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Originally Posted by missingmenton
Bev you are amazing. Far better than the consulate I called today! You need to write a book. I'd buy ten copies to give to friends as well. I appreciate your posts so much as well as the treasure trove in the archives.
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The problem is that this stuff changes all the time and I think it would be next to impossible to keep a book up to date.
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I will complete all transactions here before departing so no concerns there. Purpose. I suppose writing that we are coming for the Joie de Vivre is out. We are coming for a multitude of reasons, medical being the primary one. Study being secondary. To permanently settle and retire being third on the list. In all honesty I'm actually not too sure which visa is best for us. I understand from your posts on the forum that there is no specific "retirement" visa but rather a long stay visa specifying use for retirement. This seems far more difficult than simply obtaining a student visa.
You mentioned one must go home when the program is over. Do you mean after completion of the entire program or even for the summer. I do not recall ever going home for the summer. The student visa was good for one year.
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No, the requirement to return home is when the entire program is done (i.e. and you have your diploma or certificate). On a student visa, you're allowed to work part time, and many students "save" their working allotment for summer and school vacations rather than interfering with their studies during the year.
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Although I could prove financial independence and ability to support my family, the visa geared for retirement purposes does seem to be more difficult for someone my age. Did I understand correctly that one must repeat the process every year?? Is one merely trying to convince them you have the funds to support yourself/family for one year? That seems odd considering retirement does not mean one year.
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You don't repeat the visa process every year - just renewing the carte de séjour. That's when they check that you've paid up your health insurance for the coming year.
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The student visa seems the easiest for myself and later for my son when he is school worthy. My father however, I'm not sure what to do about his visa. I will be supporting him and I am his caretaker. Any suggestions? Our situation seems not to fall within the norm.
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As long as you're over there on a long-stay visa (even a non-working "visitor" visa), your son is entitled to attend public school as your dependent. Your father could get his own retirement visa, with you as his financial support (though if he's getting social security from the US, that counts as support, too, don't forget).
Going over on a student visa is fraught with risks for someone your age, particularly if you intend on staying "indefinitely". If you have adequate resources, you should be able to show that you don't need to work and while the visa may be a little more difficult to get, staying on and renewing your carte de séjour will wind up being simpler in the long run.
Cheers,
Bev