f entry' (déclaration d'entrée) at a police station or to border inspection personnel if they arrive in France directly from another country of Schengen Area (e.g. Italy), unless they hold a long-term visa or residence permit issued by a Schengen member state. Their passports will be endorsed by the authorities to prove that such a declaration has been made. This government webpage (in French) provides more information.
If you intend to stay in France for longer than 90 days, regardless of purpose, an advance long-stay visa is always required of non-EEA or non-Swiss citizens. It is almost impossible to switch from a "C" (visitor) entry status to a "D" (long-stay) status from inside France.
As of 2009, certain categories of long-stay visa, such as "visitor" (visiteur), family (vie privée et familiale), "student" (étudiant), "salaried worker" (salarié), and "short-term worker" (travailleur temporaire), do not require persons to obtain a separate residence permit (carte de séjour) for the first year of the stay in France. However, the long-stay visa must be validated by the Office Française de l'Immigration et de l'Intégration (OFII) within the first three months of entering France to be valid for longer than three months. This is done by sending in a form to the OFII received along with the visa with the address of residence in France, completing a medical examination, attending an introductory meeting, and paying a tax (exempt for temporary workers, €58 for students, but €349 for salaried workers, visitors, or in the private/family life category) to validate the visa. This validated visa will serve as a residence permit and, likewise, allow travel throughout the other Schengen countries for up to 90 days in a 6 month period. To stay in France after your validated visa expires, however, and/or if you hold a visa which states carte de séjour à solliciter dès l'arrivée, a carte de séjour must be obtained at the préfecture responsible
