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29 Jun 2010 - Schengen Visa: Mandatory medical insurance for your stay in France
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France is in the lead when it comes to tourism. With its nearly 80 million visitors each year, France has been the most visited country for several years now. Therefore it is not surprising at all that tourism in this country generates an income of 40 billion Euros per year according to the French Ministry of Tourism.
Besides Europe as a whole is tourists’ favorite destination. In 2008, 488 million travellers from all over the world came to experience Europe’s diversity of landscapes and culture.
If you're travelling to France to visit the country, your family, or to take a language course, and if you stay less than three months, you may need a visa depending on your native country. To get this short term visa - which is called “Schengen Visa” as it grants you access to countries belonging to the Schengen area – you will have to get an entry certificate and mandatory medical coverage. Mondassur, an insurance broker specialised in travel insurance, proposes insurance for your stay in Europe.

Schengen Europe Access Insurance
Subscribing travel insurance is mandatory for anyone wishing to get a Schengen visa.
The Schengen Europe Access insurance offers protection for a stay up to ninety days within the Schengen area. You can subscribe up to 75 years.
You can request a free quote and purchase this insurance through a secure transaction on www.mondassur.com.

The protection you need at a great price
For a stay of fifteen days, you are covered for 29 Euros; for a stay of three months, the maximum you can stay in France with a Schengen visa, you get coverage for 67 Euros. This insurance also guarantees civil liability. It is important to purchase travel insurance when travelling to protect yourself and your family, and so to make the most of your holiday. For more information on benefits and prices of a Schengen travel insurance http://www.mondassur.com/devis/schengeurop_access_english.pdf

Countries of the Schengen area
The Schengen area ensures the opening of borders between the 25 countries which signed the Schengen Convention in 1985. The Schengen area does not cover entirely the territory of the European Union as Great Britain, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria did not sign the convention. Besides, three non-EU countries are associated to the Schengen area: Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.
The Schengen visa allows you to stay in every country which signed the convention. But to get the visa it is compulsory to get medical coverage through travel insurance.
The Schengen Europe Access Insurance by Mondassur covers you for your stay in Schengen countries as well as in other European countries. This broad coverage makes it a particularly innovative contract.

Some countries whose nationals must obtain a Schengen visa to travel to France :

The list is not exhaustive: China (except citizens with a visa from Macao and Hong Kong), India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia, Philippines, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Egypt, Turkey, Congo , Thailand, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon, Senegal, Brazil ... Some countries may be exempted from visa Schengen, but however it is mandatory to obtain medical insurance for their arrival in Europe.

 Useful information on the Schengen visa

• It is necessary to make the visa application in person at the French consulate of your place of residence. If your visa expires, you must return to your country to reapply. 
• If you are staying in several countries, send your request to the consulate of the country where you stay the longest. So if your plane lands in a country of the Schengen area where you do not stay, you do not have to send a visa application to the consulate of this country.
• The following nationalities do not require a Schengen visa to enter French territory: Australia, Brazil, South Korea, United States, Japan, Mexico, Singapore,Venezuela. However, this does not apply to you if you have a paid occupation inside French territory and the territorial authorities of Outre-Mer.  However, even if you do not need a visa, you may be required to subscribe medical coverage. 
• A Schengen visa is valid in all Schengen states, unless the visa sticker states otherwise.
• Your visa application must be completed before you come to the consulate, which is usually done on an appointment.
• A visa is valid from a date maximum three months before your departure, or on the day you get it, as you choose.
• You will have to pay a fee to get a visa.