Visa-vis: Preface
In this multi-part series, we want to share what we learned as we prepared and applied for a French long-term visitor visa. You should check out other posts in the collection.
Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here
That’s what it’s going to feel like.
If you’re serious about living in France (or any country), you will quickly realize that task isn’t as easy as it sounds. I don’t think I’m off-base by saying planning a long staycation (11 months for us) in a foreign country takes about the same level of planning as a wedding (and we did that recently too!).
In terms of France, it’s worse since each consulate appears to have different requirements of what’s needed. Advice from expats and other travelers can sometimes be out-of-date (by the time you read this, I’m sure this will be too). The requirements seem to favor retirees or people with lots of time, since many things need to align just right for you to have everything you need (e.g. have a rental agreement before you apply). You will experience frustration, disappointment, excitement, and finally joy when you receive that USPS Express envelope containing your newly-minted visa-toting passport(s). That’s if everything goes well, of course, and we wish you the best of luck!
We’re writing this series to help others like us, who just want to experience something new for a change and not spend a lifetime saving up to do it. This blog will hold our day-to-day experiences but it will also serve as a resource to others… because there really aren’t many good ones out there.
We hope you get some benefit out of our experience.
—Vincent & Céleste
If you’ve experienced the things we talk about, if you have advice for would-be travelers, or have different experiences than what we have, share them. Write in the comments. Many of the tips and tricks we found were written in the dark corners of message forums or on one-off travel blogs… comments are important because they share someone else’s perspective and experience that may not mirror the original author’s.
Follow Aix Squared to stay-up-to-date with our experiences while in France. This post is part of our series on applying for a visa, Visa-vis.
