tremaine

Hi there,

I've got a Type D French student visa that expires on June 20th 2016. I've been on my year abroad in Paris and I would like to stay in France over the summer before returning to London to complete my final year at university.

I'm from Trinidad and Tobago and I no longer need a visa for the Schengen zone since Trinidad signed a visa waiver with the EU last year. However, I'm assuming that once my French student visa runs out, I can't automatically transform from student into tourist and I obviously don't want to overstay the student visa.

So far I've called the OFII office (where I had to register when I got here) and they were no help. The French embassy in London doesn't deal with visa matters anymore as they've outsourced it to a private company so no help there. I flew to London last weekend for an event and asked the border control officer when I re-entered France but he also wasn't able to help.

All I can think to do is to leave France around June 19th just before my visa expires and go to London. Then I can re-enter France shortly after as a visitor. Does anybody know if this will be alright? I'd like to be sure that I have all the relevant stamps in my passport so I'm not seen as having overstayed the student visa. Much thanks in advance for your advice!

Michael

In the old days, it was the <i>commissariat de police</i> that dealt with continuing residency issues. You could try and see if you could get an extension of your visa there; getting an application for an extension approved might be sufficient without the extension itself--that's how I stayed in France for 15 months as a student (in the good old days) without a formal visa.

tremaine

The prefecture de police still deals with extending visas but that's not what I want to do. I'd like to stop residing here as a student and be able to stay for 2 additional months as a tourist. So I don't think the prefecture de police can help there.

sandralist

Is there an administrator at the schools you are attending whose job it is to help students with legal or other life issues?

Does Trinidad and Tobago have a consulate someplace where you could visit? Officially it is not the job of local consuls to assist with entry requirements for other countries, but they possibily could advise you about your plan to go to London and then re-enter France. Also, sometimes the consul personnel are just nice people who can give you the names and telephone numbers of people who know answers.

Or maybe somebody here knows. Good luck!

Michael

Whether it is extending a visit or getting a tourist visa, is that not the same thing for you purposes? I would think that you would want to get the piece of paper that allows you to stay in the Schengen area, period.

Christina

have you tried this place?

Trinidadian Honorary Consulate in Paris, France
45, rue de Babylone
75007 Paris
France
TELEPHONE(+33) 1 45-519-153
FA+33) 1 47-538-585
EMAIL [email protected]
HEAD OF MISSIONMr Alain Majani d’Inguimbert, Honorary Consul

Michael

I do not think that the Trinidadian Consulate would be of any help in extending or getting a visa for Europe.

apersuader65

I suspect they will - at a minimum - know the process, as this can't be the first time a T & T citizen has requested something along these lines. I'd try my county's consulate FIRST. I also suspect that they would have a more authoritative answer than an internet travel website.

Michael

<i> I also suspect that they would have a more authoritative answer than an internet travel website.</i>

Tremaine indicated by his reply that I was correct: he needs to deal with the préfecture de police, and I doubt that the consulate of a foreign country will give him a different advice.

Alec

What you suggest in your original post is a sound one. So leave France (and Schengen) just before your Type D visa expires (and get a Schengen exit stamp in your passport), and then re-enter France (and Schengen) and obtain Schengen entry stamp. This shows without a shadow of doubt you have left France and Schengen before visa expiry, and you have started a 90-in-180 days Schengen visa-waiver stay. Some people suggest you don't need to do that and just let your Type D roll into Schengen visa-waiver, but this can get you into trouble by an eagle-eyed official at 'fussy' borders like the Dutch, German and Swiss, and may penalise you for overstaying your Type D. Also UK border officers are known to turn away Schengen overstayers, on the ground that someone who breaks another territory's immigration law can't be trusted.