Etats Schengen, Type C, Multiple Entry -

[JetsetBkk]

A French guy I know - who is currently in France - married his Thai g/f in Thailand. She has just obtained from the French Embassy the above type of visa in her Thai passport - "Etats Schengen", type C, multiple entry, 90 day duration, valid for 1 year.

What she wants to know (or wants confirmed) is, can she get this 90 day stay extended in France? She has not gone through a French marriage ceremony, but clearly will one day and would do so ASAP if it means she can stay in France for a year or more.

A secondary question is: just where must she go at the end of the 90 days? i.e. where is the nearest "non-Schengen" country she can go to in order to do the equivalent of a "border run" and get another 90 stamp?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

[farangsay]

A French guy I know - who is currently in France - married his Thai g/f in Thailand. She has just obtained from the French Embassy the above type of visa in her Thai passport - "Etats Schengen", type C, multiple entry, 90 day duration, valid for 1 year.

What she wants to know (or wants confirmed) is, can she get this 90 day stay extended in France? She has not gone through a French marriage ceremony, but clearly will one day and would do so ASAP if it means she can stay in France for a year or more.

A secondary question is: just where must she go at the end of the 90 days? i.e. where is the nearest "non-Schengen" country she can go to in order to do the equivalent of a "border run" and get another 90 stamp?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

I'm sure I was told one time that Thai citizens don't need a visa for Switzerland.

He could check that with the embassy/consulate.

[Mahout Angrit]

Your French friend should contact his immigration authorities.

From what I understand, and is supported by the following quotes from the Italian and French embassies. On a type C visa she can stay up to 90 days in any 6 months but is allowed multiple entries.

the Schengen regulation enables important or well-known persons who frequently require a visa and who can provide the necessary guarantees, to be issued with C-type visas which permit a visit of up to 90 days in any half-year and are valid for one (C1), two (C2), three (C3) or five years (C5).

and

Short stay Schengen visas are visas that allow the holder to travel freely within the Schengen space, including France, and spend a maximum of 90 days over 6 months. Those are issued for various purposes such as tourism, shopping, business or family visits.

This would indicate that she would have to leave the Schengen group of countries for 3 months after her first 90 day stay.

If she is married in Thailand she cannot get married again in France. The marriage papers from Thailand are recognised worldwide.

If she wants to stay in France I think your friend applied for the wrong type of visa and will probably have to return to Thailand to correct it but I have no experience of French immigration.

Edited May 25, 2007 by Mahout Angrit

[JetsetBkk]

Your French friend should contact his immigration authorities.

From what I understand, and is supported by the following quotes from the Italian and French embassies. On a type C visa she can stay up to 90 days in any 6 months but is allowed multiple entries.

the Schengen regulation enables important or well-known persons who frequently require a visa and who can provide the necessary guarantees, to be issued with C-type visas which permit a visit of up to 90 days in any half-year and are valid for one (C1), two (C2), three (C3) or five years (C5).

and

Short stay Schengen visas are visas that allow the holder to travel freely within the Schengen space, including France, and spend a maximum of 90 days over 6 months. Those are issued for various purposes such as tourism, shopping, business or family visits.

This would indicate that she would have to leave the Schengen group of countries for 3 months after her first 90 day stay.

If she is married in Thailand she cannot get married again in France. The marriage papers from Thailand are recognised worldwide.

If she wants to stay in France I think your friend applied for the wrong type of visa and will probably have to return to Thailand to correct it but I have no experience of French immigration.

Thanks for your input. One thing I forgot to add about the visa - it has under the heading "Remarks" the words "Famille de France" I think. Maybe it was "Famille de Francais". So I guess that the "purpose" for the visa is "family visit".

I don't understand what you mean by "She cannot get married in France again". I thought that Thai marriages were generally NOT recognised in other countries. My apologies if I'm wrong.

I hope he hasn't got the wrong type of visa - it took a long time to sort this one out and the poor girl can't even read or write much Thai - my g/f had to help her with the paperwork.

[paully]

I don't understand what you mean by "She cannot get married in France again". I thought that Thai marriages were generally NOT recognised in other countries. My apologies if I'm wrong.

I hope he hasn't got the wrong type of visa - it took a long time to sort this one out and the poor girl can't even read or write much Thai - my g/f had to help her with the paperwork.

Is she actually married - I mean did she go through the formal Amphur registration - or was it just the temple ceremony alone? She must know that much, surely. If it's the latter (the Amphur registration) then her marriage will be perfectly recognised outside Thailand. All that matters is that the certificate is formally translated (a certified translation) into French (or, at least, English) so that the authorities can actually read it.

[JetsetBkk]

I don't understand what you mean by "She cannot get married in France again". I thought that Thai marriages were generally NOT recognised in other countries. My apologies if I'm wrong.

I hope he hasn't got the wrong type of visa - it took a long time to sort this one out and the poor girl can't even read or write much Thai - my g/f had to help her with the paperwork.

Is she actually married - I mean did she go through the formal Amphur registration - or was it just the temple ceremony alone? She must know that much, surely. If it's the latter (the Amphur registration) then her marriage will be perfectly recognised outside Thailand. All that matters is that the certificate is formally translated (a certified translation) into French (or, at least, English) so that the authorities can actually read it.

Hi paully, yes she did sign the papers at her Amphur - it wasn't just the temple ceremony. And she took the papers to the Embassy in Bangkok and they accepted them. Please realise that I'm getting this second hand from my g/f, but I think I'm getting the true story.

So, the question that still remains is, can she extend this "Etats Schengen", type C, multiple entry, 90 day duration visa when she gets to France, or is there another type of visa that a genuinely married Thai girl can get that allows her to stay longer?

Phew! I'm glad I'm not married!

[the scouser]

This site indicates that for someone to extend their visa in France, it must be endorsed "Carte de séjour à solliciter à l’arrivée en France" in which case they should then present themselves to the local prefecture within two months of their arrival and apply for a carte de séjour.

If your wife's friend does not have that endorsement, it looks as though the longest she can stay in France is 90 days of every 180.

Scouse.

[Mahout Angrit]

So, the question that still remains is, can she extend this "Etats Schengen", type C, multiple entry, 90 day duration visa when she gets to France,

Unlikely

or is there another type of visa that a genuinely married Thai girl can get that allows her to stay longer?

She has a short stay (Type C) visa. As a woman married to a French citizen who wishes to live in France with her husband she should have applied for a Long Stay Visa.

French Consulate General

Long stay visa

* When can you apply for a long stay visa?

* How to apply:

* Documents required:

* Visa application fee:

Long stay visas are visas that allow the holder to live in France, Monaco, Andorra, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion Island, Guyana, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, St. Pierre and Miquelon or Mayotte for over 3 months. Those are issued for various purposes such as work, study or retirement.

Validity: over 3 months

Numbers of entries authorised: multiple

As per the decree 2006-211 of the 24th of July 2006, family members of French citizens wishing to move to France will need to apply for a long stay visa.

When can you apply for a long stay visa?

You may apply for a long stay visa for:

>>> Studies (over 3 months):

- You are going to study in a French university or in a language school,

- You are going to train in a company based in France,

- You are going to work as an "au pair" in France.

>>> Work (over 3 months):

- You wish to work in France (your current employer must contact the OMI: Migration Office),

- You wish to work in Monaco or in Andorra,

- You wish to work in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion or Guyana,

- You wish to work in New Caledonia, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, St. Pierre and Miquelon or Mayotte,

- You wish to apply to exercise an independent activity regulated or not in France. >>> Without working (over than 3 months):

- You wish to settle in France,

- You wish to settle in Monaco,

- You wish to settle in Andorra,

- You wish to settle in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion or Guyana,

- You wish to settle in New Caledonia, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, St. Pierre and Miquelon or Mayotte.

>>> Family reasons (over 3 months):

- You wish to retire in France,

- You wish to settle in France without working,

- You are the foreign spouse of a French or European Union citizen and wish to settle together in France.

Her husband must find out whether she can change the type of Visa whilst in France

Edited May 25, 2007 by Mahout Angrit

[JetsetBkk]

Thank you very much, Scouser and Mahout Angrit. The information you have provided is excellent. I have found the "Long Stay" visa application form here http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/F...long_sejour.pdf and will print a copy so it can be sent to the French guy for him to investigate.

Thanks again for all your help.

[xjessie007]

Thank you very much, Scouser and Mahout Angrit. The information you have provided is excellent. I have found the "Long Stay" visa application form here and will print a copy so it can be sent to the French guy for him to investigate.

Thanks again for all your help.

I have a question about this too. Is the Long Stay "Carte de séjour à solliciter à l'arrivée en France" the same thing like the "long-term L-type permit"? Sorry, I know almost none French, so I do not understand the Carte..... thing, just judging from the context. This website (www.euro-dollar-currency.com/schengen_visa_questions.htm) talks about some kind of "long-term L-type permit" (scroll down, it is about in the middle of the page - Holder of Switzerland student visa...). From the text, it looks like the L-type thing is for stays over 4 mos, no?

[alyx]

Thank you very much, Scouser and Mahout Angrit. The information you have provided is excellent. I have found the "Long Stay" visa application form here and will print a copy so it can be sent to the French guy for him to investigate.

Thanks again for all your help.

I have a question about this too. Is the Long Stay "Carte de séjour à solliciter à l'arrivée en France" the same thing like the "long-term L-type permit"? Sorry, I know almost none French, so I do not understand the Carte..... thing, just judging from the context. This website (www.euro-dollar-currency.com/schengen_visa_questions.htm) talks about some kind of "long-term L-type permit" (scroll down, it is about in the middle of the page - Holder of Switzerland student visa...). From the text, it looks like the L-type thing is for stays over 4 mos, no?

I don't know much about the informations needed but the translation is "Long-stay permit to ask upon arrival on French soil" (this is usually given to students and other categories for up to ten years but then again I am not familiar with the process an to whow it really applies)

[alyx]

I don't know much about the informations needed but the translation is "Long-stay permit to ask upon arrival on French soil" (this is usually given to students and other categories for up to ten years but then again I am not familiar with the process an to whow it really applies)

4 months? I am not sure but it is usually more than 3 months and depends on the category of visa

[xjessie007]

I am really confused by all this stuff. It says 3 months for the category C visa on this page The http://www.euro-dollar-currency.com/scheng..._categories.htm, but when you look at the "Holder of Switzerland student visa, can I visit Schengen zone?" here http://www.euro-dollar-currency.com/scheng...a_questions.htm, it says 4 months for the L-type residence permit. Do they have a mistake there, or are the permits valit for longer than the C visas? Tx.