Formalities

First of all, let's sum up what the essential documents for a study visit to France are:

• Valid passport
• Visa (if needed)
• Carte de séjour (residence permit)
• Diplomas obtained in your country of origin
• Marks obtained in each subject during your last two years at school
• Certificate of admission (or preliminary admission) to institution of higher education
• Proof of financial resources
• Birth certificate

All these documents must be translated into French, and all copies must be certified as compliant with the original documents.As a general rule, you should have at least one photocopy of each of the above documents. At all times you are required to carry with you official proof of identity and entitlement to be in France .

Now we can go into more details... What do you have to do to comply with legal requirements before and during your stay in France? 

• Before coming to France

You will probably need a number of authorizations for your visit to France, and you must start applying for these sufficiently well in advance of your planned departure date (more than a year, usually). Passport Citizens of European Union countries only require an identity card to enter France, but citizens from other countries require a passport issued in their country of origin. The passport must not expire before the end of your planned stay.   Visas

For foreigners wishing to stay in France, the first step is generally to obtain a visa from the French consulate in their country of origin.

Read the general information about visas in "Entering the country".

There is a special students' version of the long-stay visa (visa de long séjour mention étudiant). This is issued as a preliminary step toward issue of a one-year renewable student's residence permit running from the date of initial application.

There is also a special short-stay visa for  students coming to France to sit a competitive examination (concours) for admission to an institution of higher education. Information on Egide website: www.egide.asso.fr

Finally, there is a special scientists'version of the long-stay visa.Information on Egide website: www.egide.asso.frDocuments required when applying for a visa      To obtain a visa, you will have to fill in an application form, available from the French consulate in your country of origin . With this form there will be a list of required supporting documents. Typically, this list will include the following:

• valid passport
• proof of resources enabling you to live in France for the stated period (for grant holders, this will mean a certificate stating the amount and duration of your grant)
• proof of health insurance coverage
• proof of preliminary enrolment at university or other institution of higher education (or official letter of acceptance from host company, specifying course dates)
• proof of French exit travel, valid at least three months from expiry of visa

Sufficient resources    Despite special student facilities like libraries, university cafeterias, student accommodation and low-price transport, it does cost quite a lot of money to stay and study in France. The French Ministry of Employment, Social cohesion and Solidarity ( Ministère du Travail, des Relations sociales et de la Solidarité ) sets an official minimum resource threshold of EUR 400 per month, though individual consulates may require more when examining visa applications. Students wishing to study in France will be required to prove that they meet this minimum resource level, but they certainly should not consider this a sufficient amount for living in France. Students relying on financial assistance from another person will be required to produce proof of this assistance (a special form for this should be requested from the French embassy or consulate).Health Insurance    Students wishing to stay in France are required to produce proof of insurance covering healthcare expenses. This means they must either be eligible for student coverage under the French national health insurance scheme (sécurité sociale), or (if over 28 or enrolled at a college not recognized by the French social security system) take out a special personal health insurance policy (assurance personnelle). 

• After arriving in France

Residence permit (carte de séjour) If you plan to stay in France for more than three months, you must apply for a residence permit (carte de séjour) as soon as possible after your arrival. If you stay in France for less than three months, residence entitlement is automatically covered by your short-stay visa, which may allow single entry or multiple entries into France.

Temporary residence permit for students      Holders of a long-stay visa allowing application for a residence permit (carte de séjour) are required to make the application within three months. The carte de séjour will be issued for a specific period of up to one year, depending on the length of your stay. If your course is longer than one year, you will have to apply to renew the carte de séjour when it expires. Temporary residence permit for citizens of the European Union      Citizens of European Union countries (holding a national identity card or valid passport) are entitled to stay in France for up to three months. For longer stays, they are recommended to apply for a European Community residence permit (carte de séjour communauté européenne), which is issued free of charge for renewable periods of up to one year at a time to students taking recognized courses of higher education. Where to apply for a carte de séjour ? The carte de séjour is usually issued by the Préfecture in the applicant's département of residence.    - If you are staying in Paris, you should apply to the Foreign Students' Office at the Préfecture de Police:

Centre de Réception des Étudiants Étrangers de la Préfecture de Police13, rue Miollis75015 Paris

   - If you are staying in the greater Paris region, you should apply to the Préfecture of your département.    - If you are staying elsewhere in France, you should apply to the Commissariat de Police nearest your place of residence, to the Sous-Préfecture or to the Préfecture.

How to obtain a carte de séjour ?    To apply for a carte de séjour, you will be required to fill in a form and supply a number of documents (many of which will be the same as those you supplied for your visa application):

• Certificate of enrolment at institution of higher education.
• Proof of accommodation (rent bill or certificate from person who is lodging you).
• Proof of financial resources.
• Two black-and-white face-on photos (It costs about EUR 3.50 for four photos at an automatic "Photomaton" booth such as those often found in town halls or train and underground stations.)
• One stamped addressed envelope (first class mail: EUR 0.50).

Citizens of non-European-Union countries will also need to supply the following items:

• Medical certificate, which is delivered after a medical examination at the Office des migrations internationales (OMI).
• One 55 € OMI stamp.

Once the application has been processed, you will be invited to come and collect your carte de séjour in person. The application processing time varies greatly (from one to three weeks, usually).

Renewal of carte de séjour     You apply to renew your carte de séjour at the same place as you made the initial application. And you have to supply the same documents (including the EUR  33,54 excise stamp). Notification of address change    - If you change address within the same town, you must report your new address to the Commissariat de Police in your new district.    - If you move to a different town in the same département, you must report your new address to the Commissariat de Police or the town hall in your new town.    - If you move to a different département, you have to apply to the Préfecture or Sous-Préfecture in your new district for a new carte de séjour. Notification of loss or theft of administrative documents      You must immediately report loss or theft of any of your official papers (passport, visa, carte de séjour, etc.). The procedure for doing this is as follows: - Make a statement at the nearest Commissariat de Police. - Then apply to your embassy for a new passport. - With your new passport and the original copy of your police statement, you will be able to regularize your situation with the Préfecture.You are strongly recommended to keep photocopies of all your official documents, to provide at least some evidence of your identity if the originals are lost or stolen.

Source: Egide