French Visa Question

[CbrLad]

My Thai GF has received her tourist visa to come visit me in the UK next month. We were thinking about going to Paris to for a few days. Does anyone have any experiance or advice in applying for a visa to France? Specificaly do documents in English need to be translated to French? They ask for evidence of a hotel booking and flights/train. On searching this forum and the net in general (yes I did that before asking this question) I saw some people view the return flight as a meaning flight back to Thailand not specificaly back to the UK. My concern is if I book the Eurostar and a couple of nights in a hotel and she doesn't get the visa, then the money is more or less blown as many companies these days have no refund policies or heavy penalties for cancelling.

Are there any other issues to be aware of?

Oh better say because I know it makes a little bit of a difference, I am an Aussie living and working in the UK for a few years, so am not an EU national.

Thanks....

[the scouser]

I believe that French also require medical insurance as a condition of getting the visa, but, as a general principle, that your girlfriend already has her UK visa will be more than half of the battle. I would think documents in English will be acceptable, but I'll leave that to someone who has direct experience.

Scouse.

[cleverD]

I did the exact trip you are planning to Paris by Eurostar.The embassy require evidence of travel,the travel agent I booked through got me the eurostar tickets and I photocopied them twice and sent 2 seperate letters to my GF,only one arrived !!!.

I think once you have your visit visa to the UK a Schengen Visa is a paperwork formality, They want photocopies of bank statements and a photograph with a white Background.

We found the French Embassy very Helpful.

[Governor]

As has previously been stated your girlfriend will require evidence of the details of your trip to Paris, ie Eurostar Tickets, Hotel Reservations and as Scouse has indicated medical insurance.

I am a UK national and my wife was visiting me and she had to apply for her visa in Bangkok for our short trip to Paris, she didn't find the French Embassy particularly helpful or user friendly,though the application was in English. We had to supply bank statements even for a pre-paid three day trip.

As you are an Ausie I believe you might need a visa which you will probably have to apply for in London, their website indicates that as they have to talk to other Schengen states this could take some time.

http://www.consulfrance-londres.org/articl...?id_article=318

Good Luck

[CbrLad]

As has previously been stated your girlfriend will require evidence of the details of your trip to Paris, ie Eurostar Tickets, Hotel Reservations and as Scouse has indicated medical insurance.

I am a UK national and my wife was visiting me and she had to apply for her visa in Bangkok for our short trip to Paris, she didn't find the French Embassy particularly helpful or user friendly,though the application was in English. We had to supply bank statements even for a pre-paid three day trip.

As you are an Ausie I believe you might need a visa which you will probably have to apply for in London, their website indicates that as they have to talk to other Schengen states this could take some time.

http://www.consulfrance-londres.org/articl...?id_article=318

Good Luck

Thank you all for your input, we will see how we go. If she doesn't get it, it doesn't really matter, there is enough to see in the UK anyway and that was the main thing anyway.

Governor, what you have said is the impression my GF got too that they are not overly helpful!!. I am still amazaed at having to provide details of a firm booking. The cheapest I could find for 2 nights in Paris and Eurostar was about 250-300 quid, non refundable. So no visa there is 300 down the drain. On top of that I would rather stay somewhere nicer than a flee pit at Gare du Nord which is even more. For a refundable trip it is even more again. A very odd way for the embassy to do business.

As for me, Aussies can enter without a visa for up to 90 days for tourism purposes, but thanks for thinking of me too, there are places where I would need a visa, but France isn't one! It's funny I've been a few times now on the Eurostar and I get more of a hard time trying to come back in despite having a UK visa that clearly shows why I am here. The 3rd degree every single time. At least Heathrow I can use the IRIS gate (when it is working)

[paully]

Governor, what you have said is the impression my GF got too that they are not overly helpful!!. I am still amazaed at having to provide details of a firm booking. The cheapest I could find for 2 nights in Paris and Eurostar was about 250-300 quid, non refundable. So no visa there is 300 down the drain. On top of that I would rather stay somewhere nicer than a flee pit at Gare du Nord which is even more. For a refundable trip it is even more again. A very odd way for the embassy to do business.

Schengen countries seem to be fussy about this - the wife and I were waiting in the Austrian Embassy in London to submit her visa app a few days ago and couldn't help overhearing the irate official at the desk losing her rag at an applicant who only had a hotel booking from the day after she was to arrive in Austria. The applicant was pretty smartly informed: no hotel confirmation for all nights of your stay, no visa. Simple as that. I guess they've been done over in the past too many times.

[the scouser]

And the reality is that a hotel booking is no indication of true intentions: a prospective visa applicant could book a hotel and then simply not stay there. Indeed, UK immigration will refuse entry on such grounds if all of the circumstances merit it.

Scouse.

[paully]

Yes, they're an odd lot over there on the Continent Not like us chaps.

Edited July 4, 2007 by paully

[CbrLad]

Good news my GF got her passport back today with the news that the French tourist Visa app was a succesful, so we are both happy about that. She arrives in the UK this weekend, so will certainly be an eye opening experiance for her.

Two notes for others, firstly they didn't accept my letter of 'sponsorship' they gave it back when she handed over the doco so don't bother. The second was she submitted a eurostar itinary (with hotel), this was not booked and payed for as they asked. Clearly that was enought for them. The GF reckoned the main 'concern' when she submitted the app was that she had health insurance.

So maybe the UK visa helps matters and makes it easier.