Advise with Student visa application

[Ananias]

Hello,

I'm applying for a student visa to France and I was wondering if it's convenient to say that I will support myself in France through my savings. I have almost the double amount that the French consulate requires as a minimum to live in France in my bank account. I'm 29 at the moment and I receive help from my parents in order to further my education, yet I do not know if saying this might play against my application. The other "tricky" part is that I only paid the preregistration to la sorbonne, for three courses= 1 year, because I wasn't aware that I'm supposed to pay the full tuition. What would you recommend me to write in my application for "means of supporting yourself?"

Thank you for your help,

Ananias

[Bevdeforges]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I've moved you over to the France section of the forum in the hope of attracting a few more responses.

There is nothing wrong with using your parents as "sponsors" on a student visa. You may, however, need a letter from them stating that they are supporting you and will continue to do so.

If you only paid for the first three courses, then your visa will only be issued for the one year. Given that you're still in the stage of filling out forms for your visa, you may want to re-contact the Sorbonne to see about prepaying whatever further courses you want to enroll in. They are starting to crack down on renewing student visas, and if you've pre-paid for "only" one year, that may be as long as they will let you stay in France.
Cheers,
Bev

[Ananias]

Hello again Bev, and thank you so much for your prompt and precise reply!!!

Just for clarification on the matter of visa renovations, I understood the visas are only granted for a year anyway and, if a person wishes to continue studies after the year, she can apply to renew the visa from France, two months before the visa expires. Has this
changed? In other words, how could only be preregistered change my chances to renew
the student visa from France if I wish to continue with my studies after one year?

Thank you for your advise on all these crazy paperwork and protocol!!!

Ananias

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

Hi and welcome to the forum. I've moved you over to the France section of the forum in the hope of attracting a few more responses.

There is nothing wrong with using your parents as "sponsors" on a student visa. You may, however, need a letter from them stating that they are supporting you and will continue to do so.

If you only paid for the first three courses, then your visa will only be issued for the one year. Given that you're still in the stage of filling out forms for your visa, you may want to re-contact the Sorbonne to see about prepaying whatever further courses you want to enroll in. They are starting to crack down on renewing student visas, and if you've pre-paid for "only" one year, that may be as long as they will let you stay in France.
Cheers,
Bev

[Bevdeforges]

I'm not sure how they coordinate things (or even if they do), but the idea is that you get a visa that allows you to enter France. Then you get a titre de séjour - but under the current regulations, apparently the first year's "carte de séjour" is now actually a validation of the visa stamped into your passport.

In order to renew your carte de séjour, you need to submit documents showing that all conditions are the same as when you got your visa. If the initial visa was only for 1 year, that should mean that your carte de séjour is not renewable.

Like I said, I don't know how (or if) this is coordinated. You may want to check with the Sorbonne to see what happens if you decide to continue past your initial classes.
Cheers,
Bev

[Ananias]

Thank you once again for your help!!!

Ananias

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

I'm not sure how they coordinate things (or even if they do), but the idea is that you get a visa that allows you to enter France. Then you get a titre de séjour - but under the current regulations, apparently the first year's "carte de séjour" is now actually a validation of the visa stamped into your passport.

In order to renew your carte de séjour, you need to submit documents showing that all conditions are the same as when you got your visa. If the initial visa was only for 1 year, that should mean that your carte de séjour is not renewable.

Like I said, I don't know how (or if) this is coordinated. You may want to check with the Sorbonne to see what happens if you decide to continue past your initial classes.
Cheers,
Bev