Anyone got kids doing MFL about to do year abroad?

[Highlyflavouredgravy]

How have found the prep?
What are they doing?

All been very stressful here . Visa application a nightmare!
Would love to hear how others are faring.

Dd has another year before hers. Where is your dc going?

@NCTDN @Highlyflavouredgravy I'm book marking here as DD just starting a French and Italian degree - she's just returned from a year in France and passed her C1 so hoping she will be able in Year 3 to do a full academic year in Italy (ab initio) and keep her French up in the vacations.

Getting an au pair visa for year off was a trying process so not looking forward to going through it again....

Yes we do.

Oh god.

I have no idea if she/we have done enough. She wakes daily and groans about Even More Paperwork, and cheers my day with tales of last year's MFL students getting deported before Christmas.

(But at least she's not trying to do it mid-Covid restrictions like DC1 was. Different country, different uni, different scheme, so we can't even profit from previous experience!)

Helloo!
He's going to spend the year in France. 6 months in a primary school being a language assistant and then 3 months working in an admin role. Accommodation has been really difficult because he is going to a small town with no student accommodation.
@MonsterSister when does your child go?

Yes. Total nightmare. Don’t have to do visa applications for either MFL venue because Germany you can do residents’ permit once there and with help from his uni, and the other he doesn’t need a visa if there less than 6 months but he has needed a blocked bank account for Germany and German govt health insurance and he is so stressed. Sent the money off for the blocked account today, bank here queried it and it went to the fraud department and it took 20 minutes for them to agree to send the funds saying that if it turned out to be a scam he has lost the money as he authorised it. £5,000. No help whatsoever from his English uni which hasn’t even called back on a requested callback about the uni’s insurance. I really feel for him as the worry is far outweighing the excitement tbh. He does have German accommodation sorted but will have to sort Japan from Germany. All very difficult.

That’s the German uni being helpful. UK uni rubbish.

Did it the year before last - the UK university was no help at all and it was the most expensive year we've ever had.

Yep! This is sounding exactly like ours is panning out so far!

Not doing year abroad until next year but DC has spent the summer in Germany and that was hard enough to organise and it has cost a fortune!

DC has French residency (not citizenship) and I'm wondering if that adds any kudos to getting a visa for Portugal, if anyone knows?

I thought I'd come back to this old thread and update.

Despite hiccups, it's been the best year of DD's life.

We did cock up a couple of bits of admin -- students on a year abroad need a different type of GHIC, for instance; registering for local healthcare took so long that she was within a month of return home before it came through; and there's some tax issue that still needs sorting. But she made a whole new life for herself from scratch and looks ready for anything.

(Well, except Finals year. She'd rather not do that )

@MonsterSister That is great news.

The unis here generally advise to some extent but Turing and Visas have made it more difficult. Unis are not visa experts and don’t get enough funding.

Years ago my DD had an amazing time too. They do learn how to navigate life for themselves. It’s a great lesson in life and they benefit so much.

What story of ghic du they need ? DD is adamant that he card from holidays is fine.

Also where did she go ?

Mine has just come home. Had a great time but glad to be back. It has cost us a FORTUNE!

Oh no! More expensive than the uk?

DD did year in Germany 22/23 academic year and has just graduated. The German year was extortionate! Significantly more than the other years.

Your DD may be right (helplines are not infallible), but when we had to get in touch, we were pointed at this info:
'Students
Applying for a UK Student EHIC or UK GHIC
To apply for a UK Student EHIC or UK GHIC, you'll need a letter from your university or college showing:

the name and address of the UK educational institution if you're travelling as part of your course
the address of where you're studying in the EEA or Switzerland
details of the qualification you're studying for
the dates your study period in the EEA or Switzerland started and is due to finish
your permanent residential address in the UK
If the letter from your university or college does not include your permanent residential address in the UK, you'll be asked to provide further evidence to confirm this.

This is in addition to the information set out in "How to apply" above.'

@NCTDN your DD needs to email the GHIC people and ask them to make it into a student GHIC. Send evidence of study abroad with the email. They email back to confirm it's now a student GHIC for the duration of the year abroad but you still use the same card. That's been the easiest part of the process so far.

DD appears to have made a profit overall, as she was teaching (via the British Council). The set up costs were eye watering, but the salary was ok and she was able to use cheap uni accommodation, being an unfussy sort.