Xahm Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 We have a visa appointment Monday the 6th of July for our semester in France. It is stressing me out! We have everything under control except maybe the apartment. We are working with a company that helps students and other travelers find medium-stay apartments. We chose one which they told us we couldn't have because of the kids (but we lost a week thanks to a miscommunication due to the language barrier), and so we chose another that it seems they should let us have. But we haven't heard back since e-mailing them Monday evening (their time). I'm worried that they've decided to wash their hands of us and ignore us for some reason, though it is just as possible that they are in communication with the landlord and everything will work out fine. I have started to look for apartments other ways, but it is tricky and certainly helping my French skills grow. Here's my question: If we go to the appointment without "proof of accommodation", what will likely happen? My husband's student visa doesn't ask for this. The kids and I should (I think) be on visitor visas (the application is the same, just different supporting documents). My plan has just been to take four copies of everything asked for on either list so that we will have all our bases covered. Do you think there's a real chance of them not asking for proof of accommodation since a student visa doesn't need it and we are all going (as they told us to via e-mail) during a student visa appointment? If we don't work out a long-term apartment really soon, would booking a hotel for a week and bringing in that booking likely cover us? I know that probably no one can answer these questions, but I'd love it if you could. This whole thing is an expensive venture, and spending money, even money we have saved and earmarked for this purpose, stresses me out, so adding this on top is making me want to take a long, long nap. Or at least eat a bunch of ice cream after I put the kids to bed. Which is probably my plan for now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 If the application for the Student Visa does not ask a question about where you will be living, that is in your favor. However, you should be prepared to reply, if asked, "where are you going to be staying while you are studying in France?" If you tell them something like, "at first in Hotel XYZ and then, after we arrive, we will try to find something more comfortable for our stay". hopefully they will be OK with that answer. It may be that the family of the student (you and your children) will not be issued regular Tourist visas, but visas for family members of someone there on a Student Visa. I assume that your appointment is in the office of the French Consulate General or French Consulate, nearest to where you live. When I went to apply for my Permanent Residency Visa to live in Colombia, I planned to apply for a type of visa I'd read about. After I explained my situation to the Consul (or Consul General) she told me about a type of visa that was much better for me and I applied for that visa. Ask them to help you apply for the visas that are best for your family. GL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xahm Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 Thank you so much for that perspective. I will make sure to ask them about that. There is only one place on the application where we check which kind we are asking for, so I may leave that one blank until we get there and then tick the right box once I ask them. If the application for the Student Visa does not ask a question about where you will be living, that is in your favor. However, you should be prepared to reply, if asked, "where are you going to be staying while you are studying in France?" If you tell them something like, "at first in Hotel XYZ and then, after we arrive, we will try to find something more comfortable for our stay". hopefully they will be OK with that answer. It may be that the family of the student (you and your children) will not be issued regular Tourist visas, but visas for family members of someone there on a Student Visa. I assume that your appointment is in the office of the French Consulate General or French Consulate, nearest to where you live. When I went to apply for my Permanent Residency Visa to live in Colombia, I planned to apply for a type of visa I'd read about. After I explained my situation to the Consul (or Consul General) she told me about a type of visa that was much better for me and I applied for that visa. Ask them to help you apply for the visas that are best for your family. GL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 My daughter has an appointment at a French consulate in July for a year abroad. It is for a work visa. She is not required to show her accommodations there, only her contract to work there from the company that hired her -- something that proves that she needs to go there for a reason. She doesn't even expect to find an apartment until she gets there, in fact. This is a job through the French government, so they must know what they're doing! Really, if they wanted to know where you're staying, you could almost say anything at all, couldn't you? Just list some hotel where you plan to stay the first night as your "first address." I don't think they'll care about that though, because they'll understand that most people won't be able to finalize accommodations until they get there. Just make sure you have everything else in place -- your husband's school acceptance letter, etc. You can probably go on their website to find out everything else they need for the interview: passports, birth certificates, etc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xahm Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 I think it would be a lot easier if I were getting a work visa. In fact, I'm kind of kicking myself for not just finding an internship teaching English 10 hours a week. The website lists proof of accommodation as one of those things that are needed for a long-stay visitor's visa, which I think is the kind I'm getting. When I lived abroad before it was on a work visa and that was so much easier. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I see. On one website, it says that for a student visa, you need to prove accommodation for your first month. I wonder if that would be true for a tourist visa? I would think that would be pretty easy to do, if you don't have one lined up. You can go on to some website like bookings.com, venere.com, etc., and book a month somewhere for your family. Make sure it's one that lets you cancel with no charge. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xahm Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 So, my current plan is to keep working on our full-time lodging, but if worse comes to worse, next Friday I'll book 1-2 weeks fully refundable and have that to show them (our consulate only says proof of accommodation, no time frame given. Each can have different rules). Now that I have a plan, I'll sleep easier tonight. And maybe, kind of like how watering the garden makes it rain, planning this out makes a confirmation e-mail come overnight. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 OP: If you are U.S. Citizens, PLEASE register with the ACS (American Citizen Services unit) in the U.S. Embassy in Paris, immediately after you arrive in France and pay very close attention to their Travel Warnings and the other information they make available. There was an Islamic Terrorist attack on an American owned company in France today. Be careful... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xahm Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 Thanks. We certainly will, Lanny. I went to Russia in the middle of the Georgia "kerfuffel," so I made sure to learn about registration then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 OP: For your safety, other than going to the ACS in the U.S. Embassy to register, I suggest that your family stays far away from anything connected with the USA. The factory in France that was attacked today, where they beheaded someone and left an Islamic State flag, etc., is owned by a company based in Allentown, PA. There are a lot of good people in France, but there are also a lot of very bad people. Be alert at all times! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xahm Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 Thanks for the warning. My husband has to go through "Don't be the victim of the terrorists" training every year or so for the military, so we've got some idea of what to watch out for on that front. We will be visiting some war memorials and that sort of thing, but we aren't planning on hanging out anywhere especially American. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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