If you enter France on a tourist visa - can you just leave France for the weekend and come back on a long stay visa?

That should work. However, please be careful if you’re traveling with two passports. It is not the sort of thing one wants border police to find in one’s luggage, if you know what I mean.

I don’t believe you could face problems, people take all sorts of liberties with Visas all the time. No one cares unless you’re African or Arab and they suspect you will try to stay permanently. And It’s understandable that you would want to come first to prepare for your long-term stay, like looking for accomodations, familiarize yourself with your new environment etc…

We used to go to the US on the visa waiver program. Legally, we were allowed a 3 month stay for a 6 month period. After 3 months we went back to france but returned to the US a week later. I’ve only been questioned twice because they didn’t understand why I came back a week after my 3 month stay. I just said I still had money to spend and they stamped my passport. They aren’t stricter in france..

@Jack_Haas Thank you for your help! My question is that I don’t want to fly back to the US – can I just leave France for a long weekend somewhere close and then come back on my long stay student visa? I know there is a thing about the Schengen countries: Belgium Denmark France Finland Germany Greece Iceland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain and Sweden where after you stay in any of those countries for 90 days you have to leave and stay away for 90 days. Can I just pop into the UK for a weekend on my second limited passport and then return to France on my original passport with my student visa? I think that will be fine because they won’t be able to see my tourist visa stamp because it will be in my other passport.

I feel like a secret agent with all these passports!

Thank you so much for your help!

Hey it’s nothing man. I don’t believe it matters at all if you go to another European country as long as you have a proper authorization to enter french territory. Just be sure to have the other passport ready and additional documentation that can explain your situation, just in case the immigration officer sees something on the computer and asks you about it. But as long as you have a valid, documented reason to be in the country they shouldn’t bother you. Hope you have a good time here!

I don’t think you need to move in and out of the country into the UK. Consult with the French embassy. Dependent on your current nationality, they will likely not give you a fuzz. BTW, what nationality are you. Swahili? As most flutherers? If you are not from the US, you may have lot more issues. Best guidance for questions like these, however, can be found at the embassy of consul of France in your country of residence.

http://www.ambafrance-us.org/spip.php?article330

Enjoy your time in Europe and while there… enjoy Schengen and visit the rest of the EEA. When in need of tips for The Netherlands, let me know.