Medical appointment with the French immigration
Metro stop to Châtillon Montrouge (line 13) on the way to OFII
It was not the first visit and while there’s nothing to be fearful of, it still felt quite nerve wracking to go to an appointment with the Immigration.
There are two appointments scheduled by the French immigration for long-stay visa holders : a medical assessment and an administrative appointment. If lucky, they could be scheduled on the same day. In Nice and Rouen, both appointments take place in one area. In Paris, the medical assessment occur at 221 Avenue Pierre Brossolette, Montrouge (Metro 13) while the administrative appointment is at 83 Rue de Patay (they are practically our neighbor!). My schedule is set three days apart.
Pre-Covid, from experiences in Nice (2012) and Rouen (2015), one must go in person to the immigration office to submit the requirements, present themselves and fill out a form. A few weeks later, a convocation or an appointment letter is sent to the registered home address. This experience from Paris was entirely online, dématerialisé, as they say in French.
It was, 8h30 and I was on the tram to catch the metro to the medical appointment. Arriving a few minutes earlier than my 9h30 appointment, I found two others waiting outside of the immigration office. A lesser-polite-yet-efficient security personnel scrutinized my appointment letter, asked me to prepare my passport and proceed right in.
There’s another brief control/security procedure once inside before I was told to proceed to the reception (accueil) where I need to present my appointment letter once again and my passport.
Upon third inspection, the lady from the reception asked me to wait by the waiting room (salle d’attente) where we are supposed to be summoned by a fourth person.
Phone usage is prohibited inside and a surgical or KN95 (known as FFP2 in French) masks are required. For those still wearing cloth masks, they are provided free surgical masks by the first security personnel, who is quite omnipresent, I must say.
The wait was not long. Soon after, a lady in a lab coat announced four names (including mine and asked us to follow her to the medical screening cubicles, for yet another inspection, this time with additional questions like was I pregnant, which languages I speak, if I currently posses a French health card (or carte vitale, which I still don’t) and my phone number.
The first medical exam was a general check up with a more pleasant doctor. She asked which languages I speak and went with one I am more comfortable with: English. Her series of questions focused more on my health status in the past few days. Once I was deemed “fit” and in “good health” (as I see her click through her computer screen), she gave me a psychological questionnaire I should complete before my medical exam. While I waited for that step, I was asked to proceed to the eye, height and weight assessment.
A lesser, but still polite doctor took my weight (79 kg) and height (169 cm, I grew one more centimeter, how is that even possible?), and confirmed that my current pair of spectacles are still good to go.
She asked me to proceed to a private cabin where I needed to take off my top and wait for a radiologist. The doctor was chatty, quick and efficient with the X-ray. I dressed up and was asked to wait by the waiting area which gave me time to complete the psychological questionnaire.
The last doctor who saw me, who was of Asian descent, was very cheerful and personal, and addressed me using my first name, which I appreciate. He, too, was efficient while remaining cordial. I had to take off my top once again. These medical tests are quite difficult if done in winter - there are too many layers to remove and put back in, it was rather stressful. I should know because I’ve done these tests in summer (Nice, 2012) and autumn (Rouen, 2015) where less clothing is required. This doctor checked my vital signs, listened to my heartbeat and breathing. All was clear. He signed my clearance and I was fit and certified to stay in France! The only recommendation were:
to update my vaccines (which are for free, if I might add),
lose weight (10 kg, to be precise) and,
seek psychological help for an apparent depression. I personally think a visit to the psychiatrist/psychologist is not necessary but it’s good to have his prescription should I eventually need one once winter is over, the sun is out and I still don’t find any stability with all these sudden and important life changes.
All in all, the entire process took only an hour. Factoring in the commute, that’s only 2 hours of my entire day.
I took the metro and tram back home, hungry. While the morning appointment was far from being a downer, I felt somewhat melancholic, if I may describe it as such. Still, I’ve had quite a day ahead of me, which included receiving online packages and grocery shopping later in the afternoon.
Slow down, refresh, relax, rest…