Legislative part

Any foreign national who declares that he or she wishes to stay in France for a period not exceeding three months as part of a family or private visit must present proof of accommodation in the form of a reception certificate, signed by the person who proposes to provide accommodation for the foreign national, or his or her legal representative. This certificate is validated by the administrative authority, and constitutes…

The attestation d’accueil, signed by the host and accompanied by the supporting documents determined by decree of the Conseil d’Etat, is submitted for validation to the mayor of the commune in which the accommodation is located or, in Paris, Lyon and Marseille, to the arrondissement mayor, acting as a public official.It is accompanied by an undertaking from the host to pay, throughout the period of validity of the visa or…

The mayor may refuse to validate the reception certificate in the following cases:1° The host cannot produce the required supporting documents;2° It is apparent, either from the content of the attestation and the supporting documents presented, or from the verification carried out at the host’s home, that the foreign national cannot be received in normal housing conditions;3° The details on the attestation are inaccurate;4° The attestations previously signed by the…

Requests for validation of reception certificates may be stored and processed automatically in order to combat abuse of procedure. The corresponding files are set up by the mayors, in accordance with provisions determined by a decree in the Conseil d’Etat, issued after consulting the Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés.This decree specifies how long the recorded information is to be kept and the conditions for updating it, the procedures…

Each request for validation of a reception certificate gives rise to the collection of a fee of 30 euros paid by the accommodation provider, recovered in the same way as stamp duty.

For stays covered by this section, the insurance obligation provided for in 2° of Article L. 311-1 may be satisfied by insurance with the same scope taken out for the benefit of the foreign national by the person offering to accommodate him or her.

The conditions for applying this section, in particular the conditions under which foreign nationals may be exempted from providing proof of accommodation in the case of a humanitarian stay or cultural exchange, or when they request to travel to France for urgent medical reasons or because of the funeral or serious illness of a close relative, are laid down by decree in the Conseil d’Etat.