Long Term Visa without Work Permit... possible?

[scottcr1]

Thank you for all your replies, this forum is undoubtably a leading resource for Visas, French or otherwise...
@ Joppa.... I wonder if obtaining a visa for Spain is easier? We've basically narrowed our next home down to Southern France or Spain...

I read over the various consulate requirements for a "Visitor Visa" to France... here are the requirements that I see...

1. Passport, Photos, Proof of Residency etc.
- standard material, check

2. Financial guarantee such as (+2 copies):
. a letter from your bank stating that you have sufficient means of support to live in France, plus your last bank statement or your three last bank statements... blah blah,
- I can prove financial stability for a year in France, check

3. Proof of medical insurance with full coverage valid in France. Letter from the insurance company only
- my insurance company loves me since I never use them except for my monthly payments, so... check

4. A non-criminal record certificate to be obtained at the police station in your city of residence
- last time I simply had to sign a letter saying I was clean and not a criminal, either way, no felonies here... check

5. Deed of your house/apartment in France
- can arrange this ahead of time, either by me signing a lease or my girlfriend... check

Perhaps it's in the Visa app but I see no 'reason of stay'... if it is, and if it's important, I can easily say for a piece of literature, exploring business possibilities in France, taking a part time French class, etc, etc...

I'm really not seeing where I would get denied, but you folks have been through this before and know what often gets denied and what gets accepted so any input would be great.

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by scottcr1

Perhaps it's in the Visa app but I see no 'reason of stay'... if it is, and if it's important, I can easily say for a piece of literature, exploring business possibilities in France, taking a part time French class, etc, etc...

Question 21 on the visa application form here: http://www.consulfrance-boston.org/IMG/pdf/visalong.pdf

I'm really not seeing where I would get denied, but you folks have been through this before and know what often gets denied and what gets accepted so any input would be great.

From the Consular website for Boston:

>>REMARKS: The Consular services have full authority to appreciate and request more documents than those submitted by the applicant. The latter is hereby informed that submitting the aforementioned documents does not ensure automatic issuance of the visa.<<

Cheers,
Bev

[Joppa]

One of the difficulties over applying for a long-stay visitor's visa is that issuance is at the discretion of the authorities in France as well as at the embassy/consulate. They don't have to state a reason for turning down your request, and completing an application and submittimng required documents doesn't guarantee that one will be issued. While one person may have little trouble getting such a visa, another with very similar background may get turned down without an explanation. While some visas have to be issued as it's required under European legislation, long-term visitor's visa isn't one and is given out solely at the whim of the relevant authorities.
As for relocating to Spain, the requirements are broadly similar but you must get relevant info from the Spanish embassy site. Since such visas are outside the scope of EU regulations, each country can impose any conditions they think are appropriate.

[scottcr1]

Ok I have researched this a little more... here are what I perceive to be my options... please let me know which one I am most likely to succeed with:

1. Long Term Visitor's Visa
I can provide finances for the 12 months x $1800, my only concern is question #21, the reason to stay in France. I can think of many, but I'm wondering what is considered acceptable. Some reasons I've thought of:
- Learning the language and culture (seems too general)
- Researching an online or published travel guide (which actually may not be a bad idea)
- Volunteer... not sure about this one yet. Just thought it could be possible.

2. Student Visa
I want to take some french courses although a long-term language course is a very expensive way to get a visa.

3. Competence and Talent Visa
I have a masters degree in business, bachelors in computer science. Could I state that I will be learning the language and culture to pursue a web project? I have something in mind that I'm considering. Do I need to provide specifics? Would I need to have something prepared ahead of time (such as owning a domain name for the project? (which actually you need a French residential address to obtain a .fr web address) or do I just need to say that I want to develop French ecommerce projects and need to learn the language/culture/business contacts? This seems to be a new type of visa and I really don't know much about it.

[frogblogger]

Ref Compétences et Talents visa. The French consulate in Washington provides more details. Note that you have to provide a detailed outline of your project in writing, "describing the professional project and specifying its interest for France and for the applicant’s country of origin ".

[Bevdeforges]

1. It's hard to tell what will fly on question 21 - and honestly it's one of those trick questions where they assess your "sincerity" with all your other answers. Researching a book might fly - if you have some connections and/or knowledge of the publishing industry that you could "prove" in some manner. Volunteering is dodgy, as there isn't the same volunteer environment in France as in the US - you'd need contacts with some agency to be taken seriously.

2. Yes, this is the expensive approach, but reasonably sure once you're admitted to a school or program.

3. What Frogblogger said. It can't just be that you have some background that "might" be of use to La France - you have to have a project you want to pursue (and that project plan, I suspect, has to be written in French). No one is quite sure what they're looking for here.
Cheers,
Bev