The Schengen countries have started to reopen the application services for student visas for candidates from other countries.
So finally, after a five-month halt on Schengen applications, Indian students can now apply for visas for long and short-term courses in France.
The announcement was made Thursday by Emmanuel Lenain, the Ambassador of France to India, on Twitter.
“Finally, the wait is over! Delighted to announce that our visa service is now open for receiving applications for the short-stay and long-stay student visa category,” he wrote.
Who can apply for a student visa to France?
Seven French visa centers in Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad are now operational. The facility is limited to Indian students traveling to France for more than three months this fall on long-term visas and short-term study or internship. It also includes professors or researchers invited by a French academic institution or research center.
What does a student need to fly to France?
Students must have an international travel certificate for mainland France, which can be requested on the French Ministry of the Interior’s website. This certificate must be presented to the travel company before departure and to the border control authorities upon arrival in France. Together with the certificate, the student must not have any COVID-19 symptoms and should not have come into contact with an infected person 14 days beforehand. Travelers suspected of having symptoms are prescribed quarantine or self-isolation for 15 days.
Application process
The visas are processed in small quantities to maintain social distancing in the centers. Schengen visas usually last 15-20 days. However, given the pandemic and labor shortage, applicants anticipate delays of around 10 to 20 days. Therefore, students were advised to apply in advance.
Countries like the US, UK and Australia tend to attract large numbers of Indian students, but some European countries have seen a gradual increase in these student groups in recent years, partly due to the increasing number of courses they offer in English.
Studying in Germany, for example, finds that India is the third most popular country of origin for international students in Germany. “By the 2017/18 winter semester, 17,570 Indian students had attended the university in Germany, 48% more than three years ago,” it said.
Meanwhile, in 2019 around 10,000 Indian students have chosen France to complete a higher education. “The goal of 10,000 students in France for 2020 set by President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was met well in advance,” France said in India.
For the latest travel news and updates, Follow and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin!
Also Read – UK Removes Portugal From Quarantine List, Adds Austria and Croatia
