Guide for Indian Students Coming to France

Well, you are looking for higher studies in France. The very first thing I suggest is to contact EduFrance desk in India. They will provide you with all up to date information. Don't hesitate to ask silliest doubts (You may feel so!). They will answer all your queries.If you opt for EduFrance service your life is easy and your admission process is no more a head-ache.

But, if you decide to come independently OR you have secured admission yourself, have landed in France and/or facing administrative hurdles, then you may have to spend more time on administrative matters. This is here...at this stage...the guidelines/ pointers which I have put on on this page will help you. None the less you will find important pointers to inexpensive shops, guidelines for getting telephone connections, calling India through cheap calling cards, etc., to make your stay in France pleasant. Keep visiting this BLOG

Visa procedures

Visa procedure changes are frequent. The source of most authentic information is the French embassy site in India. Follow the link to get more details.

What to carry from home?

You will be required to carry lot of documents. Get them translated to French before arriving here. Allianz France in India offers translation services. They charge you per word. (about Rs. 4/- or so). It seems costly in India but translation service charges in France are exorbitantly high.

Documents that you MUST bring in original + French translation are

Documents that you MUST bring in original + French translation are

• Your birth certificate
• Very very important!! Your age is solely determined by this certificate. And it has to be produced to get residence permit. Even birth date on passport is not considered as valid proof.
• But if you have landed in France and forgot to get your birth certificate, contact Embassy of India in Paris. They will issue a certificate of birth by referring to the birth date mentioned on your passport and is accepted as birth certificate by French offices. But then for this you will have to personally visit Embassy of India in Paris.
  

• Your academic record sheets + certificates

• Salary slips of last 12 months (If you were salaried person)

• These will be required when you will opt for social security.

• About 20 Photographs (Size: French VISA recommended)
• In France, only French VISA size photographs are accepted for all administrative purpose. Again, getting photographs in France is costly. So better get it done in India.

Now, for other stuff for day to day life

• Thermal wear
• Good jacket for winter
• Leather jacket if you can afford. Leather items are very costly in France. But jacket is must for winter.
  
• A rain coat / Umbrella
  
• Umbrella is really of no great help in Toulouse as winds are very strong.
• Sport and/or leather shoes / Chappals/ Slippers
• Slippers are must as floor gets cold in winter. They are costly in France (about 5 euros minimum.)
  
• Alarm clock/ table piece
• If you plan to cook for yourself
• Pressure cooker
• Small saucepan/ frying pan

Getting residence permit

You can only apply for a residence permit (Titre de séjour) if you plan to stay in France for more than three months. Residence entitlement for shorter stays is automatically covered by your short-stay visa (or Schengen short-stay visa), which may allow single entry or multiple entries into France.

However, if you are entering France on a long-stay visa, you must (unless specified otherwise on the visa) apply for a temporary student's residence permit as soon as you arrive in France.

Temporary residence permit for students
Holders of a long-stay visa allowing application for a residence permit (carte de séjour) are required to make the application within three months. The carte de séjour will be issued for a specific period of up to one year, depending on the length of your stay. If your course is longer than one year, you will have to apply to renew the carte de séjour when it expires.

How to obtain a carte de séjour ?

To apply for a carte de séjour, you will be required to fill in the form (Link) and supply number of documents (many of which will be the same as those you supplied for your visa application):

• Certificate of enrollment at institution of higher education.
• Proof of accommodation (rent bill/gas or electricity bill for last 2 months issued on your name or certificate from person who is lodging you).
• Proof of financial resources.
• Two black-and-white face-on photos (It costs about EUR 4.00 for four photos at an automatic "Photomaton" booth such as those often found in town halls or train and underground stations.)
• One stamped addressed envelope (first class mail: EUR 0.54).

Citizens of non-European-Union countries will also need to supply the following items:

• Medical certificate, which is delivered after a medical examination at the Office des migrations internationales (OMI). [Plan/Map to reach OMI]
  
• One EUR 55 OMI stamp.

Once the application has been processed, you will be invited (by post or by phone call) to come and collect your carte de séjour in person. The application processing time varies greatly (from one to three weeks, usually). Till you receive your carte de séjour , you will be provided with the recipicess carte de séjour (Receipt of carte de séjour). It is valid for three months. If you do not receive your carte de séjour in three months, you will have to apply for the renewal of the recipicess carte de séjour to Prefecture along with two photographs. It is quiet common that many students don't receive carte de séjour in first three months. Don't panic! As long as you have valid recipicess you are legal resident in France.

Renewal of residence permit (Titre de Sejour)

Documents required for the renewal of titre de sejour (ORIGINALS AND PHOTOCOPIES)

• Valid passport (identity, valid visa)
• Last residence permit (titre de sejour)
  
• University or institutiion enrollement certificate or student card
• Proof of residence
• Electric bill/Gas bill, fixed phone line bill for last 3 months
• Housing certificate and a copy of the residence permit or the national identity card for the hosts, if you are hosted by the French family.
  
• 3 identity photographs (French VISA format 3.5 / 4.5 cm)
  
• Proof of monthly resources ( not less than 430 € / month ) for the last 3 months.
  
• Recent diploma/ degree certificates
• If you are student and working / salaried
• Temporary work permit for students
• Medical certificate issued by the ANAEM for first renewal
• Family book (Carnet de famille ) if change in the family situation

In case, your scheduled appointment date is not suitable and you are in urgency to renew your titre de sejour, you need to justify your need with valid documents to Prefecture authorities. The valid reasons could be death of your family member, surgery, etc. For all medical reasons you need to provide doctors certificate. Upon production of appropriate documents, prefecture authorities may process your application before the scheduled date.

Social Security System

All people with employee (salarié) status in France are covered by a standard national health insurance scheme, known as sécurité sociale. Students meeting certain conditions are covered by a student-specific variant of this scheme, known as the régime étudiant de la sécurité sociale.
If you have sécurité sociale coverage, this will automatically extend to your spouse and children (provided they are not students or employees themselves).
People who are not entitled to sécurité sociale coverage are required to take out special coverage, known as assurance personnelle.
Both the sécurité sociale and the assurance personnelle schemes provide basic health insurance coverage, with partial reimbursement of medical expenses. Most people choose to take out additional insurance (assurance complémentaire) to improve the reimbursement rate.

Health insurance for people on educational visits to France
Because foreign students do not have employee status, they are not entitled to standard sécurité sociale coverage and must therefore, if spending more than three months in France, subscribe to the universal health-insurance coverage scheme (couverture maladie universelle, CMU), unless they are entitled to the students' health insurance scheme (régime étudiant de la sécurité sociale).
Whatever form of basic coverage they have, they are recommended to take out additional insurance (assurance complémentaire, or mutuelle complémentaire) for better reimbursement conditions.

Standard Social Security System

Who is entitled?
For coverage under the students' social security scheme (régime étudiant de la sécurité sociale), you must meet two conditions:

• You must be under 28 years of age.
• You must be enrolled at an institution of higher education approved by the French sécurité sociale system.

If you meet all two conditions, all you have to do is register.

Where to register?
Students register for coverage under the sécurité sociale scheme through a students' mutual insurance company (mutuelle étudiante), at the same time as they enrol at their institution of higher education (university, grande école, etc.). Several mutuelles handle this procedure; you will be given a list to choose from when you enrol with your institution of higher education.
The annual cost of the régime étudiant de la sécurité sociale for the academic year 2006-2007 amounts to about EUR 160.

Couverture maladie universelle (CMU)

On 1 January 2000 France introduced the CMU scheme, which would provide health insurance for all persons with stable and legal residence in France (uninterrupted residence for at least 3 months).

This insurance cover is free for households with taxable revenue under EUR 6,849 per year.

To register for coverage under the CMU scheme, contact your local Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie (CPAM) office.
For a list of CPAM addresses, see the AMeli

For information on the CMU scheme:

• phone 0 820 904 208 (toll free) Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 18:00 or Saturday from 09:00 to 12:00
• visit the AMeli
  

Reimbursement rates

The French sécurité sociale system only reimburses about 70% of medical expenses on average. This is why most people take out assurance complémentaire with a mutuelle, which makes up virtually all of the remaining 30%.
Sécurité sociale reimbursements are as follows:

• fees paid to doctors with conventionné status: 70% of standard sécurité sociale rate
• fees paid to nurses and physiotherapists: 60% of standard sécurité sociale rate
• fees paid to laboratories for biological tests: 60% of standard sécurité sociale rate
• medicines: 65% of standard sécurité sociale rate (though some "non-essential" medicines are reimbursed at 35%, and other pharmacy products are not reimbursed at all)
• glasses: 65% of the cost of the lenses at standard sécurité sociale rate (there is virtually no reimbursement on the frames)
• radiology and dental care: from 65% to 70% of standard sécurité sociale rate
• hospital care: 80% reimbursed for first month and 100% thereafter (less a flat rate of EUR 10.67 per day)

The standard sécurité sociale rate can lag far behind actual expenditure. For example, a pair of glasses is officially rated at about EUR 8.50, whereas the actual cost is at least EUR 90. This, again, highlights the importance of taking out additional insurance cover.

Reimbursement procedure
The patient usually pays the doctor's fees directly to the doctor, then requests reimbursement (by mail or in person) from the mutuelle, the insurance company. Reimbursement can take from two weeks to a month.

In 2000, France introduced the Carte Vitale system to streamline the health-insurance reimbursement procedure. All members of the health-insurance scheme were issued free of charge with cards, and most doctors and other health care professionals (pharmacists, nurses, etc.) are equipped with special computerized card readers that transmit patient and treatment data directly to the sécurité sociale office. This shortens reimbursement time down to a few days.
Hospitals apply a direct reimbursement (tiers payant) system, which means the patient only has to pay the portion (known as ticket modérateur) that is not covered by the sécurité sociale. Some pharmacies apply the same system. To use this direct reimbursement system, you should contact your mutuelle or insurance company.

Additional private medical insurance (Mutuelle/Assurance complémentaire)
Most people in France take out additional health insurance coverage (assurance complémentaire) to improve the rate of reimbursement of medical expenses. But additional health insurance is not compulsory. Additional health insurance is taken out with one of France's numerous mutuelles, which are mutual insurance organizations.

Students' mutual insurance organizations
Students' mutual insurance organizations (mutuelles étudiantes) all offer basic coverage under the standard students' national health insurance scheme (régime étudiant de la sécurité sociale), plus additional insurance coverage.

La Mutuelle des Étudiants
La Mutuelle des Étudiants has branch offices in all university towns. Its head office is in Paris:
137, bd Saint Michel
75005 Paris
Internet: www.lmde.com
La Mutuelle des Étudiants offers assurance complémentaire coverage from EUR 66 to 219 per year.

L'Union nationale des Sociétés Etudiantes Mutualistes régionales (USEM)
USEM is the national coordinator for a network of regional mutual insurance organizations, which go under different names in different towns: The Paris office is named SMEREP, and regional offices may be named Smeso-VITTAVI, MEP, MGEL, SMEBA, SMENO, SMERRA, SMECO or SMEREB. All offices practise the same prices and offer the same services.
For address details, see USEM - Union nationale des Sociétés Etudiantes Mutualistes régionales - web site.
Internet: www.usem.fr
or call USEM on +33 (0)1 56 54 36 36.

Extended insurance coverage
Many of the organizations that offer health insurance coverage will also offer other insurance services, such as house insurance, car insurance, and third-party liability (covering accidents caused by the policy holder and involving third parties).

Getting work permit

Indian students must apply for a temporary work authorization, or APT (autorisation provisoire de travail). The APT is issued for a maximum period of nine months, and is renewable. For university holidays, the APT is issued for a maximum period of three months.
To apply for an APT, contact the Service de la Main d'Oeuvre Etrangère at the Direction Départementale du Travail et de l'Emploi et de la Formation Professionnelle (DDTEFP). The website run by the Ministry of Employment lists the addresses of all DDTEFPs in France

Students applying for authorization are required to produce the following documents:

• promise of work (certificate de embouche) signed by the employer
• Certificate of employment (certificate d'emploi)
  
• temporary residence permit (carte de séjour temporaire or reciepeces)
• valid student's card
• written request

With an authorization from the DDTEFP, a student from any country is entitled to work under the same conditions as a student from a European Union country.

Student grants based on social criteria

These grants (bourses sur critères sociaux) are intended for students under 26 years of age, with limited family resources, pursuing their initial training in an establishment under the authority of the Ministère de la Jeunesse de l’Education Nationale et de la Recherche. For more details refere to CNOUS website.

Housing contract
(unpublished paragraph...will add it soon)

Opening an bank account ( Source Eigide)
If you are a foreigner staying in France for more than three months, you are entitled to open a bank account.

If you are staying for less than three months, you may open an account at a savings bank (Caisse d'Épargne) or at the Post Office (La Poste). The savings banks have a large network of branches and there is a post office in most French communes. Savings bank and post office accounts are managed in exactly the same way as accounts at commercial banks.

To open a bank account, you will need to show the three following documents:

• valid passport
• carte de séjour
• proof of address: telephone or electricity bill, rent receipt, certificat d'hébergement (official document stating that you are staying with a private resident, obtained by your French host from the local mairie), etc.

Approximately 10 days after opening the account, you will receive a chequebook and/or a credit card.
Chequebooks are usually free of charge. Credit cards, which are usually valid for two years, cost between EUR 15 and EUR 30 per year, depending on the bank and the type of card.

If you are a student below 25 years, you can avail special account benefits for the student. Few to mention are negative account balance, credit facility, nominal maintenance fees etc. Do ask for student account when you are opening an account. Some of the popular banks are Le Credit Lyonnais (LCL), BNP, and La Poste

When you open an account, you may be offered an overdraft facility. Overdrafts can be expensive: when your account balance is negative, the bank charges you interest (agios). If you exceed your authorized overdraft limit, you risk withdrawal of cheque and credit card facilities (interdiction bancaire). This means you will have to pay for everything in cash, including bills, rent and all purchases.

If your chequebook is lost or stolen, contact your bank branch during working hours to make a stop-payment orderopposition). Outside working hours, you will need to call the lost and stolen cheque service at the Banque de France (08 36 68 32 08) and give them your bank account number to register a stop-payment order.
Opening a bank account is generally free of charge, though some services (like a stop-payment order if your chequebook or credit card is lost or stolen) carry fees. Some banks also charge for closing an account.

Transport (Bus/Metro/Train fares)

Toulouse has good network of buses and metros. There is only one ticket for bus and metro. You can access bus and metro with the same valid ticket. Students less than 28 years old get 70% discount on daily/weekly/monthly passes and student above 28 years get 40% discount. To avail these discounts you will have to apply for tisseo identity card (carte pastel) in tisseo offices/ authorized agents. Carte pastel is a smart electronic card which is not just an identity card but is also your ticket. You can credit desired journey (desplacement) to this card using the credit/debit card.

One can also purchase indivisual journey tickets from ticket distribution counters at metro station or selling points at certain bus stops (list included in the end).

Presently, the fares are being revised. Please refere to the website of transport departement to get upto date fares.

Where to recharge your chart Pastel? The slot-machines of the subway stations, the Points Tisséo Sale, the Tisséo Relays, in the terminals of recharging of the subway stations

Getting internet connection

There are number of internet service provider in Toulouse. Usually, there are attractive offeres for internet connection along with the ADSL TV and ADSL phone which offeres unlimited telephone call to France metropolitian. Few services even offer free calls within Europe and to United States of America (USA) and Canada. This is achieved through ADSL modem and decoder. These modems are popularly known as "BOX". So you wil find Darty Box, Free box, Live Box etc advertised by its parent telecom company.

• Live Box

This ADSL service is by France Telecom partnered with Orange.

• Neuf box (Cegtel Telecom)

This is second largest telephone provider company in France after France telecom.

• Free Box
• Darty box
  

Making telephone calls to India (Cheaper ways)

Using calling cards

You can make cheap telephone calls to India using calling cards from landline or public telephone. From the feedback I received from different Indian users in Toulouse, the best card is "Euro Latina" card, available from 6.5 to 7.5 Euros in Toulouse. You can purchase this cards in telephone shops (they usally carry the name TAXIPHONE). You can get the same card for as low as 5.8 euros in Paris. Using call back option one usually gets about 200 minutes for calling to Bangalore, 135 minutes for calling Mumbai, etc. The call duration credit depends on the call destination and wether you call to landline or mobile number. In general with this card the calls destined for India costs about 0.04 to 0.05 euro/minute.

France telecom also offeres calling cards which are available in tabac shops and post offices for 7.0 euros. It offere 60 minutes call duration credit for India.

Using VOIP calling services

There are number of internet based services which offer you cheap calls to India using VOIP. They charge as low as 0.03 euros/minute and most of them provide free calls within Europe if you buy credit with them. Few of them I know are VOIPSTUNT, JAXTR, etc. Check their websites for latest calling rates. However, you need have an access to internet and PC with multi-media card, headphone, /speakers and mike to make these calls.