Travel Blob

It's never goodbye, only see you later!

18:10

Roaming Mobile Data Packs

21:07

With everything on the internet now, it feels a little insecure to be living without the web. For us, we’re not social media addicts but it seems a good idea to have the internet at hand in case of any train timetable changes, delays etc.

Here’s a comparison of roaming data packs we found in our research:

Carrier	Product Name	Price (AUD $)	Allowance	Countries included*	Validity	Speed
Optus	Prepaid Travel Pack	$45	90MB	Wide range of countries in Oceania & the Pacific, Europe, North America and Asia.	30 days	4G where available
		$85	170MB
Vodafone	$5 Roaming	$5	Your domestic plan inclusions	Over 50 countries	Per day (only available on eligible plans)	4G where available
Telstra	Prepaid Travel Pack	$29	100MB	Wide range of countries globally	30 days (for prepaid customers)	Does not specify
		$85	300MB
		$160	600MB
	Travel Pass Zone 3 incl. voice & SMS (Zone 1 or 2 available - pls refer to their site)**	$45	225MB	Wide range of countries globally	3 days
		$105	525MB		7 days
		$210	1.03GB		14 days
		$450	2.20GB		30 days
Globalgig	Go Global Plans	$30	250MB	Over 80 countries	1 month (minimum 3 month contract)	4G where available
		$50	1GB
		$100	3GB
		$170	5GB
Go-Sim	Global Data	$68	200MB	Over 55 countries	30 days	3G
		$138	1GB
Cover More	Data Pack Zone 3 (Zone 1 or 2 available - pls refer to their site)***	$33	100MB	Over 70 countries	Does not specify (looks like monthly)	Does not specify
		$78	250MB
		$150	500MB
		$290	1GB

We have opted for the Globalgig 1GB plan, which will cost $150 altogether ($50 * min. 3 months). We will provide a review of how it goes later on (fingers crossed!).

*For a full list of countries, please refer to the source sites below

Source:

Optus: http://www.optus.com.au/shop/broadband/optusprepaiddataroaming

Vodafone: http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/international-roaming

Telstra: https://www.telstra.com.au/international-roaming/pre-paid-mobile

**https://www.telstra.com.au/international-roaming/mobiles-on-a-plan

Globalgig: https://www.globalgig.com/au/en/plans#section3

Go-Sim: http://www.gosim.com/data-sim-card.html

***CoverMore: https://covermoreglobalsim.com/en/Shop/ProductsList?cat=DataPack

Information correct as of 7 December 2015. Please note we are not affiliated with any of the above companies. It is up to you to choose the plan you believe best suits you. Please let us know what other roaming sims you have tried or reviewed.

Review

Now that we have finished our holiday in the following countries, United Kingdom, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, France, Germany, and Belgium.

Here's a brief rundown as to how the roaming sim performed from Globalgig.

In summary, the sim card didn't work in most of the countries and performed best only in London and Paris where Wi-Fi was also readily available so it kind of defeated the purpose of it. We would get signals here and there in other places such as Budapest but none of which were reliable when we were desperate to find a bus timetable.

Hence, after travelling for the last two months, we have noticed Wi-Fi is available at all McDonalds and most restaurants/cafes so a roaming sim card is probably not at all necessary as long as you are prepared knowing which train/bus/tram you're catching.

Applying for French Student Visa

19:01

Before departing, one of the most important thing is to apply for your visa. There are many different types of visas depending on your purpose of stay and duration. In my case, I was asked to apply for Visa long séjour valant titre de séjour (VLS/TS) fro attending FERRANDI. The duration of my course is about one year and because of the internship, I will need to get a visa long sejour to able to work in France.

Believe me not, I was super scared and worried about the visa for several reasons. But after I got it, I can say it is actually very easy and simple to do. However, because the French LOVE paperwork, a lot of preparation is required in advanced. Hence, it feels like a lengthy process.

I would like to share with you my experience and hope it will ease some confusion when applying for any other Schengen countries. (As I only applied for the Student long stay visa, if there are any other types of visa you would like to know, please refer back to your local French Embassy).

Below is the list of document you will need to provide at the time of application:

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION	Original	Copy
Long stay visa application form	1
1 passport size photograph + 1 pasted to form	2
Payment form duly completed, dated and signed. Click here for payment authorization	1
OFII Certificate	1
Valid passport	1	1
National Criminal History Record Check (less than three months old) : standard disclosure - police name check - issued by the police authorities of your State or Territory.	1	1
Stamped Bank Statement - If personal funds : 3 last bank statement s in applicant ‘s name ( AU$750 per month.)	1	1
Student official acceptance letter	1	1
Last diploma obtained or academic certificate of the previous year	1	1
Proof of accommodation for the first 3 months of the stay.	1	1
Airline tickets or reservation	1	1

*The above document requirement are subject to change depending on which countries you are applying from. Please refer to your local embassy for more detail.

There are some tips I would like to provide for applying the long stay visa for France or other Schengen countries:

When can you start applying for your student visa in France?

Most people including myself were confused about when we can start applying for the visa. In my case, I had already planned to travel around Europe about a month before the course starts and before that, I also planned to visit family in Hong Kong. Therefore, I leave Australia 2 months before the course start date which leaves me only a month to apply for the visa. According to the French embassy website (http://www.ambafrance-au.org), all student visa applicants can only apply 3 months before course starts. And the visa is valid only 2 weeks before the course start date and 2 weeks after the course finish date with a maximum of 1 month extra.

Here, I’ve made a simple timeline to make it easier to understand.

Therefore 3 months plus 2 weeks to 1 month before the course start date is the time for applying visa, any time before and after this timeframe will result in visa rejection.

About Proof of accommodation for the first 3 months in France?

I have been looking to secure a place to stay months and months before arriving in Paris. Without any surprise, it was very difficult to secure a place more than 1 month in advance. The rental market in Paris is like a battlefield because of the very high demand. Due to their rental legislation, landlords have limited power to cancel rental contracts.

But do not worry too much, even though I stressed for many days before applying for my visa. This kind of requirement is more like a formality as per the google search. In my case, I did not have any luck to secure a place before going for my application and here was my solution.

Secure anything such as hotel, hostel or airbnb for 2-3 weeks with free cancellation.
Ask your school, institution or university to provide you with a letter stating that “ They will assist you in finding an accommodation”.
Supply a statutory declaration stating that you will find an accommodation when you arrive.

The above 3 documents was what I had to get my visa approved in regards to the proof of accommodation criteria. At the end of the day, you will still need to have a permanent address in paris in order for the OFII to send you letter for your medical visit. For further information, you can check out this website which I found very useful.

(http://www.blog.parisunraveled.com/how-to-complete-your-ofii-paperwork/)

A return ticket from your home country to France?

To be very honest, when I saw this my jaw literally dropped to the ground. We all know that no airline would sell a ticket more than a year in advance. According to the French embassy website, they strongly recommended you DO NOT PURCHASE TICKET before the visa approval, and don’t even try to call them because they are not going to answer any visa question via phone or e-mail. Here is my solution, go to your local travel agent, in my case I went to STA and simply asked them nicely whether they can issue me a return air ticket reservation and the answer is YES. It only cost me a little fee without having to purchase the ticket, even the officer at the French embassy asked me how I got a ticket more than a year in advance (eye roll, lol!).

Some other travel agents will charge a fee that is a bit more expensive but then, you can use the credit to purchase the ticket from them.

Visa interview

Prepare your documents in a nice and neat order.

Arrive at least 15 minutes before your appointment time.

Get ready to take a photo on the day for your visa.

Do not lose your receipt for passport collection or if you would like it to be returned by registered mail, remember to bring 1 self-addressed Express Post Platinum envelope (500g) filled out (consignee and sending details) and signed.

The minimum processing time for the visa is 3 weeks. In my case, I received mine is less than 3 weeks’ time. However, it states on their website that during the September school intake, there will be a huge amount of visa applications hence there may delays in processing time. Hopefully, this post has helped to clarify some of the confusion that I once experienced.

Travel Blob

It's never goodbye, only see you later!

Roaming Mobile Data Packs

Applying for French Student Visa

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