Many people we meet discuss their issues with how long they can stay in the Schengen Zone, which covers much of Europe. For non-residents, the rule is that you can stay 90 out of 180 days using a rolling calendar. Since we want to stay in Europe longer, we thought the best way to do that was to get a residence visa for any country in the Schengen Zone. So, way back in 2019, we applied for our first French residence visa. Our visa experience was recounted in The French Connection (visas) published early in 2020.
Since that time, many things have happened, most importantly Covid. I honestly don’t know how things will go in the future, I can only relate our experiences from these turbulent times. We decided on France for several reasons. First, it seemed like the easiest visa to get. Second, there is no buy-in or residence requirement. Finally, we love France and we both speak some French.
Validating Our Visas for 2020
Our previous article leaves off after we got our passports back with our French visas pasted in. The rules are that you must get to France within three months of the visa start date. Once you arrive in France, you log into a website, say you are there, and pay a tax of roughly 200€ per person.
Things got a little sketchy after that. In normal times, about six weeks later we should have gotten an appointment at our local prefecture. In most of the stuff I read before we got there, this appointment was to “validate” our visa and to register with the local prefecture.
Because of Covid, two things happened. Our appointment was set for three months from our entry date. Much longer than usual. Further, we were on lockdown in France and then due to family issues, we had to return to the US two months after we arrived.
Returning to France
We were able to return to finally return to France in September, six months after our original entry. You can read about our experience at SFO trying to get on the plane in Getting Into France Now. I had to hire an attorney to help us reschedule our appointment from June to September. The big reveal was that our appointment started in a nearby building where we got chest X-rays. We were then instructed to bring the X-rays to the Prefecture. It turned out this appointment was the last requirement for validating our first visa for 2020.
We happily breathed a sigh of relief. The people at the prefecture were really helpful as well and got us the forms that we needed to renew our visas for another year. Our original visa was almost used up as it was already October when we got everything done. Because our visa started on January 1st we couldn’t start the renewal until November 1st.
Visa Renewal for 2021
Our second French lockdown started on November 1st so we rushed to get our entire visa renewal package complete and couriered to the prefecture by November 1st. We were then told that it could be up to three months to get our next appointment at the prefecture, so we decided to leave France at the beginning of December to spend Christmas in the US.
As it turned out, I got an email for an appointment at the prefecture for December 15th. I sent back an email telling them that we couldn’t make that appointment asking for another appointment but I never heard back. Then the US blocked most foreigners from visiting and France did the same and our French visas expired. So we stayed in the US waiting to get our vaccines and for Europe to open again to Americans.
Visa Challenges
We decided to go to back Europe in July because they had reopened in June and we wanted the dust to settle. Before we left, I checked the prefecture website and found I was now able to make an appointment online. So I made an appointment for September 21st. They only have appointments on Tuesdays between 9 and 11 am. However, I had no idea what we would be doing at that appointment, there were many possibilities. First, they could get the documents we had sent much earlier and issue a visa for 2021. Alternatively, they could make us start over from the US or they could issue a visa for a year from the new application date. We had no idea because they don’t answer email or phone calls.
Visiting the Prefecture
We learned from our previous experience that you couldn’t get into the building without an appointment. So, we gathered our package of documents and headed for the prefecture. Once inside the building, we waited in a line to be screened by the gatekeepers, our name for the guys that look at your documents and determine if you are ready for the next step. The first guy we talked to only spoke French, which was really tough to understand behind masks and plexiglass. Then he got kind of mad at us because we didn’t actually have two appointments (one for each of us) and didn’t speak French well. So after a little huffing and puffing, he found another guy who spoke English.
The second guy was the most helpful of anyone we have ever talked to there. He looked at our package and told us that their concerns are about the amount of money we had and our medical insurance. Most importantly, he told us that because of Covid our new visa would be for a year from the issue date.
We were ecstatic because we didn’t like the timing of the November renewals, that was the good news. The bad news was that we needed to show insurance for the entire year and our insurance would expire in February. He was then nice enough to make us two appointments for the following Tuesday and told us to come back with an updated package and insurance through the end of September 2022.
More Visa Challenges
My work was cut out for me. Update the documents in the packet for 2022, get insurance from February to October, and get new pictures in European format. Who knows what happened to the original packet we submitted last year. The documents and pictures were easy. The insurance was a little tougher. Our insurance company wouldn’t renew or extend our policy until two months before our expiration so getting them to do something was a non-starter.
I then investigated other “travel” insurance options and found one for a year, starting in mid-November. The visa requirement is $50,000 for medical coverage and evacuation coverage. I was able to find a policy for about $500. We will probably never use it because we will need to extend our current medical policy when the time comes anyway. As soon as I bought the policy, I requested the Embassy Letter, which confirms to the prefecture that the insurance is in force. I found some other insurance documents that might do in a pinch and printed them out just in case the letter didn’t come through. As it turned out, the letter came on Tuesday morning before our appointment and the hotel staff hurriedly printed the documents for me. Nothing like doing things at the last minute.
Visa Success
On Tuesday morning, armed with our document saying we had an appointment, we entered the prefecture. The line was shorter this time and we hung back just enough to get to the window with the nice English-speaking guy. He went through our papers and handed us a number just like the ones you get at the deli counter. Then he pointed to the seating area surrounded by numbered plexiglass cubicles with workers entering information into computer terminals.
We waited patiently for our turn for about 30 minutes. We still didn’t know what was going to happen, even after we turned over our papers to one of the guys behind the plexiglass. He just started entering information into the terminal, Mike’s first, and didn’t say a word to us. Then he pulled out a large manila folder and put Mike’s package in it, creating a dossier. Then he printed onto another paper and walked away. When he came back he had a very official-looking document with Mike’s picture affixed. Then he repeated the same procedure for me. In the end, he passed both documents to us and explained that they were temporary. He then asked us for a phone number and wouldn’t accept anything but a French number. Fortunately, I had the phone number of our friend in France.
Finally, he explained that about two months from now we would get a text telling us that our permanent cards were ready for pickup. Fortunately, we can pick them up without an appointment any afternoon but Thursday. They also assured us that they would hold the cards for a few months if we couldn’t pick them up right away. Our understanding is that we will pay the tax, about 200€ each when we pick up our cards but we will see.
The After Glow
So, after all the work, worry, time, and money we have a visa through next September. We were so happy, we had to sit outside, high five, and take a few breaths before we could even walk to the car. The best part is that we can do the next renewal online. We will still have to go to Nice to pick up our physical cards, but in-person appoints should be unnecessary.
NOTE: In France, every department (read state) has a slightly different procedure for getting visas and renewing visas. The process that I have described is specific to department 6, which is the Nice, France prefecture.
With our visas in hand, all of our plans for next year have changed. We no longer have to worry about the Schengen 90 day limit and we will now be heading back to Europe in January to pick up our cards and ski for a month. In addition, our new and improved plan for next year includes at least five months in Europe.
Are ready to get your European visa?
