FRENCH STUDENT VISA

Hey! In this post I will try to present to you the most concise and comprehensive representation of the French Student VISA process. You can’t find a shorter version than this anywhere.

STAGE 1: CAMPUS FRANCE

So we discussed how to go about the Campus France stage of the VISA process in the last post. You can refer it to here.

Let’s now directly jump into the subsequent process to obtain the French Student visa:

STAGE 2: VISA APPLICATION FORM

You will need to go to the official visa website for France and create an account there. Fill up the detailed VISA form.

STAGE 3: VFS APPOINTMENT

Next you have to book an appointment at VFS. You can do it here or by calling them up and scheduling an appointment through phone. I booked my appointment in Jaipur VFS Center for a Long-term Student Visa.

On the day of the appointment, you have to go to the VFS center allotted to you and submit the required documents. There is no interview involved whatsoever and no, there is absolutely no need to put on your formals. The list of documents that you will need to submit are:

1. Campus France ID number and the NOC from Campus France.
2. Completely filled up Long stay VISA application form along with a recent photograph (According to specifications mentioned here).
3. Passport along with a photocopy of the first and last pages. (Passport should have a validity of 3 months beyond the validity of the required visa, with two blank visa pages face to face with the mention “visa”to affix the visa sticker. The passport should have been issued less than 10 years ago. If you have more than one passport, you will need to bring all of them with yourself).
4. OFII form filled and signed. (Only the top section)
5. Curriculum Vitae
6. Covering letter by applicant. It should clearly explain the purpose,motivation, duration and your sponsors for the course that you are selecting to pursue. Check out a sample covering letter.
7. Proof of Accommodation for the first 3 months. (This can be a contract of lease, an electricity bill, a letter from your landlord, or even an AirBNB contract with invoice of payment). You can check out my post on how to find cheap accommodation in Paris.
8. Certificate of Enrollment from your French Institute.
9. Copy of Air tickets or any other reservation for moving to France.
10. Travel Insurance with coverage valid for the first 30 days of your stay in France. Campus France will provide you a list of the organisations which you can use for booking your medical insurances. I used Bajaj Alliance as it was the most popular one which a lot of my seniors recommended.
11. Copies of your degrees and diplomas.
12. VISA fees in cash in INR equal to 50 euros at the time of depositing the application file.
13. Proof of Resources: Total tuition fees + a minimum of 615 euros per month multiplied by the number of months of stay(living expenses). You will need to submit the expenses statement plus proof of financial means. Only liquid assets will be considered(Updated bank statements, loan, FDs etc). I showed living expenses for one year and that is usually enough to get the Visa. For each sponsor: Covering letter mentioning social situations and financial elements, ID Proof, Last 3 months bank statements, Last 3 years ITR, Last 3 months payslips or proof of financial situation. You can check out a detailed post about financial documents here.
14. Submit your biometrics

STAGE 4: WAITING

This is definitely the toughest stage. Once you are done submitting this humongous list of documents at the VFS Center, your visa application file will be sent to the nearest consulate. You can expect to get your visa within 2 -3 weeks. I got mine after 9 days.

NOTE: Apply at least 30 days before the departure date. VFS appointment can be booked only after a minimum 3 days after your Campus france Interview.

Also you don’t have to personally go to the VFS Center to collect your passport. You can just avail their mailing services, wherein they mail your passport after the procedure directly to your home. This is immensely convenient for people not staying in the metros.

Ok this is it for now. If you have any doubts regarding any step or document, please leave a comment.

Or if you can add any other insights or points that would be really helpful!!

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