Obtaining VISAs
In multiple mailing Nilgoon asked the question about obtaining VISAs.
As far as I know, according to Shengen agreement, if you have valid VISA to one of European country, you can easily move to another within European Union. As both Italy and France are the parts of European Union, I think, after you get VISA to Italy, you shouldn't worry about obtaining VISA to France. I believe our original VISAs will just be extended during our studies in Italy so they could be valid for entering and staying in France. That is just my opinion. Does anyone have other ideas?
posted by Dmitry @ 9:44 PM
53 Comments
53 Comments:
HI! thank you for the information, but I was searching in the Italian embassy's website and I think they meant student's visa will not be shengen, Martina has really helpful information about this,
i think it depens on policy of embassy. My friend spent in Denmark a year as a student and she got Shengen visa. I wasn't so lucky - I got Visa type D from Portuguese ambassy and I even had problems on airport(i couldn't find direct flight to Lisbon) - althought 5 days in transit throught European Union shoul be included. This type D is usually given if someone wants Visa for more then 90 days
Well, then we should better consult our local embassies to clarify this question. Nilgoon, have you already addressed Bruno Rubino concerning this issue?
By the way, Martina, have you been in Lisbon for study?
I wasn't there for study. It was trainee in one Research Center, after after my graduating. It was organized by IAESTE( association exchanging students for technical work experience abroad)
This is what prof. Bruno Rubino wrote to me:
"I asked my colleague in France to ask for information about the
opportunity to prepare and send you a letter for the France Embassy,
too. I don't know if it is easier to ask for the visa for France when
you are here in Italy (the France Embassy is in Rome, one hour from
L'Aquila and the 21 students of the Master Course can go there and ask
for the visas together). I will let you know about it as soon as I
receive an answer from Nice."
Martina, it sounds interesting. I've never heard of IAESTE. How long have you been in Lisbon? Was it really useful?
Aleksandar, yes, I got the same message, I believe Bruno Rubino sent this information to all students. So all we have to do now is just wait until he gets reply from France and contacts us.
Hello everyone! I know that, right now, obtaining a visa is the most pressing matter but has anyone asked Prof. Rubino about airfare, housing in L'Aquila and other important matters? Sadly, the FAQ portion of the MathMods website lacks such vital information. I can always ask Prof. Rubino about it but I wouldn't want to bother him that much especially if such questions have been asked already. :)
bzI asked Caroline Meier, but she didn't have any information. She told me that we are first generation and she has to contact some people...
I saw on website of University of l'aquila that you have to apply for accommodation in dormitory few months in advance( i think we are already late). Also i read on that website that in the beginning of october it is difficult to rent appartment or room. I hope we won't have these problems in august.
i've just saw on website (www.univaq.it) some changes, some new formulars. I don't speak italian i just conclude that procedure for foreigners is same as for native students. English version of site under construction... As soon i receive some news from Caroline i will let you know
Indeed, MathMods is a new EM course. The thought of being the first batch is exciting but it does have its downside. Anyway, thanks in advance for the information!
yes it is very important to know that how we can avail the accomodation and travelling facility before we go there.
Jade, you have raised the very good question. I thought about it and was about to ask Bruno or Caroline regarding our accomodation. As L'Aquila is a city with high percentage of students, I'm sure there's lot of dormitories or special hotels with prices that students can afford to pay. The thing is that they must be reserved in advance. My former university roommate, who is now a student of another Erasmus Mundus programme, along with the invitation letter also received a paper confirming that he had hotel already booked. I believe we won't receive this "accomodation ticket" with the documents Bruno Rubino is sending now and that makes me worry a bit. However, we can do nothing with it now, so let's rely on our coorinator and hope that he knows what he is doing. Please keep others updated if one will know something new.
Hi all.. I got this message from Prof. Rubino about our accommodation, and I quote "don't worry, we know we have to help all of you for the accommodation.
I'm trying to find the best solution (as you know this is the first
year of the Erasmus Mundus Master), in few days I will inform all of
you about."
Hope this information helps.
Hi everyone!
Ping, thanks for providing helpful information.
Hi all... I have an idea. Is it ok if we let Prof.Rubino know this blog? What do you think?
Ping, thanks for info. By the way, what is your name? The only one student with the similar name I found in the list was Xueping, but I asked and found out that it wasn't her who had used name Ping to write in this blog.
Day, I don't mind. But we should ask opinions of others.
Hello everybody!
I hope you are all doing well. I just wanted to ask you all what you have been doing in preparation for studying abroad (besides applying for a VISA, of course). Like, are you learning some Italian and French? Also, when do you think should we arrive at L’Aquila? I know that we should be there on Sept. 1 but I think we need a week or two to adjust. Also about booking a flight, I think it would be better to do it as soon as possible since I think the month of August is part of the peak season for tourism in Rome.
Lastly, I also don't mind if we inform Prof. Rubino about this community. :)
Sorry for the confusion, i'm Jennefir in the list.Since most of my friends call me ping that's why I used it as my display name.
Jade, it's a good thing to learn Italian or French but not a need. Both nationalities are well-known poor English speakers here in Europe. Older ones definitely don't know but university students do.
Regarding the flight bookings, it is also a good idea to book flights early but after securing your visa. I think it is a common airline mantra that if you book early, you get a good airfare deal.
By the way, informing Prof. Rubino about this site is a help not only to us but also to him, I think.
Ping, thank you for revealing the name. I hope it's OK if I join your friends in calling you Ping.
Jade, I guess we won't have to study Italian or French if we don't want to. Though I can't be absolutely sure about it because a friend of mine who is studying in France at EM FUSION programme now says he had course and exam on French, but maybe it was so because he must spent the first two semesters in France.
As for me, I came across and bought a Russian-Italian phrasebook about 2 months ago, and that is the only preparation I have made yet :)
Speaking about when exactly we should arrive beforehand, it is closely concerned with booking of accomodation, so we should wait for what prof. Bruno Rubino will say. I'd like to be in L'Aquila about a week before our study starts.
Hi all, how's the process going about your visa applications. I have come across about the visa application. As the italian authorities require the date of departure from Italy and it was mentioned there that it can be in the form of return ticket. As we will be leaving for france after our 1st semester what you people have shown to the italian embassy in your countries.
Thanks
So, how is everyone getting on with VISA application? What is your status at the moment?
During the first half of this week I was preparing all the documents for VISA including filling Schengen application form and yesterday I called Italian embassy's phone (this toll service seems to be the only way to get in touch with it, because there's no way to get in the embassy without a prerecord and no one replies my emails) and was very surprised to find out that anyone should wait until June 20 to prerecord for applying for August VISA. And the whole process of making VISA itself (after all the documents are submitted to the embassy) lasts not longer than 5 days. I'm a bit confused about it because Prof. Bruno Rubino has mentioned that it usually would take about 90 days and we should start application process right now. Does anyone has the similar situation?
Hey Dmitry!
The VISA process does not need to be 90 days long. I think that's only the maximum number of days that the VISA process should take. You're lucky it will only take 5 days long. I have gone to the embassy here already and have already submitted my documents. They asked me to come back on the 16th of June, that's around 12 working days.
I also had a hard time contacting them through phone. Goodness, their phoneline was very busy and the one with the voice messages was just a waste of time and money. Luckily, they replied to my email and set an appointment.
Hi Dmistry, Jade and others. I called the embassy in Bangkok last week and made an appointment to apply for visa. They told me to submit the documents on June 16th and it will take only 8 days on the process.
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I have not recieved the documents yet. hehe. Hope to recieve them soon.
Jade, I wonder, do the Italian embassy in the Phillipines also has that paid toll everyone must go through to book time for submitting the documents for VISA or just get some information?
Bolor, do you mean you still haven't got documents from Bruno Rubino? In that case, I think you should contact the nearest office of post company who is responsible for express delivering (it probably can be found in the receipt which scan Caroline Maier has sent everyone) because an express courier usually works rather fast.
The paid toll is an alternative way to book an appointment, according to their website. But it was really a waste of time since the instruction for type D visa was to call their phone line (the busy one) to book an appointment. It was rather silly. I think the best way to book an appointment with the embassy here is through email but they never stated that directly in their website and their fliers.
Bolor, didn't Prof. Rubino say he'll send it on May 21? More than a week has passed already! Has Caroline Maier given you a copy of the receipt through email? If you have that already, you can go here: http://www.tnt.com/country/en_generic.html and just type the number under the bar code. I hope you receive it soon!
Jade, it's funny but the paid toll we have here is also announced as a service to improve customer support, though as a matter of fact it is the only way to book an appointment for submitting documents (because all alternatives refer to this paid service and any emails are just ignored).
By the way, you mentioned type D VISA... Are you absolutely sure that it is the one we need? I mean is this the only type of VISA that lasts more than 90 days? Sorry for the question that might be stupid, but actually I don't know much about various VISA types.
there is type C VISA, i think for even 5 years, it is something like shengen - valid for whole european union.
I am not absolutely sure about the type D VISA but according to the embassy's flier, it's the one you should get if you were to stay in Italy for more than 90 days. I don't know much about VISAs either but in the form I filled up, there was a question that asked for the number of days I would stay in Italy. And so I put the exact number (162 days, from August 23 to January 31 next year.) I am not sure if what I did was right though. The personnel there said I have to leave Italy before February 1.
Thanks all. Today I received the documents. They said that it was delayed due to the technical problems. :)
Yeah Martina is right there is also a type C visa that is valid for a period of 1-5 years but I think as we have to spend only 6 months in Italy type D visa is adequate which deals with the single entry into Italy as type C visa is required for multiple entries. Dont know whether after 1st semester we need to come back to Italy again for any purpose. Well the visa process is really a tiring one I am trying for over a week now but couldn't apply as yet. Now they say you have to book flights before applying. Is it the same process everywhere?
Yes, Haris, I think you need to book a flight first. I was also asked by the embassy if I had booked one already.
About going back to Italy, some of us will go back for the second year. Although we still won't know our mobility track until the end of the first semester. :( By the way, what specialization did you guys pick as your first choice? :)
Well, how is your progress in obtaining VISAs?
As for me, toll service booked me to August 6 only to submit documents to the embassy and then in 3-5 days my VISA should be ready. I wish I could submit documents much earlier and not be anxious while waiting one more month, but unfortunately the person from the embassy said there was no way...
Jade, I'm sorry about the late reply. My choice for the second year was "Stochastic modelling and optimization". What about you?
Hello Dmitry and hello all... It's been a while...
I hope your VISA applications are progressing or done. :)
In my case, I got my Italian VISA almost two weeks ago already. I guess the hardest part of the process was really getting an appointment. I hope you do get your visa as soon as possible, Dmitry. :)
As for my choice for the second year, it's "Modelling, simulation, and optimization of complex systems." I wish we could know where we will go for our second year beforehand instead of waiting until the end of the first semester. :(
Anyway, I hope to hear from the others soon! Classes start in less than two months. Aren't you guys excited? :)
hi, I got my visa today. I hope that visa process for all of you is also going well.
I have got a type D+C visa valid for one year and for multiple entries....
as for Jade's question, I have applied for the modeling, simulation and optimization for complex systems, but looking at the university profile, I got the idea that it might deal with economics, so I can switch to advanced computational methods in material science.
Also, if all of us can tell us about the major of our graduation, than it will be good too....
Hope to cu all soon in L'Aquila
Haris, why did you get an Italian visa that is valid for 1 year? :) I wish I did that too... I didn't know I could do that. I stated the exact number of days so my visa is valid until January 31 only. :(
Also, where did you see the university profile and what made you think it would deal with economics?
Anyway, I graduated with a degree in Applied Mathematics. How about you? :)
Hi
Jade, I also applied for the exact duration and on top of that I ticked for the single entry. But, fortunately they gave me for a year. Now, I think its better to get visa for longer period than required. It may prove helpful.
well, i visited the site for university of hamburg (link on mathomods site) and i was unable to find any department of mechanical engineering there. so I thought that it might be a non-technical university as you know there are two types of universities in germany.
My graduation is in Aerospace Engineering. So, I would be more than happy if I get a thesis on fluid dynamics or related field.
Jade, my major is in Applied Mathematics too. What is your graduation thesis concerned with?
Haris, you're very lucky to get D+C type of VISA! Congratulations!!!
By the way, Haris, since you got your degree in Aerospace Engineering, didn't you try to apply for the other Erasmus Mundus programme called "EuMAS – European Masters Course in Aeronautics and Space Technology" along with the MathMods programme? I just wonder...
My thesis is not really interesting (even to me) so I'd rather not talk about it. :)
Anyway, what type of visa did you get, Dmitry?
Haris, I wonder how they would teach modeling of complex systems. I guess the approach would be a lot more theoretical than technical. I'm not sure if I'm making sense though. :)
Anyway, I believe you guys have received the email from Claudine Torres of UNSA. Does that mean we have to apply for a French visa in our own country? I wonder why they are asking us to do so just now. Although I believe getting a French visa is faster than getting an Italian one (at least here in the Philippines).
Dimitry,
I also had applied for the EuMAS, but was not given admission unfortunately. Well, I also think it may be theoretical but with practical exposure of industry that we'll hav during 3rd semester. We can be able to choose projects from the industry that may help. I hope so atleast.
Yes, I've also received the letter. But it is entirely in French, so I understand a little.
The process of visa application for France is more complicated in Pakistan than for Italy. I would need the original documents for that and also their french translations. So, I guess it would be little difficult for getting it here.
Jade, as I've said before I still don't have the Italian VISA, unfortunately - the embassy toll service arranged me on August 6 just to submit the documents! So I can only hope VISA will be of D+C type, but I think there aren't big chances for that since the Italian embassy in Moscow doesn't seem to be friendly.
As far I know, the French embassy here is better (a friend of mine got his VISA on the very same day he submitted documents, though formally it takes a few days), but it isn't clear to me whether we should apply for French VISA now or just prepare all documents to apply later. I have addressed this question to Claudine Torres and now I'm waiting for the reply.
Haris, don't worry about not entering to EuMAS, I think the MathMods programme is more fundamental and the knowledge you'll have got afterwards will allow you to work in Aerospace Engineering or in similar fields if you'd like.
Oops... Sorry Dmitry, It slipped my mind. :) Anyhow, what is the difference between a type D and a type D+C visa? My friend who got accepted to an EM scholarship under the QEM course applied for a visa in the French embassy here and got it after 40 minutes only! His visa was of type D though. So even though Prof. Rubino said we don't need to get a French visa, I think I would still apply here. Although I haven't received the documents from Claudine Torres. :(
Dimitry, I hope you'll get visa for Italy. Thank you, for your wish for my future. I also hope to have such qualification and knowledge after MS that I can get work in related field.
Jade, the main difference that I noticed between type D and C was that type C deals with multiple entries and is valid for more than a year while D is for single entry and less than a year.
For the french visa, I cannot apply here because the french embassy requires all the original documents as well as their translations and the time mentioned for visa process is 2 months for scholarship holders. If we can show it as a research or an internship than the documents required become less important and the time is also less for it. But, this is in Pakistan dont know how it is for other countries. So, I will follow Prof. Bruno's advice of not applying for visa.
I don't think we need to apply for French VISA now if prof. Rubino says not to do it or at least inform him and ask the details. Otherwise, it may happen that we get not exactly the type of VISA that we need, and I don't know if it's possible to improve a VISA type valid for the same period of time...
I got one-year C+D type visa. Hope all of you will get your visas soon.
Bolor, congratulations with getting this type of VISA! Did you mention in the application form the exact number of days you were going to be in Italy?
Yep, 600 days hehe.
Bolor, 600 days?? :)
Are you planning to spend the second year of the study in Italy too (in case you choice is "Modelling and simulation of electronic devices")? Otherwise I think it was quite risky to ask for one VISA valid for the whole 2 years, because that might look suspicious for the Italian embassy. Anyway, I'm glad that ultimately you've made it!
Hi everyone!
I'm a little bit late
on this blog. Didn't knew of its existence.
As I'm an non-Eu student and had studied in France for 3 years at Nice University, I sent today a document concerning the France Residence Permit.
Hope it would help.
See you soon at Aquila!
Hello Marin!
Welcome to our community. :) If you want, you could ask Dmitry to send you an invitation to this group so you would be able to add new posts. By the way, Claudine Torres actually gave us information about the residence permit already. Thanks for the information anyway. :)
If you want to discuss anything, feel free to do it here instead. The group is a bit quiet right now though. Perhaps people are just busy preparing for their departure. :)
That's it for now. See you in L'Aquila soon!
Marin, I left a message for you in "Welcome!!!" topic.
I also sent an invitation for Isbunyamin (whose email recently appeared in Bruno Rubino's letters) to join this blog.
Isbunyamin, you're very welcome here, too!
Thanks Dmitry,
Jade, you said you received some information about residence permit in
France.
Could you forward me this information (derescom@yahoo.com)? May be it's different..
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