WHV / Re-entering same country once visa expires

Ok...this is the situation (kept short) - have daughter in France on a WHV who is now keen to go to university in Paris. I have all info on how to apply for student visas etc...am going 'mad' googling for information!!
Her WHV ends beg Feb 2008 and she will have to come home to get the student visa sorted but is there a restriction on how long before she can return to France? Could she pop over to say London for a week/end and then return to Paris as a tourist (am aware of the Schengen 90/180 day rules) I have tried to find an answer to this and if you can point me in the right direction it would be appreciated.

Dear Aussiemum,

Best option is to simply contact the French Embassy in Australia. They'll have the most relevant info for you.

thanks waxyburshes....embassy has been very helpful in regards to studying in Paris, french exam that must be passed etc. Unfortunately the embassy doesn't handle anything visa related - you have to direct all visa related ? to the Consulate and I'm sorry to say they're not as helpful. I tried to get some answers to questions before my daughter got her WHV without success and actually emailed regarding student visas a few weeks ago with no response.....hence my trying here before giving them another shot!

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<hr>Unfortunately the embassy doesn't handle anything visa related <hr></blockquote>

Really? That's what embassies do. They should give you the official version which should be more reliable than anything you will get on here.

Can't speak about France, but usually you can go straight from a WHV to student visa as long as you leave the country. The 90 day rule applies to tourist visits.

As I understand Schengen, her time in France on her WHV counts as time in Schengen. So the last 3 months of her WHV preclude here from going anywhere else in the Schengen countries until 90 days later. In other words she has done her 90 in 180. Some people do seem to believe that this is not the case and she could then carry on to spend 90 days in other Schengen countries as if she had never started her 90 days but what the Schengen rules say is '90 days from your first entry into any Schengen country'. I interpret that as her having to leave for 90 days from France before re-entering.

#3 yes you would think so...but have in black and white from the embassy in Canberra that anything visa related must be directed to the consulate in Sydndy (in correspondence re studying in France - woman couldn't have been more helpful).

#4 have wondered about that. have been somewhat distracted by other things for the last week and must try the consulate again.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts!

oops....should proof read first!!

Even if the Schlengen days do work out, I would advise against trying to enter on a tourist visa to be a student. I don't know how france is about this, but due to a misunderstanding of the rules, I tried to do this in England and was promptly deported. I then had to get a student visa from home as quickly as I could and buy a ticket back to the UK to avoid missing too much school. It is a very unhappy business.

Perhaps you'd have more luck on the phone with the consulate. I know it is inconvient because of time differences and being put on hold, but it is harder for them to brush you off.

chickpeana, #7...def not thinking of doing that....it was more as a fill in idea before coming home, applying for student visa and going back for start of european school year. Here in Aus school starts up in Feb, uni in March (which my daughter is enrolled for). So was just pondering the possibility of her staying on there a little longer as a tourist, then heading home rather than coming back beg Feb with about 6 mths to fill in.
No way, no how thinking of bending any rules!

Not sure I understand. She has a WHV which ends in Feb 2008. Then she wants to study in Paris. Beginning when? You suggest that she is enrolled in university at home to begin in March so it would appear that she doesn't have much time to study in France.

You indicate that she needs to come home to get the student visa sorted out. I don't understand why she can't go to the UK and arrange to get a French student visa at the consulate there.

If the WHV counts as time spent in Schengen, then she would have to spend 3 months in a non Schengen country and could not pop over to France during that period.

Ruth

Ruth (9)...mmm, tried to keep things short so sorry for confusion.
Yes she's enrolled here (AUS) for uni Feb 08 but now is interested in studying in Paris - therefore she'd let her place here go to someone else. Perhaps she could apply for a student visa in the UK but I'd prefer her to come home and do it....my concern = the fact that her passport must be sent in with the visa application to the consulate in Sydney and is returned to our address in Aus. I don't want it posted from anywhere o/s to Aus nor do I want it going in the mail from Aus to Europe. This of course = $$ in airfares!
We are looking into French language schools in Paris at the moment...so if anyone knows of a good one, please let me know

Hello,

I have just returned to Canada from France. I had 2 back to back WHVs. I overstayed my second one by four months, and had no hassle. I even took a short trip during that four months when I was technically illegal elsewhere in Europe, and reentered France. Nobody has ever checked or questioned me. The French are more concerned with people entering France from Hungary, Bulgaria, and Africa, and do not give Canadians any hassle. I assume that this would be the same for Australians - it must - they so rarely check passports when you enter the country and shuffle you out as quickly as possible when you leave. I really wouldn't worry about it.

I'm sure you mean well original superB, but you really ought to think before encouraging people to overstay a visa.

Because you were not caught does NOT mean someone else will be as lucky. Overstaying in Schengen CAN result in being declared a 'persona non grata' in ALL the Schengen countries for up to 7 years. It can also result in fines, being held (therefore missing flights) up and perhaps most importantly, your travel insurance being void. A simple step off the curb in front of a car resulting in a hospital visit could see someone having to pay all their own costs when their insurance company found out they were in the country illegally. NO insurance will cover anyone for anything illegal and being in a country illegally is just that, illegal.

Every year thousands no doubt get away with overstaying but it is not thousands that anyone has to be concerned with, it is only one, themself. Every year some individuals do indeed get in trouble through overstaying a Schengen visa. Can you guarantee the OP that her daughter will not be one of them? I think not.

I re-entered France on a 3 month tourist visa after spending 3 days in Ireland following my WHV expiring. There's no problem. They're completely different visa subclasses.

And it's true - the French Embassy in Australia doesn't deal with visa enquiries. There's an embassy and a consulate general, and the consulate gives only recorded visa information and doesn't respond to emails.

Aussiemum, the best way to get answers out of the consulate general is to fax. Seems unbelievable, I know, but they do respond to faxes.

I really don't think there's any problem on this one.

Another question...kinda along the same lines.....
I have been in france working as an intern at a church as a tourist. I have no official visa, so this is my first 90/180. I am going home to the USA for Christmas and i will have been here for 86 days. Would it be possible to return in January as a student? Would i be able to return at all since i have been here for 3 months already? Does the 90/180 apply still if i had a visa when i returned?

I am not enrolled in a school yet, so i know that this is a far off chance, but i did not even know if it was a possibility.

Thanks for your help, this has been an interesting conversation so far!

internfrance - If you get a student visa before you return to Europe, then you can return any time. If you try to return in a tourist visa, you may have problems. The 90 in a 180 days is only if you do NOT have a visa. It doesn't matter what kind of visa.

Ruth

aussiemom - I am not sure I understand your reluctance to send the passport back to Australia or why it even needs to go back to Australia. Can't she get a student visa in another country? If not, I am pretty sure that visa services and courier services send passports regularly without problems. In fact, in many parts of the world it is absolutely necessary to do this. Certainly people in Alice Springs don't head to Sydney or Canberra every time they want to leave the country and need a visa. Then there are situations like Taiwan and China where there is no consulate. Your visa paperwork gets sent via courier to Hong Kong and then returned to you in Taiwan. Sending your documents via courier is a lot less expensive than flying yourself.

I am curious what you did work out if anything.

Ruth