France Student Visa

The following documents are required to obtain a student visa:

• • A valid passport
  • Certificate of registration from a French University/Grandes Ecoles
  • Proof of having sufficient resources to cover expenses for one year of stay. Please check the exact amount to show from the French Consulate.

Obtaining Visa:

 

• All the applicants must submit certified true copies of relevant document along with the application form. The university will decide on the recognition of your academic background based on the recommendations of an education committee and will decide at which level you can qualify to enter. Once your application is done successfully you will receive a confirmation or conditional offer letter from them which can be used to apply for a long stay student resident’s visa.
• You need to complete the acceptance form and send back to the university along with the Accommodation. And your financial summary along with your visa documents will be verified at the Embassy of France or the consulates based in New Delhi and Mumbai. After considering the complete application, approval is given by the France Embassy for Student Visa. Within 48 hours after the consideration of the application you can get your visa.

Required Documents:

The following documents will be accepted as proof:

• A Passport:The passport must be valid for the entire period of validity of the visa.

• Proof of Enrollment:You have to submit the required proofs of enrollment for obtaining Student Visa.

• An offer of preliminary admission:You are required to show the offer letter for admission in a particular institute/university. A statement of pre-registration in a public or private institution of higher education: The document must specify the level of study and the student’s subject. If the institution is private, the statement must indicate the number of course hours and state that registration fees have been paid in full.

• Proof of Financial Resources:Each French embassy sets the level of financial resources to be demonstrated by prospective students from that country. Students receiving scholarship grants must produce a statement indicating the amount and duration of their grant on the letterhead of the granting organization. If the required resources are guaranteed by an individual residing in France the student must produce a signed statement of financial responsibility, a photocopy of the national identity card of the guarantor, and proof of the guarantor’s own financial resources (such as the guarantor’s three most recent pay stubs and most recent tax return). If the resources come from abroad, the student must demonstrate that a bank account has been opened into which the necessary funds will be deposited and produce a promise of payment, translated into French and bearing the authenticated signature of the individual responsible for making the payments, or a statement of payment of funds from the authorities of the student’s country of origin.
• Proof of Insurance Coverage:Proof of insurance must be provided by students over 28 who are nationals of a country that does not have a reciprocity agreement with France or who are enrolled in an institution that is not recognized by the French government to participate in the student health insurance plan.

• Parental Authorization:Minors (individuals under 18 years of age) must furnish proof of consent by the person or persons having parental authority.

• Required Vaccinations:In some cases, the consulate may require proof of vaccination (e.g., against yellow fever, cholera etc.)

Points to remember:

1. To obtain a visa, visit the French consulate in your place of residence or the visa office of the French embassy.
2. Under no circumstances may a tourist visa be converted into a student visa. This is true throughout the European Union.
3. International students of all nationalities intending to stay in France for more than 3 months must obtain a student identification card.
4. International students who are not from Europe must obtain a long-term visa marked “student” in order to study in France for longer than 3 months.
5. International students of all nationalities enjoy the right of multiple entries into France. Once granted, their visa is automatically renewed for the duration of their studies in France.
6. A special visa exists for prospective students. The so-called étudiant-concours visa is granted for stays of no more than 90 days for the purpose of taking an entrance examination or visiting institutions of higher education. Prospective students who pass their examination receive a full student visa without returning to their country of origin. The prospective student visa also may be granted to students whose admission to a higher education institution is contingent upon their completion of a short course of remedial or refresher work.