Immigration Formalities

• Visa requirements

• Residence permit (Carte de Séjour)

Visa requirements

European Union and Swiss Nationals

European Union and Swiss nationals do not require a visa or a residence permit to enter and live in France.

All other nationalities

All other students entering France for more than 90 days should have a long-stay student visa in their possession. This you will obtain from the appropriate French Consulate in your own country.

In more than twenty countries, an online application procedure has been set up through CampusFrance. This procedure must be followed to obtain a student visa. US Citizens can only obtain student visas through this online procedure: http://www.campusfrance.org/en/a-etudier/etudes05-2.htm

Please click here for further instructions on the CampusFrance procedures

You will be required to show a letter from the American Graduate School in Paris stating that you have been accepted into the program and stating the length of time it will take to complete the program. This will allow you to reside in France for up to 12 months according to the validity of your visa.

Warning: it takes a minimum of 2 weeks up to 3 weeks to get this visa, depending on your nationality. We strongly advise you to apply for this visa at least 4 to 5 weeks prior to your scheduled departure. Applying on a shorter basis will more than likely require you to postpone your trip.

Attention: do not try to enter France without a visa or with a tourist visa, you would not be able to get your status regularized without going back to your home country.

American citizens who intend to study in France for less than 90 days, do not need a visa.

Requirements

The French Consulate may ask for complementary documents. No visa is automatically granted. You have to provide the original AND a copy of each document.

The file must be arranged with the application form on top.

The visa section does not make any copies. Incomplete files will not be accepted.

Required documents

• Passport: valid until at least three months after the last day of your stay in France. Please make sure two blank pages remain in your passport for the visa stamp; one copy of the first page

• The long stay application form

• The OFII application form

• A recent passport-size photograph with a white background attached to each application form (please do not glue)

• Identification number given by Campus France

• Letter of admission or pre admission from AGSIRD

• Proof of sufficient funds: If your parents are going to pay for your expenses in France: a financial guarantee such as a notarized statement certifying that the applicant will be provided with a minimum monthly allowance of € 430 for the duration of his/her stay in France, OR proof of personal income along with a letter from school stating that room, board, and tuition are fully prepaid. If the host provides the student with a letter certifying that lodging will be free of charge, and provides a copy of his/her pictured I.D., an allowance of € 215 will be accepted. If you pay for your own expenses, you have to bring your three last bank statements.

• For non American citizens: A proof of your status in the US: green card, OR a valid US visa WITHthe I-94, the I-20 or the valid I-AP66...

• A self-addressed prepaid envelope (priority mail) to return your passport with the visa - if granted. Your passport will be kept during the processing time. If you wish or need to keep your passport during the processing time of your visa, you will be required to come a second time at the visa section to bring back your passport and have your visa issued.

• Processing fees: by credit card (Visa, Mastercard) cash or money-order only. Personal checks or American Express are not accepted.

It is Mandatory to make an appointment online to get a Visa. No appointment will be given by phone under any circumstances.

Note that you may only apply for one type of visa and that if you enter France with a specific visa it is rarely possible to change your status without having to go back to your home country to do so.

In France

Once in France you will have to register at the French Office of Immigration and Integration (OFII) during the first three months of your stay in France.

As soon as you arrive in France, you must send the following by registered mail to the local offices of the OFII :

• The residence form stamped by the consulate and duly completed with

  - Your visa number

  - Your date of entry in France or the Schengen area

  - Your address in France.

• A copy of the ID pages of your passport and of the immigration stamp received at the border.

Where to send these documents

• Students who live outside Paris - Seine-et-Marne (77), Yvelines (78), Essone (91), Hauts-de-Seine (92), Val-de-Marne (94) - will have to send by registered mail these documents to:

Direction territoriale de l'OFII
221, Avenue Pierre Brossolette
92120 Montrouge

• Students who live in Paris (75) will have to send by registered mail these documents to:

Direction territoriale de l'OFII
48, Rue de la Roquette
75011 Paris

Interview and medical examination

You will then be requested to appear for an interview and medical examination. You will need to bring with you:

• Your passport,

• A proof of accommodation in France,

• One ID picture,

• Means of payment for the processing fees of €55.

When the file is complete, a registration stamp will be added to your passport.

Residence permit (Carte de Séjour)

A long-stay student visa, is a multiple entry visa and is valid for 3 to 12 months, depending on the length of study enrolled in.

There is no need to apply for a resident permit (carte de séjour), during your first year in France. This visa allows you to travel in the Schengen zone.

Please note that non-EU students need a Residence Permit for their second year of study.
Before your second year of study, at least 2 months before the expiration of your visa, you must make an appointment with the Préfecture, to request a Resident Card ("Carte de Séjour"). This residence permit also allows them to legally reside and work in France.

They must apply for this as soon as they enter the country and no later than 3 months after their arrival:

• students living in Paris can do this at the Centre des étudiants étrangers, 13 rue Miollis (métro Ségur or Cambronne);

• students living outside Paris must go to their local sous-préfecture.

You will need to bring the following documents:

• your Passport with a valid student visa;

• a letter provided by AGSIRD certifying your enrollment;

• an attestation d'hébergement (proof of residence): statement from your landlord with copy of landlord's identity papers and a copy of an electricity bill;

• all documents confirming your financial resources;

• three recent ID photos (3.5 x 4.5 cm);

• an official translation of your birth certificate (this can be obtained from your consulate).

After submission of all requested documents it will take at least one month before you are sent a notification to pick up your Carte de Séjour, at the Préfecture de Police de Paris, 9 boulevard du Palais (métro Cité) for Parisian students. You will then have to pay €31.
Before obtaining a carte de séjour non-EU or non-US students may be asked to pass a physical exam, which will cost €55.
Prices above are subject to change.

Note : Residents permit are only granted to students enrolled in full-time programs (MA or PhD). Non-EU students wishing to enroll in shorter programs must get an authorization to reside in France by other means. Students in the summer program just need a tourist visa.