I finally have my Visa! It says Travailleur temporaire. And as of now I have permission to be in the French territory as of now; I am told that once I reach Paris my visa will be converted to a Schengen Visa (after the submission of OFII forms etc)
Documents required for application of Visa:
1. Arrêté de nomination
2. Passport
3. Internation Air Tickets
4. Travel Insurance
5. Attestation de logement
6.Letter from the Embassy confirming your appointment as language assistant
7. Letter from employer (if currently employed)
8.OFII form
Some of the other assistants had received their arretes and they had all started applying for their visas. Mine took some time to reach me. Once it did, JS sent me a mail asking me to try and get an attestation de logement stating that a room has been reserved for me in Nonancourt. Mr. Valentin the principal was very helpful; he sent one at a very short notice despite the fact that he was in vacation. And if I am to believe what I have heard about how sacred their vacations are to the French....
So once I had all the required documents I visited the VFS website and fixed an appointment with them. I didn't have to go all the way to the Pondicherry Consulate because there was a center here in Gopalapuram. The office was easy to locate and the staff were helpful. You are checked several times before you are let in so remember to not carry electronics. Once you're in you already feel like you're at some posh airport. It felt nice. I wanted to sit down and quietly read a french book and be all fancy except that I'd forgotten it at home. There were a lot of agents and each agent had many applications so the wait was pretty long.
I was secretly hoping they would send me to Pondicherry because mine was a special case but no. The guy at the french counter happened to be atudent of AFM and he was happy to sort things out for me. I had to redo my photos and they had a photocopy / passport photo place right inside the same building so it was convenient. I didnt have to pay visa fees as I was a language assistant but I had to pay 750 Rs at the bank counter on the same floor. Once I submitted the challan the guy took my passport and my OFII form, put them along with the documents I had submitted in a folder and told me to come by after a few days to pick the visa up. I could have had it door delivered but I wanted to get out of home. A couple of days later I received a mail saying my visa was ready to be collected from the centre. When I did go there The visa was printed to a sheet on my passport and my OFII form was pinned to it. I have untill 25th of May in France. Nice.
Documents required for application of Visa:
1. Arrêté de nomination
2. Passport
3. Internation Air Tickets
4. Travel Insurance
5. Attestation de logement
6.Letter from the Embassy confirming your appointment as language assistant
7. Letter from employer (if currently employed)
8.OFII form
Some of the other assistants had received their arretes and they had all started applying for their visas. Mine took some time to reach me. Once it did, JS sent me a mail asking me to try and get an attestation de logement stating that a room has been reserved for me in Nonancourt. Mr. Valentin the principal was very helpful; he sent one at a very short notice despite the fact that he was in vacation. And if I am to believe what I have heard about how sacred their vacations are to the French....
So once I had all the required documents I visited the VFS website and fixed an appointment with them. I didn't have to go all the way to the Pondicherry Consulate because there was a center here in Gopalapuram. The office was easy to locate and the staff were helpful. You are checked several times before you are let in so remember to not carry electronics. Once you're in you already feel like you're at some posh airport. It felt nice. I wanted to sit down and quietly read a french book and be all fancy except that I'd forgotten it at home. There were a lot of agents and each agent had many applications so the wait was pretty long.
I was secretly hoping they would send me to Pondicherry because mine was a special case but no. The guy at the french counter happened to be atudent of AFM and he was happy to sort things out for me. I had to redo my photos and they had a photocopy / passport photo place right inside the same building so it was convenient. I didnt have to pay visa fees as I was a language assistant but I had to pay 750 Rs at the bank counter on the same floor. Once I submitted the challan the guy took my passport and my OFII form, put them along with the documents I had submitted in a folder and told me to come by after a few days to pick the visa up. I could have had it door delivered but I wanted to get out of home. A couple of days later I received a mail saying my visa was ready to be collected from the centre. When I did go there The visa was printed to a sheet on my passport and my OFII form was pinned to it. I have untill 25th of May in France. Nice.
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