Hi all. Just wondering if anyone has gone through the 'long stay tourist visa' application for France / EU?
We hope to stay in France mainly but also visit a few other EU countries during 2022 whist based at our holiday home in France. We did 3 months last year but want to stay longer this time. We have looked at the application system but it seems very complicated & time consuming.
Anyone who has successfully dealt with this may be able to advise?
Happy Camping, Brian & Kim Eastwood.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Have a search through the Camping Abroad section, after the UK Campsites section. There has been plenty of discussion about visas there.
You can’t easily stay more than 3 months as you can only stay 90 days out of 180, and the clock starts ticking on day 1. You’d need to leave EU by day 91 for the remainder of the 180 days (Croatia is sometimes suggested) & come back in on day 181 to start the next block.
But have a read of the Abroad forum - lots of threads & explanations there.
It appears almost impossible if you are just touring but if you have a holiday home presumably it would be easier or do you need to show a certain level of regular income ?
There are workarounds. For example if you fancy Croatia or Bulgaria you can stay in those countries for a separate up to 90days as they have not joined Schengen yet.
It is all too much faff for me though when you consider what we did have. We are just having our 90 days in summer & caravanning in UK spring & autumn.
Brian&Kim, I have had visas for several faraway countries in the past and don’t see reasons why you can’t go ahead and apply for your visa for France . You can apply on line via an official site. If you already have a house in France this looks to be a sensible step to take.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
No one on here has ever said that they have enquired or started the long stay process.
The long stayers have only done the 90 days.
There is an article in this months Living in France magazine about it, haven't got around to reading it yet.
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Brian &Kim, Just to add to my earlier post…..I believe the French consulate in London were not issuing visas during the COVID pandemic so you may wish to phone them and see if they have resumed. But as house owners over there you are in a different position from others who are just tourists and holiday makers in France.
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