French Visa Refused Please Help

Am writing on behalf of my unmarried partner. I am British and he just received his biometric. We wanted to go to Paris for weekend as a family we have 2 children both British because we are not married he can't apply as my spouse. He applied as a tourist and a day before his appointment I put a lump sum of money into his account. But he was refused saying he has insufficient money. We want to apply again so I wanted to ask can we get a travellers cheque to verify stay money and how can we go about applying again. Our train is for end of August. Thanks

If I am not mistaken the French require 64 euro's per day per person (applicant). Other Schengen members set other minimum amounts. So if you go for say a week he'd need 7*65 euro. If it is cash, on a bankaccount, travelcheck etc. should not matter aslong as the embassy (and external borderguard) believe it his his money and has access to it during his stay.

It is likely that the French denied his visa since they doubt the money is his and thus may not have access to it and cannot sponsor his trip. You may wish to write a covering letter that you are his gf for x years and that you will travel together. Include funds (bankaccount etc.) of the both of you. That might convince them that his trip is affordable, genuine and that he will return to the UK.

You may also wish to sponsor him (guarantee him financially), though I don't now what the French require to show a third person funds the trip.

Thanks for your reply. I thought as we'll they could think so and his bank just printed a statement on a blank paper not headed paper and didn't stamp it either. Can I sponsor him as his partner and submit my bank statement and payslip. Can you help with what covering letter I can write too. Thanks very much

Can I sponsor him. Please help can't afford to be refused again.
Thanks

You should be able to sponsor/guarantee him but I do not know how the French handle that. There should be some info on the French embassy website (??) , perhaps it's not found under "tourism" but under "visiting friends" , assuming the French use specific pages for specific travel purposes.

Your letter could be brief, polite and to the point. Explaining who you are (I am ..), your relation (I'm the partner of ... since 200*), travel purpose (we would like to go to France on holiday together, visiting ...and enjoying..), that you together/alone will fund the trip and that you will ensure you returb back to the UK in time (to return to your and his work, studies etc.).

Thanks so much @donutz for your reply will do just that. He is not working at the moment though. And since we going with the kids too hopefully we get the visa. We have booked the appointment for Tuesday. I was thinking of getting the letter written in French too for brownie points

I cannot find anything on sponsoring either if I look under "tourism > visiting friends". Try asking the embassy, they will deal with the application afterall.

Or ask TLS, but these optional external parties do not always know or give the right answers.

Infact the TLS site has some mistakes (deliberarly? In error?):
It states you need a fully booked and paid ticket. Not true by EU schengen regulations!

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/wh ... dex_en.htm

The French state:

Proof of travel, original
A confirmed return ticket to France (plane, ferry, bus, etc.) or booking fully paid from your travel agent

Wrong! No need for paid tickets in most cases. Option or reservation should be fine.

For EU spouse:

British Residence permit, original
Your British Residence permit (stamped in passport or in the form of an identity card) must also exceed by more than 3 months the validity of the requested visa.

(..)
Lodging attestation of the EU/EEA/ or Swiss National, original
Issued by the local town hall of host person residence covering the whole period of the stay.
Lodging attestation/ Hotel booking of the EU/EEA/ or Swiss National, copy
A reservation confirmation issued directly by the hotel clearly stating your full names, the dates of check-in and out, the hotel address and contact details. Hotel booking should cover the whole period of your stay.
Note: For group applications, please ensure that all the applicant names are included in the booking.
Proof of travel to France of the EU/EEA/ or Swiss National, original
A confirmed return ticket to France (plane, ferry, bus, etc.) or booking fully paid from your travel agent

- 3 month validity rule applies to the passport not to the ressidence permit!
- transport reservation is not required but can be useful. A declaration by the EU spouse that they will travel with the applicant should be sufficient.
-- If it was a normal application: option or reservation, unpaid or easily refunded, transport confirmation should be sufficient. Paid tickets only in exeptional cases.
- booking for hotel etc. is not required for EU family member applications. If it was a normal application: The rules say nothing about the booking having to be paid for.

Ladybird2014 wrote:Thanks so much @donutz for your reply will do just that. He is not working at the moment though. And since we going with the kids too hopefully we get the visa. We have booked the appointment for Tuesday. I was thinking of getting the letter written in French too for brownie points

good luck, I hope they accept say 3 months of bankslips from your account (in addition to his). But to be sure see what the embassy or otherwise TLS has to say about it.

Common sense should say they need not worry about him not having any real access to money to pay for the expenses.

But I don't date to say how the French officers in the UK are. Perhaps they ask a bit more maybe even too much but one could always complain or notify authorities later, after your holiday. Such as sharing your experience with EU home affairs. I'd urge people to notify the EU incase a Schengen member does not apply the rules correctly. That way in the future applicants should face less nonsense after being corrected by those higher up the chain.

I keep asking tls questions but they keep directing me to their useless site. We'll am going to submit my 3months bank statement as well as payslips ànd hope for the best. If not we will just waste the ticket as they are non refundable or exchangeable. Wait till we get married and apply with marriage certificate.

Dont know if this is the right place to ask this question,
My friend and her husband has been married for over 4yrs blessed with a lovely daughter which is dual national, and expecting another... her husband is from France but lives and work in Africa...
Question
How many years will they be married to qualify for French citizenship?