Life in France!

Monday, April 4, 2016

Documents required to obtain the tourist visa (Schengen region) for the Indian citizens

Non-Professional Travel (family visit, private visit, tourists)
Is applicable in case you are traveling to visit your friends/relatives. This visa is given for travel of less than 90 days.

Mandatory Documents:

Original passport valid for a minimum period of three months after the expiry date of the visa (passports issued more than ten years ago are no longer accepted)* and 1 old passport if applicable plus one copy of the first and last page of the current passport. The passport should have 2 blank pages
One application form with all columns filled in, 2 signatures and contact number is mandatory and 2 recent photographs not older than 6 months. The photograph must measure 35 mm in width by 45 mm in length. The length of face must be 32 to 36 mm from bottom of chin to the top of the skull (Besides hair), that is, the face coverage has to be 60-70 % of the photo.
Original covering letter
Copy of confirmed hotel reservation OR *attestation d'accueil (Proof of Accomodation) with invitation letter in original is compulsory if invited by friends or family member. Hotel booking should be for the whole stay in the Schengen area
Copy of itinerary prepared by the travel agency (only for those going on tour)
Copy of last 3 years IT Returns
Copy of last 3 months bank statements (Updated)
Copy of last 3 months salary slips.
Copy of overseas medical insurance policy + repatriation, evacuation cover (equivalent to 30000 euros) I had taken Reliance Insurance policy for 29 days which costed me 1 180 rupees/person if your are parents are above 60 years it may cost you more.
Copy of return air ticket or PNR (booking printout) and also internal tickets including stay in France if applicable

The documents must be arranged in the order given above.

*attestation d'accueil (Proof of Accommodation) can be obtained in any city from the local town hall in France.

Note:

Since July 2013, French authorities have decided to facilitate travel to France for all Indian citizens who have studied in France. From then, all Indian citizens residing in India who have graduated from a French higher education institution subsequently applying for a tourist or business short stay visa for a trip to France, will be given a visa with a long period of validity – up to five years (subject to passport validity date) if the studies in France were at the Master or PhD levels.

Important!

Employed applicants to submit a letter from the employer with details of employment and leave (Leave sanction letter)
A self-employed applicant to submit proof of business i.e. firm’s registration or partnership deed.
Copy of refusal letter in case of any previous refusals from any country
For applicants whose travelling dates are within 5 working days from the date of submission need to give an explanation letter about the urgency of travel.
Unemployed applicants and students can submit their spouse / parents financial papers and a letter of employment or business.
Copy of marriage certificate wherever necessary for eg. if wife's passport is in maiden name
Students must submit a school certificate / identity card
Minors, if traveling with one parent / none of the parents, NOC is required from the other parent / both parents in the form of an affidavit on a stamp paper.
Each application must be supported by a copy of the requisite documents. If you have received a fax you must photocopy the same and attach it to your application.
You may be asked to show your original documents at the time of your interview. Therefore please carry your original documents with you.
All photocopies must be in black and white and on A4 size paper
Applicants going for honeymoon purpose need to submit a copy of their wedding card.
No visa will be issued on additional pages
Children must travel on their individual passports
All photocopies must be in A4 size paper.

Reference: http://www.vfs-france.co.in/

Monday, May 11, 2015

Attestation d'accueil process - FRANCE

You are a student or working in France, may be having a dream to bring your parents on a visiting/tourist visa to France.

I had the same dream like you and any other person, fortunately in Dec 2014 I could make my dream come true by inviting my parents to France.

Before processing their documents I did not find proper information anywhere except on the VFS website but that too where they don't mention how much liquid cash they need to show for the visa if they are not invited/hosted by anyone in France etc etc...

Well as suggested by many people to provide 'Attestation d'accueil' for the visa which can be obtained from the nearest town hall 'Mairie' it is suppose to be obtained easily but I don't have such impression about it so I decided to go for the second option, I let them process the visa without Attestation d'accueil.

WITH ATTESTATION D'ACCUEIL

You have to go to your nearest Mairie/town hall with your original identification (Passport or Carte de séjour or Récépissé etc...) request them to provide you the details to obtain attestation d'accueil, They will give a list of documents which you have to submit them and after which to give the answer positive/negative they will take another max. 7 - 10 days approx depending on the city (Paris would be much longer)

List of documents from the host (pour l'hebergeant) ORIGINALS & PHOTOCOPIES

Identification proof or Passport (If the host is of French nationality) & Carte de séjour or Récépissé (If the host is foreigner) Valid till date
House contract - Valid till date
Last utility bill (GDF, EDF or France telecom)
Attestation of your social security or carte vitale. Valid till date
Last 3 months salary slips & Job contract (as per Marseille city mairie minimum salary should be 1 121 € net/month)
Tax document (House tax and Salary tax if declared)
Stamps 30 €/person for Marseille (Timbre Fiscal) which you can easily buy from nearest TABAC.

From the visiting person (Pour l'Hebergeant)

Passport copy(s) - Passport number, First name, Last name, date of birth, place of birth and address should be their.
Optional - Health insurance for the visiting person.

WITHOUT ATTESTATION D'ACCUEIL

Book a hotel for the entire stay of the visiting person/people.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

TYPES OF JOB CONTRACTS IN FRANCE

There are different types of job contracts in France, here is a small review of all the job contracts available:

Stage (Internship) In order to do internship in France you should be enrolled in the French university which will provide you the internship contract called 'Convention de stage'. This document is mandatory, for the company to give you an internship. The duration of French internship varies from 2 to maximum 6 months. French labor law requires that all the internships should have a pay of €436.05/month for working 35 hrs/week.

CDD - Contrat à Durée Determinée (Fixed term/Determinant contract) The duration of CDD may vary from 9 months to 18 months & Maximum 2 CDD's after which the contract is directly converted to CDI if the company is happy with your work ;) Pay should be a SMIC - Salarie minimum inter-professional de croissance (Minimum wage) which is gross €9.61/hour and €1 457.52/month for working 35 hrs/week.

Intérim - Contrat Temporaire ou d'intérim (Temporary job contract) The duration of intérim contract may vary from 1 day to few weeks/months but should not exceed 35 hrs/week and 1 607 hrs/annum.

CDI - Contrat à Durée Indéterminée (Unlimited term/In-determinant contract) CDI is a contract which does not have a particular date of termination & at the start of the employment there may be a trial period of 2-3 months. Pay should be a SMIC which is gross €9.61/hour and €1 457.52/month for working 35 hrs/week. Ref: http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F1906.xhtml

Contrat de Travail à Temps Partiel (Part-time job contract) working hours should be 50%-80% of the normal working hours if it is a public sector company and in case of a private sector minimum working hours are not defined until specified in the contract.