Tuesday, August 08, 2006

How to get a student visa to France

Note: This information is gathered based on my personal experience. I'm not an expert in giving advise on this matter, but simply sharing my experience. You are advised to contact any relevant authorities for the up to date procedure.

How to apply for a student visa to France from Malaysia

If you are going to study in France more than 3 months, most likely you will need a student visa. Here is a list of documents that you need to prepare:

1. 1 application form duly filled in capital letters and signed.

2. 3 passport size photos.

3. Valid passport - validity not less than 1 year.

4. Copy of your A level certificate/last diploma.

5. Letter of acceptance from the University/School/Institute in France. *Kindly provide the receipt as proof of payment made for the fees

Note: Usually Universities in France will ask you to pay the fees once you are in France with your student visa. I told the embassy about this by the time I applied for my student visa. I called the Univesity to see whether I can pay in advance, but they said it's not possible. The embassy said they will call the university to verity this information.

6. Proof of the applicant's financial means for the duration of your stay in France.

*430 euros per month (if no accomodation)

*215 euros per month (with accomodation provided free of charge)

Note:I provided a letter from the bank stating the amount I have with the bank. It will take 3 days to get this letter from your bank.

7. If accomodation is provided free of charge, please present a letter from your friend or family with whom you are staying, together with a copy of his/her passport or identity card or resident permit.

8. Letter of motivation.

9. The application fee (not refundable) is 99 euros (pay in equivalent Ringgit Malaysia) which has to be paid at the time of application.

Notes

1. I applied for the student visa in August 2005. These informations might be outdated. In any case, please contact:

Ms Telmah Lopez

telmah.lopez@diplomatie.gouv.fr

The Embassy of France in Malaysia

194 Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur

Tel (603) 20-53-55-65

Tel (603) 20-53-55-51

2. You are required to apply your visa in person.

3. It takes 3 days to process the visa.

4. If successful, you will be given a 3 months visa to enter France. You need to enter France within this period. After you have arrived in France, you need to go to the prefecture in your town to get a "carte de séjour". Usually it will last for 6 months, it can be extended without extra fees. If you wish to avoid the hassle to have to extend the carte de séjour, you can pay for 2 semesters at the beginning of the school, and the school will provide you receipt. The officer in the prefecture will give you the duration according to how many semester you have paid.

5. Usually the school will have an officer from the prefecture present from September to October.

2 comments:

  1. Hi, i am going to apply student visa of France and i have some questions about no.6. if i am going to apply a long stay student visa for one year, is that mean i will need to proof the financial means for one year?

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  2. Superb explanation! I found everything I was looking for. Thanks for being such a great resource!
    France Visa

    ReplyDelete