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Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

Old May 6th 2021, 3:40 pm
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Default Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

Hi,
Wondered if someone could help? It’s re Travel Health Insurance to support a Long Stay Visitor Visa application (eg if you wish to stay for six months at your holiday home).
Lots of people on French Forums have apparently bought their insurance only to have the French Visa Office refuse it - at the moment the Visa Office isn’t even saying which policies they will accept - one stipulation is however, that it must cover pre-existing conditions - even though this is not mentioned on the application.
My question is - has anyone had this problem re a Long Stay Visitor Visa for Spain - or is it just France who is being difficult?

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Old May 6th 2021, 3:51 pm
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

What 'Long Stay Visitor Visa for Spain' ?
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Old May 6th 2021, 4:27 pm
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

Rico
If you visit France for less than three months in a period of six months you can use your 90/180 day Schengen allowance - however this is no good if you have a holiday home and wish to stay eg for five months. In this situation you have to apply for a Long Stay Visitor Visa which lets you stay for up to a year.
I thought all EU countries would be the same - I’ll explain why. A question asked on the French Visa application site was “If you are travelling to more than one EU country during this stay - say France and then Spain (as people who have motorhomes do) - then which country do you apply to obtain the visa.” The answer was “either the country you visit first or the country you will spend the most time in”. This is why I thought the Visa application would be similar or the same?
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Old May 6th 2021, 5:12 pm
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

France has such a visa, Spain does not unless you count the NLV.

The French visa does not negate Spains 90/180 rule but you could argue that if entering Spain by road from France nobody would know when you arrived or how long you had been here.

Last edited by Notdunroamin; May 6th 2021 at 5:15 pm.
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Old May 6th 2021, 5:27 pm
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

Many thanks for the reply - what is the NLV please? Please excuse my ignorance!
If you were spending four months in France and then two months in Spain you would apply to France for this visa but..... it would be valid for travel to and for your stay in Spain. If Spain does not have a Long Stay Visa then why would you need to state on the French Visa Application that you were intending to visit Spain?
Everything is very confusing - and it would appear not just to me! - and these Visa Application sites state the very minimum.
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Old May 6th 2021, 5:57 pm
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

Originally Posted by Cassie17
Many thanks for the reply - what is the NLV please? Please excuse my ignorance!
It stands for non-lucrative visa and it's for those who wish to live in Spain long-term but don't need to work, such as the retired, those with substantial savings or investment income etc. While it can be used for tourism, the requirements are considerably more onerous than France's long-stay visitor visa.
If you were spending four months in France and then two months in Spain you would apply to France for this visa but..... it would be valid for travel to and for your stay in Spain. If Spain does not have a Long Stay Visa then why would you need to state on the French Visa Application that you were intending to visit Spain?
Everything is very confusing - and it would appear not just to me! - and these Visa Application sites state the very minimum.
Under the Schengen rule, you can only stay in Schengen zone for 90-in-180 days, so you cannot spend 4 months in France. What you can do is to apply for long-stay French visitor visa, use it instead to stay in France for the duration of visa validity, but it's only valid in France and you have to stay there and you cannot go and stay in Spain using that visa. In the borderless Schengen, you are unlikely to be stopped by crossing the land border into Spain and spend some time in tourism, but that's not what this visa is for and in fact it isn't valid in Spain. You aren't supposed mix and match this visa with Schengen's 90-in-180 days. Chances of detection aren't high but it's always possible.
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Old May 6th 2021, 7:23 pm
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

Hi Joppa,
Many thanks for the reply.
Yes - you are correct re not being able to stay in France for four months using the 90/180 rule - this is why I wish to apply for a Long Stay Visitor Visa for France - I don’t wish to visit Spain with it.
I have addressed this question on the Visa site re “if I wish to visit France and then Spain - to which country do I apply for a Visa - France or Spain?” The reply was “either the first country you visit or the country in which you intend to spend the longest time (whichever country is the longest)”. This means that if I apply for a LSVV to France - and stay four months - and then travel to Spain and stay for two months - using this same visa and stay legally within the length of the visa - as long as I state the countries I will be entering.
It seems strange that this Visa doesn’t exist for Spain but if I apply via France it will let me enter and stay in Spain??

My reason for my post is that France is being very difficult - re insurance for this application - and I am just trying to get an idea if Spain were taking the same stance re Visa application.

Another interesting piece of info - if you get and use this Visa - like I intend to - it apparently does not affect your 90/180 allowance - this would mean I could stay for my intended five months in France - return to the U.K. and then start to use my 90/180 days in the EU. allowing me to visit Spain for a while😀.
As I said it’s very confusing and the Visa application sites give very basic info. - they don’t deviate away from the norm at all.
Once again - thank you 🙏 - enjoy your evening!
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Old May 6th 2021, 7:46 pm
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

You need to understand that you cannot mix French long-stay visitor visa and Schengen's 90-in-180 days stay. So you either do what you suggest in your last part, starting with your French stay using your French visa, and then enter Spain, to start your Schengen stay. Or you start with Spain using Schengen, and then enter France via a non-Schengen state and activate your French visa (there is no passport control within Schengen zone so there is no proof of activating your French visa if you don't leave Schengen first for UK, for example). Just don't try to keep swapping your stay using French visa and Schengen rule.
As for your original question, Spain requires for visa purpose private medical insurance without exclusion for pre-existing conditions or co-pay (excess).

Last edited by Joppa; May 6th 2021 at 7:49 pm.
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Old May 6th 2021, 8:01 pm
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

Hi Joppa,
I have no intention of visiting both France and Spain at the same time - I was quoting this as an example - as according to the France Visa site I should be able to do this if I get a Visa via their site and state I wish to use it when I enter Spain. In this way I would not be mixing both Schengen and Visa allowances. We’ll have to disagree on this - if I find anything more concrete I’ll let you know.
The initial aim of my post was to see if any other second homeowners were having trouble re Travel Health Insurance to get their Visa application to Spain (as French owners are).
Sorry but my thread may have strayed a little as someone queried which type of Visa I was referring to.
This year we’ll just spend three months in France - perhaps next year things may have improved.🤞
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Old May 7th 2021, 5:58 am
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

Originally Posted by Cassie17
I thought all EU countries would be the same - I’ll explain why. A question asked on the French Visa application site was “If you are travelling to more than one EU country during this stay - say France and then Spain (as people who have motorhomes do) - then which country do you apply to obtain the visa.” The answer was “either the country you visit first or the country you will spend the most time in”. This is why I thought the Visa application would be similar or the same?
Apart from Schengen visas and freedom of movement, immigration is a national matter, so rules for third country nationals are different for every EU country. The long stay visit visa for France is an exception and not the rule.

Generally, if one has a residence permit in one Schengen country, the permit holder can visit other Schengen countries for up to 90 days for touristic purposes but they have to maintain their residence in the country they hold the permit for. I am not sure whether the long stay visitor visa would be regarded as a residence permit.

Applying to either the country one enters through or plans to spend the most time in is a rule that applies to Schengen visas, which UK nationals don't need. Maybe there was a misunderstanding?
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Old May 7th 2021, 6:58 am
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

Some good information here

https://expatsmagazine.org/immigration/
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Old May 7th 2021, 7:03 am
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

Originally Posted by sternchen
I am not sure whether the long stay visitor visa would be regarded as a residence permit.
It wouldn't, the clue being in the name 'visit' visa.

https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/w...long-stay-visa

https://www.french-property.com/news...%20Long%20Stay,'

On the face of it the French long term visit visa might appear to some to present a potential back door opportunity for spending over 90 days in Spain, the risk of course would be in getting caught and subsequently fined and banned from re-entering the Schengen area for an indeterminate period. Such action could also well prejudice any post ban Schengen visa applications.

To quote Dirty Harry "you 'gotta ask yourself one question, do you feel lucky, well do you punk"!

https://www.frenchentree.com/brexit/...isa-in-france/

Last edited by Notdunroamin; May 7th 2021 at 7:14 am.
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Old May 7th 2021, 2:05 pm
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

Originally Posted by Notdunroamin
To quote Dirty Harry "you 'gotta ask yourself one question, do you feel lucky, well do you punk"!
Nice one :-)
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Old May 14th 2021, 5:49 pm
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

Just read that France have changed their requirements re which Health Insurance Policy to support the VLS-T Visa - apparently they will accept the GHIC card.
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Old May 15th 2021, 2:51 am
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Default Re: Travel Health Insurance for a Six Months Visa

And I've read that Donald Trump is really a warm and caring person who secretly loves Mexicans!

In other words without an authoritative source what you've 'read' is unsubstantiated tittle tattle likely owing more to wishful thinking than reality.

FYI from https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/france-visas/faq the official visa website for France.

"What sort of insurance must I have.

For stays not exceeding 90 days (unless exempt), trips for tourism or business require valid travel insurance covering any possible costs for medical repatriation, and emergency and/or hospital treatment. This is mandatory. This insurance must be valid throughout the Member States’ territory in the Schengen area, which fully apply the provisions of the Schengen accord and for the duration of your stay. It must allow you to access services in the Schengen area.This insurance must also provide coverage of €30,000 minimum including medical repatriation, and emergency and/or hospital treatment."

A GHIC in no way fulfils that.

Reviewing one of your earlier posts:
Originally Posted by Cassie17
The initial aim of my post was to see if any other second homeowners were having trouble re Travel Health Insurance to get their Visa application to Spain (as French owners are).
Firstly being a second home owner has absolutely zero bearing on an application for a visa and nor should it.

Secondly no form of travel insurance is valid for any Spanish visa application, it must be full and comprehensive PHI without exclusions or co-payments, in essence cover equivalent to that provided by the state health service.
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