I would like to apply for a long stay France visa, what are the chances of getting the visa ? Do I need to get any health insurance ?
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what are the chances of getting a long stay France visa ?
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Carte sejour, which is a temporary 1-year visa that’s renewable is much similar to the temporary visa in the US in the sense that you need to have a reason: have children (of your blood and of a french person’s blood together and living in france to sponsor you), or are married to a french citizen, or are a student at a french university, or taking language classes, or your parents are french and have french nationality, or you are sponsored by an employer. You will need to apply typically 6 months to a year in advance outside France to be able to get the visa. The process depending on your reason, can take up to 3-6 months to go through.
To get nationality or to be naturalized (longterm citizenship), if you are married to a french person will take 4 years. For foreigners that have been clandestine in the country, usually it’s 15-20 years with income taxes to prove their contribution to the country.
They hold a very solid system as to processing and getting visas, much like the US, so you must present all the correct paperwork (sometimes in multiple sessions) that they request, or you will be out the money you paid for the application.. and it’s something like $200-250/person.
As for healthcare, as soon as you have a visa, you will be automatically in the national insurance, which is free!
Good luck
If you’re approved for a visa, you will be covered under French insurance, but it’s not easy to get a long-stay visa. You need to be a student or employed in France.
Suggest you check out the French Embassy website in your country. Health insurance may be the least of your worries. Long stay visas are available and are usually for 1 year. But you will need to provide bank statements proving that you are able to support yourself fully while in France as you cannot work on a long stay visa. You will also need to have some form of accommodation organised before applying and provide proof of this with your application eg apartment lease. And you will need to provide a valid reason for staying in France for this period.