Hi Guys
First timer here.
I am thinking of applying for a long stay tourist visa for France. Can I place my application in Brisbane? Does anyone know or have experience with Brisbane.
Thanks guys, I may have some more questions after I read through the past topics.
According to the Consulate website, you can only apply for visas in Sydney. I believe you have to take an appointment online and then show up in Sydney to submit your application.
And the long-stay visa is a "visitor" visa (which indicates that you are not allowed to work). Normally when they refer to a "tourist" visa it means the up-to-90-day short stay visa.
The website of the French consulate in Sydney has the details about how to apply for a visa for France.
Cheers,
Bev
We lived in Brisbane when we applied for our VISA's and we had to go to the Sydney consulate.
The wait for an appointment was about two - three months when we applied, but if might of changed since then. I managed to get an earlier appointment by frequently checking the website in case there was a cancellation and and it worked.
One we had out documentation, the VISA appointment was very quick. 10 minutes. You just hand over your documents. They go through them, take your photos and fingerprints. Just make sure you have everything they ask for.
They kept my passport to attach my VISA and I received it by registered post about 1 week later.
Just a personal question - I'm also looking at applying for the long stay visa without work but I can't find anything as to how much you need to show in 'financial means'. If you don't mind, what was your ballpark figure? I've heard sometimes they ask for around $50K in proof of funds.
Italy is way better represented in Australia, not least because there is a huge Italian population, so that's a pretty good idea. I agree it's not easy, nor cheap, to travel to Sydney. (I think the French Consulate in Brisbane mainly serves to provide a basic level of service to French nationals - and even they have to refer to Sydney for some things.)
If your choice of country is swayed by the ease of getting to the consulate, it suggests that your decision is being made in a pretty lightweight fashion.
Sydney is just a day's drive away. Head off on Friday after work, stay at Port Macquarie, have Saturday and Sunday in Sydney, consulate on Monday, drive home via the New England highway. How hard is that?
Or look out for cheap airline tickets. After all, if you can't afford less than $200 return to Sydney, you can't afford to fly to France.
For some people that is not so easy though - and the cheap air fares are unfortunately not always there when you want them. But I do remember many years ago we used to do the trip up the old Pacific Highway in one go (nearly put hit, but we were lucky to avoid major accidents on that route).
Why shouldn't the OP go the Italy route - after all, what they are looking for is a long TOURIST visa.
Thanks guys,
I am wanting to stay in France as I have a friend who lives in the Alps and I can stay with him. I also speak some french and wish to improve it.
I was thinking of Italy as an alternative as I will be flying in and out of Italy, and my passport will most likely be checked there. And I could stay with another friend in Italy, and put her name down on the visa application.
It's not that I take this lightly at all. I wish to stay in Europe longer than 90 days as I also have a small cycling tour business and take people on guided cycling tours. And I don't want to have to keep flying back to Australia. I think a tourist visa is my best option as I wont be actually working for anyone. Clients pay me in Australia. And I'd like to stay in Europe from May to November.
I am in the early stages of looking at my options on how to stay in Europe. So thanks for all your help so far
I know some people here were suggesting that you would have to pay income tax in France. My reading of the tax treaty however suggests that this income would be taxable in Oz and not here (provided that you don't exceed the 183 days in France).
Be careful with that cycling tour business. Depending on how long you stay, you may very well meet one of the qualifications for becoming "tax resident" in France. Normally the matter of "where" your customers pay you is irrelevant - it's based on where the work is done.
Cheers,
Bev
My first reaction to that was 'technically correct, but how would the authoritiews ever find out?'
Then, after a few brain-enhancing glasses of wine, I thought that all it would take would be an accident. Police called. Car driver wants to know insurance details. Police want to check authorisation to run cycling tours ...
I'm probably in the same boat. I went to the embassy in Sydney and he was most unhelpful and wouldn't give me an approximate figure - he just said it varies from case to case.
I should have about $15K but I don't want to apply for it and be rejected. Let me know how you go.
The consulate used to publish a reference figure, but between exchange fluctuations and people playing the system, they have simply stopped giving out any firm figure.
What they are looking for is for you to have enough "financial resources" to support you during the time you say you will be in France for the purpose you give on your visa application. It makes a huge difference whether you'll be living in Paris to research your next best seller or decamping to a gite up in the mountains for a year of enforced silence and communing with nature. And, if you are of "working age" they generally want you to have adequate resources to assure you won't be tempted to work under the table to keep yourself going. (Though that seems to be less of a concern these days as unemployment here is really bad and finding work - even under the table - is a real problem.)
Cheers,
Bev
Thanks Bev. In your experience, if I'm in my late 20s, already used the WHV and want to go back to continue my French experience and improve my language, do you think that would be accepted? Around $15K would be enough to support myself comfortably for 6 months as I'll be staying rent free with friends.
What you could do is to draw up a budget for yourself to "prove" that the amount you have is enough. One caveat, though, is to keep in mind the current level of the French SMIC (minimum wage) - about 1445€ a month. If what you have available is less than this, you'll be hard pressed to prove that you'll have enough to live on.
Cheers,
Bev
Be careful, in that the 183 days thing is just a rule of thumb and not a hard and fast rule. The other factor that could be significant is the extent to which the cycling tour business "operates" within France.
Cheers,
Bev
I will readily admit that I have never read the French-Australian tax treaty. (Just got around to reading the US-French treaty - and that was a real eye-opener, I must say.)
Cheers,
Bev
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