Are you interested in studying in France? Student visa is the first thing you need to acquire. Read the following article to know more about how to get student visa for France.

Student Visa for France

France boasts of having an impressive history, due to which million of visitors flock to the country every year. Apart from the magnificent Eiffel Tower, the country is home to several other tourist attractions such as Castles of the Loire, Versailles, the Louvre, the Gothic and Romanesque cathedrals, the Roman ruins, the Pont du Gard and the amphitheatre of Nîmes. However, in addition to the tourist attractions, France today is also known for its impressive technological development and high level of education system. This can be visible from the fact that French is still one of the most learned languages in the world and thousands of students across the world learn French to pursue educational courses in France. There are several prestigious universities across the country which offers various short and long term courses in different fields. For students who are interested in pursuing their education in France, they need to undergo certain admission procedure. One of the first and basic steps in this procedure is obtaining a student visa to study in France. There are certain guidelines that one needs to follow to get a student visa. Read further to know more about student visa for France.

Student Visa for France

Types of Student Visa

If a student is interested for a short stay in France, he/she can apply for a Schengen visa which is valid up to 3 months.
For students who are opting for courses that require them to stay for 3 to 6 months in France, they can apply for temporary long stay visa. For the same, they do not need a residency card.
For longer stay, students should apply for one year-visa. To obtain this visa, students should use the long term visa application form. During the process of the visa application and after the arrival in France, the students must complete all the relevant documentation with the French school or university. Students are required to go for a medical check-up to a doctor from the Office des Migrations Internationales. Thereafter, they are required to contact the "Prefecture de police" to get their student residency card.
To obtain the student residency card, students need to present the visa, the original documents previously required for the visa, a birth certificate and the medical results. After the first year of study, visas are automatically renewed, provided the student holding the visa is able to produce the required documentation.

Requirements for the Student Visa

You need to have a passport signed and valid for time period of your stay in France.
The visa application forms should be completely signed and legibly filled out with recent passport size photograph pasted on it.
You need to present either a positive response to your preliminary application for admission or a letter of admission from a public or private institution of higher education in France. In case of letters of admission from private institutions, you must specify the number of course hours and certify that tuition fee has been paid in advance.
Students who are receiving scholarships need to provide documentation on the letterhead of the granting organization specifying the amount and duration of their grant.
In case there is someone in France that is providing you financial support, you need to produce a signed statement of responsibility, a photocopy of the identity card of the guarantor, and evidence of sufficient means to provide the promised support.
If you are arranging financial support from abroad, you have to furnish evidence of the opening of a bank account into which the necessary funds will be deposited and a written commitment from your sponsor. It is necessary that the statement of commitment should be translated into French and bear a legalized signature. In case of financial support from the student's home government, he/she need to produce a letter from government ensuring appropriate funding.
For students under 18 years of age, it is mandatory to show written authorization from their parents or legal guardians.

Time Required for Issue of Student Visa

Once you have submitted a visa application, the consular authority will process it and decide on whether to issue a visa or not. The time period of issuing visa depends upon the possible consultations that the consular authority must conduct. In case the consular authority has not responded to you within two months, you should consider that your visa application has not been approved.

Student Visa for France

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