OFII

Office Francais De L’Immigration Et De L’Integration

In early May, I received a very official looking letter from the French government. I was informed that since I had been living in France more than 3 months, I needed a medical examination by the OFII. The government had already decided which day and what time they wanted to see me. On June 8th, 2022, I was expected at 2pm with my passport, proof of vaccination and eye glasses if I wore them.

I decided to leave early for my appointment because I wasn’t familiar with the location of the agency. In my opinion, Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I especially love Haussmann style architecture - large, elegant buildings with stone facades and wrought iron details. Quintessential Parisian style. I should have known I was going on an “interesting” adventure when I had to take the metro to the very end of the line. I was on the #13 metro and got out at Montrouge - about 30 minutes from my apartment. I arrived at the clinic at 12:45 and was met at the door by a security guard. Note I didn’t say greeted but rather met. He told me I had to leave and return at 1:15 when they would re-open. I began to walk around and get a feel for my surroundings. This was not the architecture I found in other Paris neighborhoods.

I walked past several Middle Eastern restaurants and a small grocery store. I feel like food is a sure way to learn about a new community. I wasn’t surprised to find a large “ethnic” section in this grocery store. They had aisles of couscous, hummus, curry’s and even flour tortilla’s! I made a few purchases and headed back to the OFII for my “rendez vous”. It began raining so I walked quickly and good thing that I did because now there were about 20 other people waiting to enter the building with me.

Initially, we were all scattered all over the steps and around the sidewalk. As the doors opened at 1:15, everyone rushed to enter the building (myself included). The same security guard stood firm and made us form a line. He set up poles with a strap which clearly explained that we were to form a line but even so there were people who remained on the steps and looked very confused. Confused but adamant that they would not agree to cue. I found it very curious and realized this might make for an interesting post. Voila!

Everyone in line had the same letter that I had received and we had to show it to the guard before he would allow us to enter the building. After a metal security check, I was guided to a waiting room with a large screen tv with a video on continuous run with information about the OFII.

The waiting room looks empty but that’s only because I was so quick with my entry. It was full by the time I was called out, along with 10 other people, to enter the medical hall of the clinic.

Everything was in stages - we were herded thru different rooms, showed our paperwork over and over and then asked to sit and wait, again.

At each step of the process, I was greeted by a different medical assistant or doctor and always asked if I spoke English. I replied yes but I prefer to speak in French (in French). Every single person would pause, tilt their head slightly and then give a quick nod. As if they weren’t sure they heard me correctly. Why would I choose to speak in the less familiar language, right? Well I did and we managed just fine, most of the time.

First stop was a room for the eye exam. I was told to remove my glasses and read a chart from across the room. I first covered my left eye and then did the same while covering my right eye. They weighed me and noted my height then they pricked my finger and did some blood work. The assistant apologized profusely because her prick was so “violent” - her words. It took two nurses to stop the bleeding! I’m pretty sure the assistant was new to her job.

I was next escorted to a closet where I was told to remove my top and exit by a back door in the closet for my chest xray. This is the visual they posted in case anyone didn’t understand.

I must admit it felt strange to walk into another room totally topless and to be led by a male assistant to the xray machine. C’est la vie I suppose.

My next and final stop was to see the actual doctor. Not sure I mentioned this but with every stop, my paperwork was handed off, looked at and notes were added. I was trying to keep an eye on my file to make sure it was me they had in their hands and not some other ”foreigner”.

I didn’t know I was with the doctor until I read his name tag - “Dr. Vanny Thau”. He walked me down a hallway and into his office. He asked me to enter another closet and remove my shirt. I looked surprised and said, again? I just did that for the xray. He assured me yes, you need to remove your shirt again so I can check your heart, lungs and whatever. Hmm, I thought as I turned to face the wall and pulled my shirt over my head. He immediately said no no, please, you don’t have on a bra. Please put your shirt back on. I did as I was told, turned around and said - I asked and you said to take it off. I suppose it’s a minor perk after having breast surgery to not have to wear a bra ;)

He sat at his desk and I sat across from him while he asked me a lot of questions. He seemed to be flipping my papers back and forth more than anything else but I guess he was making sure I was in good health and I wouldn’t infect the community with anything awful like TB. He had 3 pages of questions such as “Have you ever met with a therapist or psychologist” “Have you ever felt sad, lonely or depressed?” “Have you recently lost a lot of weight?” Perhaps he sensed my curiosity because at one point he looked up at me, pointed his finger towards his head and circled it saying “We want to know if you have mental issues”. Crazy, right? He also advised me to get new eye glasses. Surprised, I replied they were new (and expensive!) He showed me my eye exam notes from earlier and said you could’t read with them. I said that’s because I was told to remove my glasses before reading the wall charts. He was perplexed and said no I should have kept them on. I’m not totally convinced this guy was a real doctor but he did stamp and sign my paperwork and said I was free to go.

Michael, my husband, didn’t receive a letter like I received. He didn’t get to have this adventure so it makes me wonder why and how they chose me for this special day. It was annoying to have to spend a good half day at the clinic but all in all, everyone was kind, gentle and they all agreed to speak to me in French. Bravo!