A few info!

• National Day: 14th of July
• Capital city: Paris
• Area: 640,679 km2/ 247,366 mi2
• Population: 67,413,000
• Official language: French 
• Currency: Euros (€)
• Time Zone: Central European Time (CET)
• Drive on the: right

How to apply for a visa in France?

You don’t need a visa if you come from:

• European Union
• European Economic Area (EEA)
• Are a Swiss Citizen

The requirements for a student visa vary according to what country you come from, here’s all the information you may need:

Diplomatie.gouv

• Timing:
  

15 days to have the answer (positive or not), but it can be delayed for up to 2 months.  The visa itself has no average delay, because it will depend on your nationality, the documents you submitted, and the reason you decide to come to France.

• Documents required:
  

This will depend on your country of origin.  To have an extensive and accurate list of documents required, you need to directly access the French embassy website, in the country you are from.  Keep in mind that all official documents, if not in the required language for the application, must be translated by a sworn, official translator who works with the embassy.  They will be able to provide details regarding this.

• In general you will need:
  

– ID pictures (standard passport size)
– Copy of your passport
– Your passport
– Visa request form
– Proof of accommodation
– Travel insurance
– Attestation/bill of round-trip plane ticket
– Income statement

• Cost :

Short term: 60€

Long term: 100€

• What you can do:

  – study
  – work up to 20h a week
  – have housing allowance
  – travel through Schengen space

• You cannot do:

  – you can’t be an auto entrepreneur
  – you can’t work more than 20h a week (964h a year)
  – you can’t vote

• Who to talk to (contact):

Diplomation.gouv

You can ask your school, reference the embassy website, or consulate in your country.  If there is not a French Embassy in your country, then contact the nearest Embassy responsible for your country.  There is a variety of contact information on their website, including phone numbers, emails, and their address.  Make sure you do not try to get your long stay visa through a certified agency, it should be directly through the respective government authority (embassy, consulate, etc.), double check, always!

What now?

Do not procrastinate, get done as soon as you arrive in the country.

For all the grumblings we have about France and all their systems and protests and rats, we do have to applaud their automated process for their post-arrival requirements (don’t get too excited they still cost money).  CVEC is necessary for everyone, the rest just for non-EU students.

1. CVEC: leave it to the French government to tax you for just being a student, if you want more information go here, and to obtain it go here, it costs €92.
2. Residency permit: another €60 out the door, this is important because it gives you access to the French health care system if you were to need it and makes you eligible for rent relief programs like CAF (we talk about that in the housing section).  Here is more information, and here is where to actually get it done.
3. Social Security Card: finally something is free, do it here.  This allows you to actually receive monetary reimbursements from the French government.

Should you even open one?

It depends on how much time you are planning to spend in France.  If you are staying for one year or less, you will probably have more advantages through your original bank in your home country.  For instance, you can pay your rent with whatever bank account, it doesn’t necessarily have to be French.  However, if you are staying longer and you want to have a French phone number, or even transportation membership, it’s better to have a French bank account.

Please note: To open a bank account in France, you must have legal capacity, you must prove your identity, prove your domicile and deposit a specimen of your signature at the bank. If you are a non-French tax resident, you must declare this tax situation to the bank

• Which banks?
  

The easiest path for non-French citizens is to open an online bank account with for example Monabanq, Boursorama, or Transferwise.

Otherwise, here is the list of the largest french banks:

BNP Paribas: group.bnpparibas

LCL : lcl.fr

Société générale :  particuliers.societegenerale.fr

• Documents required:
  

 – Valid ID card or passport
– Address certificate
– (as a student, they won’t ask you for an income certification)

What insurance do I need in France?

When you arrive in France with a student visa or a working permit, you are automatically connected to the social security system. The government will provide the right of French social security but you have to make the demand: https://www.ameli.fr/

You can also apply for a private heath insurance which are the “mutuelles”, we recommend :

https://www.lelynx.fr/mutuelle-sante/

https://www.maaf.fr/fr/mutuelle-sante

• Required insurances:
  

Health Insurance / Social Security (if you are a student, you need to have Student social security that you apply for when you register with a school, they will help guide you through this process).

https://cvec.etudiant.gouv.fr/

Above is the student tax you are required to pay, 90€ just once for being enrolled in a French university.

Personal: if you are European, your personal insurance covers you and you don’t need any other insurance coverage.

• Renters:
  

Habitation insurance is mandatory for renting a flat, you can have it with a french bank or an insurance company,  the average price is: 100€.

We recommend:

https://studyassur.com/fr/assurance-logement-etudiant-108.html

https://www.axa.fr/assurance-habitation/etudiant.html

https://www.lelynx.fr/assurance-habitation/profil/etudiant/

Your phone provider options in France are:

– Orange:  orange.fr
– SFR: sfr.fr
– Bouygues Telecom: bouygues.fr
– Free: free.fr
– NRJ Mobile : nrjmobile.fr

• To purchase a sim card, here are the documents required:
  

 – ID
– Address certificate
– Bank details

Emergency services contacts

– 18: Firemen

– 15: Samu (for all health and accident emergencies of any kind)

– 17: Police / Gendarme (police for higher affairs)

– 112: Universal European Emergency Services number – works on all phones, even the non-European numbers

– 114: Emergency calls (use if you have difficulty speaking or hearing as you can communicate by text or fax)

– 115: Emergency Shelter

– 119: Reporting child abuse

– 197: Terror attacks/kidnapping hotline

Platforms to search on:

https://www.leboncoin.fr/

https://www.seloger.com/

https://www.logic-immo.com/

https://www.paruvendu.fr/

https://www.bienici.com/

For shorter staying: https://www.airbnb.fr/

List of documents required here

• How to be well prepared?

1. Prepare the mandatory documents for renting your flat
2. Prepare the optional documents (that will probably makes the difference between you and the others) 
3. Refuse to give certain confidential information
4. Be assured that  your folder stand out from the crowd
5. Quickly find a guarantor

• Mandatory documents to rent a flat

1. Photocopy of your identity card (or passport).
2. Three last payslips (if you are an employee) or two last reports (if you are self-employed).
3. Proof of address (EDF receipt, housing tax notice, etc.).

Please note: If someone stands surety for you, they will be asked to provide the same documents.

• The rental file can also be enriched with optional documents

Have you prepared some documents, although optional, but which are requested so often that it is best to have them prepared in advance? Here they are :

1. Latest tax notice (or that of the guarantor).
2. Residence permit.
3. Photocopy of the guarantor’s identity document.
4. Employer certificate – or that of the guarantor -.
5. Photocopy of the property tax (or local taxes if the guarantor owns his home).
6. R.I.B.
7. Rent receipts from the previous rental.

• The owner cannot ask you for documents that are too confidential 

Please note: Pursuant to the laws of July 6, 1989 and January 17, 2002, the owner is not entitled to require certain documents such as:

1. Portrait photo, VITALE card.
2. Photocopy of bank account.
3. Certificate of proper maintenance of the bank account.
4. Certificate of lack of credit, automatic debit authorization.
5. Marriage contract or certificate of cohabitation.
6. Personal medical record.
7. Extract from the criminal record.

We know it can be complicated to send your stuff back home (especially if you brought all your closet!). We have made a selection of company for you to send all of it withtout any stress. 

Here are 3 of them:

1. INTMOVERS is highly recommended and quite cheap.
2. EUROSENDER is another option and works well especially for very large suitcases.
3. MY BAGGAGE is specifically for student luggages and you can even get discounts on referral use.

Online and face to face learning sites and schools

1. Online learning:

• Bonjour de France
• Français avec Pierre
• Français Facile
• TV5 Monde
• FUN MOOC
• J’APPrends
• Français Premier Pas

      2. Face to face learning:

• Alliance Française (campuses in Bordeaux, Nice, Paris et St-Malo)
• Azurlingua (campuses in Cannes, Nice, St Tropez)
• Berlitz (campuses in Bordeaux, Boulogne-Billancourt, Cergy, Dunkerque, Evry, Grenoble Melan, Le Havre, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Noisy-le-Grand, Paris, Rouen, Saint Germain en Laye, St-Etienne, St -Laurent-Blangy, St-Denis, Strasbourg, Toulouse et Versailles)
• France Langue (campuses in Biarritz, Bordeaux, Nice et Paris)
• Accord Ecole de Langue (Campus in Paris)
• Université de Nantes (Campuses in Nantes, Saint-Nazaire, La-Roche-Sur-Yon
• Lyon Bleu International (Campus in Lyon)