Residence visa for Tunisia?

Question

How do I obtain one and how long does it take? How much is it? What are the requirements? Please help me out! I'm currently living in USA and I want to live in Tunisia with my fiancee`. Please help me out!!

Answer 1

I moved to Tunisia from the USA almost seven years ago. You have two options of how to do this. In either case, there is no visa needed. Tunisia actually doesn't even have anything like a residence or immigration visa.

First Scenario: You can move to Tunisia without the need for any type of residence. As long as you leave the country every 4 months, there is no visa needed, and no special permissions. You can take a short trip to Italy, France, Spain - wherever.

I did this up until just this year and never had any problems. The benefit of this is that you do not have to pay to have a stamp (60TND per person) put in your passport when you want to exit the country. Another added bonus is that your husband (once you are married) and children won't need stamps in their passports either when they leave country - even if they leave without you. The only draw back could be cost depending on your financial situation.

Second Scenario: You become a resident of Tunisia by getting what is called a Carte de Séjour. To get this, you must apply at the police station of the sector in which you reside for authorization (a Carte de Séjour) to stay. You will need to give them:

-Your passport

-4 identity photos

-Documentary evidence of accommodation (your rent agreement; the title deed to your own property; or a written statement from a Tunisian or local family who is putting you up)

-Evidence of your means of support (your employment contract if it mentions salary; a bank’s statement of your account and/or transfer payments made to you in Tunisia; or your husband’s statement or financial support for you as his wife - a fiance cannot write a statement of support for you)

-You will need to tell them why you wish to remain in Tunisia (things they look for are: a contract of employment properly endorsed by the local authorities; a contract with a foreign employer and his company’s legal status in Tunisia; and/or a contract of marriage with a Tunisian national or with a person who is resident here)

-You must pay a 10TND fee

If you are approved, you can pick your card up in about 3 months.

This card does expire every year. Before it expires, all you have to do is take all your documents and renew it, or leave country before it expires. You can also cancel this card at any time. If you get this card, you and your whole family will have to pay the stamp fee in your passports every time you exit the country.

I recently did this option, but only because my youngest was less then a month old when I would have had to leave country.

Here is a link that talks about how to do this, but they make it sound more complicated that it is: http://www.sicad.gov.tn/sicadnspc/fr/scr...

Since your fiance is Tunisian, after you are married and have resided in Tunisia for two years, he can apply to give you Tunisian nationality. Tunisian law will NOT allow you to apply for immigration unless you have resided here first and is facilitated by having a husband who is Tunisian.

Here is a link to a question I answered last year about packing for an international move, in case you might find it useful: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

If I can be of any more help or assistance, please feel free to contact me anytime.