Final Steps of a French Visa

To my surprise I received a package on Monday from the consulate. It was the FedEx package that I self-addressed in San Francisco.

I could feel my passport inside, but that was about it. From what I could tell there was no packet of information. I got nervous.

This visa thing has really thrown me through a loop. I have been so paranoid that it wasn’t going to work out. When I saw the packet on my desk it just sent me into a tizzy of all the bad news that could be inside.

I gathered my strength and opened the envelope. In addition to some, “Welcome to France” party gifts and my passport there was a single piece paper. I had filled out the top half of this form at the Consulate last Wednesday. The bottom half was still blank. The only alteration to the form was a small, single, red stamp. The stamp of the Consulate.

A small note was clipped to the top of the form. The note read, “The visa issued in your passport is a long stay visa equivalent to the ‘carte de séjour’ (resident card), you should get it stamped by Customs at the airport in France upon your arrival.”

At first I was a bit disappointed to think that that form was my visa, not an official document like a birth certificate. Then I reread the clipped note, “…issued in your passport…” I thought again. I began flipping through my passport and there it was, an official badge with the words, “Visa,” “France,” “Etudiant” and so on. My official visa was permanently placed in my passport as a record. I got it!

All the major hurdles, tasks, and problems have been figured out for my Le Cordon Bleu, Paris adventure. There is no turning back now. I am officially ready to go!