questions about arriving with Long Term Visa

Nancy

ntoolan said:

...I'm still not sure if the visa is a document attached to the passport or as stamp on a visa page.

Click to expand...

Your "visa" is permanently affixed to one of the pages of your US Passport by the Consulate. When we applied for the Visa, the Consulate required that we leave our US Passport with them until they'd granted or rejected our request for the Visa.

ntoolan said:

So what would happen if I have a visa with a certain arrival date but I actually arrive earlier?...

Click to expand...

As far as I know, there's no arrival date on one's Visa. There is a date, if memory serves, on which the Visa was granted. During our interview, we were advised to be prepared to go to France within a few weeks of the Visa being granted (3 weeks comes to mind...but I don't really remember for sure). It would be useful to ask the Consulate if there's a required or recommended amount of time to move to France.

If the Consulate still keeps one's US Passport and you wanted to go to France before receiving your Visa, you'd need to request it back in order to travel internationally. If they return it to you before the Visa application is processed, you'd have it in hand, of course. In either case, though, you would have to return to the US to the French Consulate to have the Visa attached to your US Passport.

As a result, it doesn't seem possible you'd arrive in France "early"...you'd simply arrive as a tourist who'd have to return to the US.

If the Consultate still retains one's US Passport while deciding whether to accept or decline one's request, I strongly recommend you ask the Consultate whether requesting your Passport back before they've concluded their deliberations will void your request for a Visa.

Good luck.

Ray

Thanks all.

I will be using the consulate in Miami. According to their information, the visa processing can take up to 21 days so they advise to apply early. But not more than 3 mos. in advance of my planned arrival which is noted on the application form.

I plan to apply as early as I can, at least 2 months in advance. It's that catch-22 in that I may not have a permanent place to live at that point but will show I have a short term place of 3 months and I am actively looking.

My question stemmed more from the apartment search situation. For example I tell the consulate that I plan to arrive in France on Nov 1 and my visa shows Nov 1 as the valid date. Then I find an apartment that is ready Oct 15 and I am able to move by then. So can I go early and enter France as a normal visitor regardless of the visa date. I suppose the issue is if the immigration officer flips through my passport and sees the visa valid on Nov 1 and I'm 2 weeks early.

Another scenario would be that I receive my visa for Nov 1 entry, an apartment comes up and I take a quick round trip to Paris to look at the apartment. This would not be a long term entry, but rather a to/from for a very short period.

I'm not planning any of this just trying to understand the process. I don't know whether asking these questions to the consulate would raise any red flags.

Merci.

ntoolan said:

RayRay, I just re-read your reply. Hmmm, so maybe there isn't a valid date. I'll contact the consulate and see.

I've had many visas in the past form other countries and yes usually they show an issue date, but then also the valid period (3 months, 1 year, etc.).

The only thing I know for sure is that I have to send in my OFII form within the 1st 3 months.

Click to expand...

My recommendation would be to send in the form letter you should receive from the Miami Consultate to the OFII as soon as possible after you arrive.

Depending upon where your OFII is, some are a great deal busier than others.

I would say it's better to get an earlier appointment than for the OFII to receive your letter towards the end of the 3 month period and have no appointments to give you during the remainder of your 3 months.

It counts for something that you'd demonstrate that you take your commitments regarding scheduling the OFII appointment seriously.

Best of luck.

Ray

ntoolan said:

...I contacted the consulate in Miami and was informed that the start date for the validity period will be whatever date I indicate as my arrival date in France. The officer also told me that I can move to France anytime after the start date but that will reduce the amount of time and I will have to start the renewal process earlier. For example if I delayed my arrival for a month after the start date, I essentially have an 11 month visa.

Now onto finding good expat medical insurance. My current insurance does cover me for overseas visits and some evacuation but no repatriation...

Click to expand...

Nancy

Having your first visa be good for 11 months isn't that big a deal in the greater scheme of things, assuming you'll be staying for at least a few years, especially if going a bit later allows you to handle important things like getting your stuff moved, saying goodbye to everyone, etc.

You may want to check GeoBlue Travelers Insurance if you have Blue Cross coverage already. GeoBlue is a modestly priced add-on to your Blue Cross coverage. The only caveats are

• You must have Blue Cross Insurance (standard, Medicare Supplemental, etc.) in order to qualify for GeoBlue.
• GeoBlue must be available in your State (it's not available in all states).

Their website is at https://www.geobluetravelinsurance.com/product_overview.cfm. I don't work for Blue Cross or GeoBlue or get anything for suggesting it. We've used it as our insurance because we have our Medicare Supplemental Insurance with Blue Cross and GeoBlue has been a good fit for us.

Best of luck.

Ray