Visa Woes

American Applying to HEC Paris navigates the French visa system

Will you get the stamp to study?

Fridays are good for problem-solving. You have the whole day to think of solutions, Saturday to implement them, and Sunday to figure out a list of phone numbers to call on Monday.

As an American planning to study in France, I have the fortune of navigating the complex web of French governmental agencies. In order to apply for a long-stay student visa, which is a visa for students who are studying at an institution recognized by the French Ministry of Education for longer than 90 days, you must first create a CampusFrance account and receive a letter from them after payment.

Here’s a list of things you need for the CampusFrance ID:

-your transcripts

-CV

-money order made out to “Maison Française- CampusFrance” for $120

-copy of your acceptance letter.

Once you have completely filled out the online form, you'll need a printout of your CampusFrance ID. So far, these are the difficulties I’m encountering:

1) The Campus France form is all in French, so you need to go by their PDF guidelines, which doesn't address little issues such as attachment sizes.

2) Transcripts from post-secondary institutions need to be uploaded as files. They only accept JPEG, GIF, or BMP files not over 300 KB.

3) Ditto for your CV to be uploaded. I plan to email washington@campusfrance.org for some help with this.

Next, assuming you have received your confirmation letter from CampusFrance, you will need to schedule a visa appointment with the French Embassy.

Here is a list of documents you will need to present IN PERSON at your appointment, taken from the San Francisco French Embassy's website.

-Passport valid for 3 months beyond the applicant’s last day in France-plus 1 photocopy

-2 Copies of the Long-Stay application forms filled out and signed - Remember to indicate a date of departure

-2 passport-size photographs

-For non-US citizens, proof of legal residence in the US (visa, permanent resident card…)
plus 1 photocopy

-A letter of admission (pre-enrollment) from a university which the applicant will attend in France. This school must be recognized by the French Cultural Office- plus 1 photocopy

-Financial guarantee: either a notarized statement -from the parents- certifying that the applicant will receive a monthly allowance of 800 US dollars for the duration of her/his stay in France and their last 3 bank statements, or a proof of (student’s) personal income and their last 3 bank statements and a letter from the University stating that room, board and tuition are fully prepaid-plus 1 photocopy

-Proof of medical insurance with coverage valid for France if you are attending a school or university for a stay less than 6 months OR if you are 28 or older regardless of the length of your studies-plus 1 photocopy. You will have to prove that the coverage is valid while you study in France with a letter from your medical insurance.

-A printout of your ID number from CampusFrance

-A copy of your last Degree, Diploma, student ID, or transcript plus 1 photocopy

-Round trip ticket if you are studying 6 months or less, plus 1 photocopy, or a one way ticket only if you are studying in France more than 6 months-plus 1 photocopy.

Once you've secured your visa, you'll also need to apply for a Carte de Séjour (residency permit) once you arrive in France, plus you’ll need to submit the Attestation OFII form in France as well.

I have my work cut out for me.

Current status: CampusFrance account started, form not completed, attachments too large, passport sitting on an official desk somewhere, in the process of being renewed.

Like I said, Fridays are a good day for problem-solving.

Originally published on Peggy's blog in January 2010

Comments

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Saturday 6th February 2010, 02.13 (UTC)

welcome to our world, that is, international students applying to US bschools. we have to go through the same hassle that you do. this arduous process is being reciprocated by france. go figure.

Saturday 6th February 2010, 04.17 (UTC)

i know u!

Saturday 6th February 2010, 09.32 (UTC)

haha yep it's the same EVERYWHERE, kind of makes you feel un-wanted!?

Wednesday 10th March 2010, 01.39 (UTC)

Joanna Ng

I hear you. I find that applying to most things overseas/internationally is very difficult. The websites and informative documents do not accomodate students out of the country. When applying for my exchange and my visa, I found that it was very useful to speak to the Academic Counsellors at my University. They were very knowledgeable in most areas. Personally, I found that telephoning them and trying to speak to them over the phone was not as helpful as I thought it would be. The people who I spoke to on the phone were slightly rude and not at all helpful. It also didn't help that there was a lot of static on the phonelines and we were both getting very frustrated at the lack of coherent information we were recieving.

Anyway, best wishes with your problem solving adventure (it is an adventure to say the least!). All in all, I found talking to peers, talking to adults, word or mouth information about how to tackle these problems was the most helpful!