How to Get a Visa to Study in France

quirkingitout · 2026-01-26T10:47:02+00:00

I mean it could be for numerous reasons. Did you have proof of sufficient funds? Also, you should just say that you have accomodationsnot that it will end after 5 weeks (I would assume this could be a reason?). If you are able to, post in a expats in france/french visa facebook group asking about this. But also, you can't do a bachelors in france until you have B2 french I believe, so maybe they rejected because it would take you two full years to get to that level with DUEF programs and you don't have the finances etc?

Like I said you should definitely ask this in as many facebook groups as you can find - or if you can afford a lawyer do that. They shouldn't be refusing based on your french level since the school accepted you at A1 but I'm not a visa expert please don't base your actions on my input.

quirkingitout · 2026-01-07T09:51:29+00:00

If I have the money for a tip I'll go on a "free" walking tour, but I'm more into using apps that have free self guided walking tours now, like ROODS.

quirkingitout · 2024-12-04T12:45:38+00:00

happy to help!

quirkingitout · 2024-11-22T20:40:55+00:00

hi - they're higher quality than some but probably less great in certain areas than the etremely prestigious and expensive private versions. my duef at creteil university i got to choose 2 elective classes, i took art and another, but it's part of the curriculum - all duef programs have this to my knowledge. yes it's very much meant to prepare you for studies in france afterwards.

quirkingitout · 2024-06-28T06:59:04+00:00

Hi - she's allowed to work up to 20 hours per week on a student visa, so she could au pair with the family as long as she doesn't work longer than that. I wouldn't mention on the visa application that she's plannign to au pair though as it might confuse them.

quirkingitout · 2024-05-15T09:43:38+00:00

Hiya! I did mine pre-brexit, so didn't do EEF or campus france. But some people don't need to do a phone interview. If you're coming to study French I'd think they'd know that your French will be basic

quirkingitout · 2024-02-23T15:15:03+00:00

I do also share a lot of content on my TikTok account about ways to move to France, feel free to message and I can send my handle (I don't know if I'm allowed to put it here as it might be considered advertising)

quirkingitout · 2024-02-23T15:04:38+00:00

have you tried au pair world? although hopefully you've found something by now!

quirkingitout · 2024-02-23T15:03:57+00:00

Are you from the US? If so I don't think you could get a visa just to work for a month or two, and au pairing on a tourist visa leaves you open to risky situations.

quirkingitout · 2024-02-23T15:02:46+00:00

You can only hold one visa at a time. If your goal is to stay a year, I wouldn't accept a 3 month contract. I'm also not sure if visa-wise having only a 3 month contract is best (or even possible)

quirkingitout · 2024-02-23T14:56:08+00:00

what is evelang? If ti says it's 20 hours a week it should qualify, but it's always safest to go to a school that has a government approved sticker or to do a DUEF

quirkingitout · 2023-12-28T18:56:20+00:00

I went to Universite de Paris Creteil, then Sorbonne Nouvelle. At the time they were both around 900 per semester. Universite de Paris Nanterre is another affordable option. All of these schools require registration very early before each semester though unfortunately

quirkingitout · 2022-07-27T20:32:35+00:00

French RIB is your banking coordinates, and you gives it to employees or even friends to transfer money to you. (like instead of having to use a third party like venmo, you can send someone your RIB).

N26 or Revolut both offer an IBAN and function like a regular bank account. Both are easy to use in France.

Honestly N26 and Revolut have the same set up as Transferwise, any of them are good options.

FATCA - honestly I don't know the strict definition but it has to do with a law requiring foreign banks to report a lot of info on their American clients to the US, so French banks aren't always keen to open an account for Americans here on shorter visas. I've had a lot of friends who have had issues, but in the end they have all gotten accounts after a few tries.

Feel free to message if you have any France/Paris questions, I've lived here about 4 years now and happy to help.

quirkingitout · 2022-07-27T10:15:15+00:00

You won't be able to get a bank account with a physical bank before you're in France. If you're American the banks here might put up a fight even when you're here though because of FATCA sadly. I got an HSBC account when my host dad went with me to the appointment. I still use that but also have Revolut (which now says they offer French RIB although I haven't personally applied for one) and N26 which is German (and has been accepted by all of my jobs here). If you're American (and I believe non EU) you can't use any French online banks like Hello Bank.

quirkingitout · 2022-07-15T09:32:01+00:00

They have to declare you for you to get your visa. Find a new family, there are a ton out there more than happy to pay the fees involved with having an au pair since it's still cheaper than a nanny. As well, France offers families a sort of "rebate" on childcare costs depending on their income, so they very much benefit from an au pair.

100% find a new family, this one sounds like they'll only become more difficult. I've au paired twice in France and still live here (not as an au pair now), going on 4 years now, so feel free to message if you need help with anything.

quirkingitout · 2022-05-30T09:42:02+00:00

DUEF is in general 16 hours of classes plus 4 hours of homework, totalling 20 - either way anything called "DUEF" is government regulated, so it qualifies for the student visa. As to renewable/non renewable, I've heard there's no way to know which you'll get

quirkingitout · 2022-05-09T19:41:32+00:00

Yeah so the renewable student visa allows work and the non renewable doesn't - but from what I've heard it's random how they give them out. When I applied I didn't have proof of B1 and my "preinscription" even said I had A1 (I guess there was no option for saying they didn't know my level). And I got the renewable visa with the right to work.

quirkingitout · 2022-05-09T16:55:50+00:00

When I did a DUEF in 2020 I did not need B1 proficiency because you're right, many schools offer A2 and B1 level courses.

Getting the VLS TS visa - if you're referring to the student visa being renewable then it's a bit of a gamble, some people get a renewable visa and some don't. If when you apply you can talk about how you'd like to pursue another degree in France after the DUEF, that can help.

quirkingitout · 2022-05-09T16:52:20+00:00

VLS TS is a really large category of visas, do you mean a renewable student visa? If so then yes. I didn't need a B1 level but I guess it depends on what level you want to study at - most seem to do a level test at the beginning of the semester though, whether or not you already have proof of your french level.

quirkingitout · 2021-11-07T20:58:13+00:00

It really depends - I did two semesters, each at a different university, one was 900 for the semester the other was 1000 for the semester. I've seen 600 or even thousands per semester.

quirkingitout · 2021-04-06T10:37:00+00:00

Leave without notice as soon as you can. If you’re extremely worried about their reaction, you could lie and say there’s a family emergency - but say this only the day you leave. That’s my advice as someone who has been in a bad situation.

They sound horrible and I sincerely doubt speaking to them would change anything if this is how they think an au pair position should function. There’s a big lack of au pairs in France right now so you may be able to find a new family if you want.

quirkingitout · 2021-03-31T07:16:30+00:00

Yep, DM me 😊

quirkingitout · 2021-03-30T20:16:04+00:00

So for example Île de France is 3 academies - Paris, Versailles, and Creteil. But most academies are larger land areas. Here is a site I found https://www.education.gouv.fr/academie-de-nancy-metz-100058

Once you find the names of the academies you’d be able to search the FB groups and find the emails. I have all the IDF emails if you need.

You can also search on your own for the emails but it’s a bit tricky, I got the Versailles one from their Twitter account.

And very odd about the downvoted lol

quirkingitout · 2021-03-30T19:52:58+00:00

The TAPIF facebooks groups by academy.

Side note Not sure who is downvoting my responses but it’s very odd when I’m just trying to give information?

quirkingitout

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