Taking Classes on Long-Stay Visitors Visa

[mandminla]

I'm new to this site and have searched all over for an answer to this question. Here's my situation:

• I want to live in Paris for 6 months to a year
• I do not plan on working while in Paris (and I have the funds necessary for self-sustainability during this time)
• Before my move, I'll have taken about a year of French in the US
• While in Paris, I'd like to take a few months of intensive French

So here are my questions:

• Can I take classes on a long-stay visitors visa? I know Americans are allowed to be in the country, either as a tourist or student, for 90 days without a visa. But I've also seen that the long-stay visitor visa prohibits pursuing studies. If I keep my studies under the 90-day limit, will it not interfere with the "no studies" restriction on the long-stay visitors visa?
• If I fall in love with the language and studies, is it possible to convert the long-stay visitors visa into a long-stay student visa? Or would I have to come back to the states and apply from here?

I know the other option is to just apply for a long-stay student visa from the get-go, but I don't want to be tied to a language program for a year.

What's the best course of action to live out my dream of spending up to a year in Paris while still being able to take some intensive French classes at the beginning to get comfortable with the language?

Thanks!
Matt

[Bevdeforges]

Where did you see that a long-stay visitor visa prohibits pursuing studies? Because I don't think that's the case. Perhaps it would keep you from enrolling in a degree program, or in the public universities, but otherwise you should be able to sign up for french classes while you're in France with no difficulty.
Cheers,
Bev

[mandminla]

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

Where did you see that a long-stay visitor visa prohibits pursuing studies? Because I don't think that's the case. Perhaps it would keep you from enrolling in a degree program, or in the public universities, but otherwise you should be able to sign up for french classes while you're in France with no difficulty.
Cheers,
Bev

Thanks for the quick reply, Bev. I figured that was the case, but I'd read on several cities' French consulate pages about the restriction against enrolling in classes (see here: www dot consulfrance-washington dot org/spip.php?article401. New York, where I live, has a painfully vague consulate page, so I've had to rely on what other cities have stated.

As far as you know, as long as it's not a degree-granting program I'm enrolling in, would I be able to take French classes for longer than the 90 day limit?

Thanks again for your help!

[Bevdeforges]

As far as I know, if you sign up for classes on a visitor visa, you won't get the usual "student visa" courtesy of a part-time work permit. But to sign up for a class shouldn't be denied. The trick is that to get a visitor visa you still have to tell them your "purpose" in visiting France for a year.
Cheers,
Bev