it has changed, but I would suggest you the prefecture for that ... and mainly as you are on eport talent, your sponsor employer should help you with that as you have to submit tons of documents that are related to your employer.

 

I am trying to validate my visa but on my visa no regulatory number is mentioned.Mine is a P1 VLSTS visa.On the top of that it is mentioned as SALARIE.Please help me how should i validate the visa?

 

Email this address: [email protected] it is a french gouverment address.
Tell them you have a p1 vlsts visa and mention salarie and you need the cesseda reference to validate your visa.I did it for my wife and you get an answer in 3 to 4 days.

 

I just want to jump in to say I am having the same problem, CESEDA R431-16 16° & CESEDA R311-3 5° do not appear on my VLS-TS visa. As was said before, without entering that information I can't go onto the next page and those codes aren't explained anywhere. Even if I entered a code it wouldn't be the same information that's on my visa because it's just not there. A catch 22 I guess. I really don't want to have to get an attorney's advice. (12/3/23 and running out of time.) And how much time does one have? In some places it says 2 months and others 3 months. The visa people in the states had already given me incorrect information. Was it their mistake? (They processed the visa.) Who knows?

 

You don't need to validate a VLS-T .
You do need to validate a VLS-TS

 

I encountered this problem back in Sept while attempting to my visa. I sent a question via the website and got a response within 1 hour:

Dans votre situation, il convient de sélectionner la référence réglementaire " CESEDA R311-3 5° " ou " CESEDA R431-16 16° ".

Can't which one I selected.

 

So I was able to confirm the difference between both regulatory references: CESEDA R311-3 5° is the reference for visa applications from before 2022, while CESEDA R431-16 16° created after 2022.

In 2022, the regulations were updated and they began transitioning away from using the outdated set of regulations. However, during the transition, there was a period of time, where the usage of both the previous and newer set of regulations overlapped. So, for those with visas created in 2022, it is best to and confirm which set of regulations your visa was created referencing. Luckily, for anyone with visas created after 2023, your regulatory reference number is almost certainly CESEDA R431-16 16°.

Hope that helps! It was honestly a bit frustrating trying to figure this out, especially since adequate information is not easily accessible.

TLDR:
Anything created before 2022 use CESEDA R311-3 5°.
If created in 2022, it could be either CESEDA R311-3 5° or CESEDA R431-16 16°.
Anything created in and after 2023, it should be CESEDA R431-16 16°.

 

thank you!!! but what happens if my options are R311-3 9 and R431 - 16 10?
mine doesnt say 16 16, its only 16 10!!!
helppppp

 

So I was able to confirm the difference between both regulatory references: CESEDA R311-3 5° is the reference for visa applications from before 2022, while CESEDA R431-16 16° created after 2022. In 2022, the regulations were updated and they began transitioning away from using the outdated set of regulations. However, during the transition, there was a period of time, where the usage of both the previous and newer set of regulations overlapped. So, for those with visas created in 2022, it is best to and confirm which set of regulations your visa was created referencing. Luckily, for anyone with visas created after 2023, your regulatory reference number is almost certainly CESEDA R431-16 16°. Hope that helps! It was honestly a bit frustrating trying to figure this out, especially since adequate information is not easily accessible. TLDR: Anything created before 2022 use CESEDA R311-3 5°. If created in 2022, it could be either CESEDA R311-3 5° or CESEDA R431-16 16°. Anything created in and after 2023, it should be CESEDA R431-16 16°.

This was very helpful, thank-you so much.

 

thank you!!! but what happens if my options are R311-3 9 and R431 - 16 10?
mine doesnt say 16 16, its only 16 10!!!
helppppp

 

now my problem is that i cannot find any website or reference to determine my visa type

Hello what happened to your visa status. Mine is exactly same and I'm unable to validate it.

 

check this info that was just posted above your question, it has the info needed...

Anything created before 2022 use CESEDA R311-3 5°.
If created in 2022, it could be either CESEDA R311-3 5° or CESEDA R431-16 16°.
Anything created in and after 2023, it should be CESEDA R431-16 16°.

 

Hope this helps!!!

 

which visa type did you come with? visiteur or something else? according to the table you posted your visa is eport talent related ..