There’s more to the French visa system than the traditional work visa. If you don’t have a job before coming to France, there are several ways of still nabbing a visa.
Take this advice as an indication, and not as legal advice. Please please please contact your local consulate, prefecture, or French immigration lawyer before making plans. 
Student Visa (Visa Etudiant)
First and foremost, you can come to France to study. To do this, you need to have been accepted onto a programme recognized by the government. Students coming from certain countries need to go through Campus France in order to apply. For most French universities, you will need to apply before January of the year you wish to begin studying.
During your studies, you are allowed to work part-time, limited to 964 hours in the year, or around 24 weeks of full-time work, perfect if you want to work during your summer holidays. After your studies you can change the visa into a working visa.
Business Visa (Visa Commerçant, Industriels et Artisans)
If entrepreneurialism is your thing, you can come to France to start up your own business. You will need a convincing application. The rules for this aren’t clear, as the project needs to be ‘economically viable’. Generally, you need to ensure that you have the capital necessary to start trading and also ensure that you will quickly earn the minimum wage (1321.02€ per month before taxes).
You will also need to show that you meet the same requirements that would be asked of native French people. Depending on the type of activity, you may be asked to show qualifications that are recognised in France.
Private & Family Life Visa (Visa Vie Privée et Familiale)
If you’ve married a Frenchman/woman, this is the visa for you. It covers a lot of cases, but basically you’ll need to prove close family ties with a French person, such as minors with parents in France, young adults who have gone to school in France, those married or partnered with a French person, those injured on the job in France, or the ill who cannot be treated in their home country.
Tourist Visa (Visa visiteur)
If you’ve enough money to support yourself without working, you can come on a long tourist visa. These last for up to one year and are renewable. You cannot change this into a work visa once in France.
If you’re part of the visa waiver programme, you can also come in as a tourist, but you’re limited to six months in France in a year, and you can only spend up to three months at a time. If you don’t want this limit, you’ll need a longer tourist visa.
Skills and Talents Visa (Visa compétences et talents)
This visa isn’t given out very often. You need to have a project in line with your skills and talents that helps France and your home country with economic development or cultural, scientific, intellectual, humanitarian or sports development. You can stay for as long as you like if France has signed a codevelopment agreement with your home country. Otherwise you are limited to six years.
Have any of you come to France with one of these visas? What are your stories of bootstrapping your way into the country? Let us know in the comments!
