France France — entry & visa requirements
Your nationality decides: the France-Visas assistant tells you whether a visa is needed and which one (1). Short stays are capped at 90 days in any 180-day period; longer tourist stays need a long-stay visitor visa (0, 4). You can apply up to six months before departure and a decision usually takes 15 days (1, 3). archived official sources give the outsourced service fee (up to €45) but not the consular visa fee itself (3).
Visa exemption rules
Not every foreign national needs a visa for the Schengen area; waivers are granted on various conditions and depend mainly on nationality. The archived pages state the principle, give one journalist example, and refer separately to the French overseas territories, but they do not reproduce the list of exempt nationalities.
- Whether you need a visa depends on your nationality, with waivers granted under a range of conditions (0).[1]
- Exemptions from the usual rules can be granted in specific cases (0).[1]
- The material notes that journalists on assignment from the United States remain subject to French visa requirements (0).[1]
- Our official archive does not list the exempt nationalities, so check the France-Visas assistant for your own case (1).[2]
Duration of stay
A Schengen short-stay visa allows no more than 90 days in any 180 consecutive days, and it names the territories where you may stay. Within that limit you can travel in and out as often as you like, and the visa's validity is set by the French administration. Longer tourist stays are handled by a long-stay visitor visa.
- A Schengen short-stay visa covers transit or stay for a maximum of 90 days in any 180 consecutive days (0).[1]
- Within its validity you may make as many stays as you wish while respecting the 90-in-180 limit; a long-stay visitor visa is the alternative (0, 4).[1][5]
- A long-stay visitor visa is issued as a VLS-TS serving as a residence permit and must be validated online after you arrive (4).[5]
- Non-EU short-stay travellers are registered in the Entry/Exit System whether or not they needed a visa (2).[3]
General information
France-Visas is the official portal for filing and tracking a French visa application and guides you through each step. You complete the file online and then lodge it at the visa centre responsible for your area. The archived text also contains a large amount of site navigation, which is not reproduced here.
- France-Visas is the official single portal for submitting and following up a French visa application (1).[2]
- Once your file is complete online, you lodge it at the visa centre you depend on (1).[2]
- The site tells you who to approach and how to submit your application (1).[2]
How to apply
French visas are biometric, so a first-time applicant over 12 must appear in person to provide a photograph and ten fingerprints, unless prints were taken within the last 59 months. You bring a complete file to the appointment and the centre collects the fee, the biometrics and your passport. A decision normally takes 15 days, extendable to 45 days in special cases.
- First check whether you need a visa and identify which authority will process your application (3).[4]
- All French visas are biometric: applicants over 12 must attend in person for a first application to give a photo and ten fingerprints (3).[4]
- You may be excused from appearing if your fingerprints were collected less than 59 months before your current application (3).[4]
- Bring your complete file (form and receipt) to the appointment, where the centre checks it, collects the fee and your passport (3).[4]
- A decision is usually given in 15 days and may be extended to 45 days, after which you are invited to collect your passport (3).[4]
Required documents
The core documents are a passport issued within the last ten years and valid at least three months beyond departure, travel insurance, proof of accommodation for the whole stay and a return ticket or the means to buy one. Certain categories are exempt from presenting supporting documents at the border. The material is a general list and does not complete every case.
- Present a passport issued less than 10 years ago and valid for at least 3 months after your planned departure (2).[3]
- Insurance must cover medical and hospital costs, medical repatriation and expenses in the event of death for the whole stay (2).[3]
- Show proof of accommodation covering the entire stay, such as a hotel booking or a certificate from a host validated at the town hall (2).[3]
- Provide your return ticket or proof of the financial means to buy one at the planned return date (2).[3]
- Some travellers, including diplomats, parliamentarians and crew, are exempt from presenting supporting documents at the border (2).[3]
Fees
Where an outsourced service provider handles your file, it collects its own service fee, which differs from country to country and cannot exceed €45 per application file. Providers may also offer optional paid services. Our official archive does not state the consular visa fee amount itself.
- An outsourced service provider's fee cannot exceed 45 euros per visa application file (3).[4]
- The service fee varies by country and is collected by the provider on top of the visa fee (3).[4]
- Outsourced providers are also authorised to offer optional paid services (3).[4]
- The France-Visas assistant tells you which supporting documents apply to you and the fee charged (1).[2]
e-Visa & travel authorisation
The material archived for this slot concerns application timing rather than a separate online e-visa scheme. You may file up to six months before departure, and appointment waiting times plus file processing vary with the place of filing and the time of year. Most of the remaining text in this slot is cookie and licence boilerplate.
- You can lodge a visa application up to six months before your departure date (1).[2]
- Appointment scheduling and file processing can take longer depending on where and when you apply (1).[2]
- Plan your application around those delays relative to your departure date (1).[2]
At the border
Border police may ask you to present supporting documents on arrival. The Entry/Exit System registers non-EU nationals on short stays each time they cross the external borders of 29 European countries, recording the date and place of every entry and exit. Some travellers are exempt from border controls or from document checks.
- Border police may request your supporting documents when you arrive in France (2).[3]
- The Entry/Exit System registers non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay every time they cross the external borders of 29 European countries (2).[3]
- The system records the date and place of each entry and exit (2).[3]
- Exemptions from border controls or document checks apply to persons with privileges, holders of a valid local border traffic permit and certain others (2).[3]
- At the border crossing you may also have to prove a minimum of €32.50 per day of stay (2).[3]
Notices & things to watch
The archived notices are very thin: the only item is an unfinished line about travellers who need to change airports to continue their journey. The sources do not explain what this implies for entry or transit. Treat this section as incomplete rather than as guidance.
- The sources flag only one situation to watch: needing to change airports in France to continue your travel (0).[1]
Legal basis
Entry into the Schengen area by third-country nationals must satisfy conditions set by European and national rules, whether or not a visa is required. The visa-waiver list sits in Annex II of Regulation (EC) 2018/1806. Refusals of a visa must be justifiable under French and European law.
- Entry into the Schengen area must comply with conditions laid down by European and national regulations in force (2).[3]
- The common Schengen visa-waiver list is set out in Annex 2 of Regulation (EC) 2018/1806 (0).[1]
- Under French and European law, decisions refusing a visa must be justifiable (3).[4]
Frequently asked questions
The archived FAQ deals with refusals and renewals. A refusal can be challenged within 30 days by post, and for a long-stay visa a reasoned appeal in French to the CRRV is a mandatory first step before any court action. Silence for two months after submission counts as an implicit refusal.
- If your visa is refused, you can challenge the decision within 30 days by filing an appeal by post (3).[4]
- For a long-stay visa, a reasoned, signed appeal in French to the Commission for Appeals against Visa Refusal Decisions (CRRV) is mandatory before any appeal to the administrative judge (3).[4]
- If no decision reaches you within two months of submission, the application is treated as an implicit refusal and can be appealed (3).[4]
- To renew or extend a visa inside France, contact the prefecture of your place of residence; from abroad, contact consular services or the competent provider (3).[4]
Official downloads
4 files as ZIP ≈462 KBThese are the official French visa forms and fee sheet behind the application process: two application forms to complete and submit, plus guidance on how to apply and on visa fees.
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PDFcerfa14076 schengen 20260910 143918The four-page Schengen application form in English, to be completed and handed in with your application.
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PDFcs-annex 16 consultationA four-page application form annex in English that the material lists as required for filing.
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PDFcerfa14571 longstay 20260910 143957A three-page official explanation of how to apply with no fill-in fields; use it to understand conditions and documents, nothing to submit.
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PDFfrais-de-visa-anglaisA one-page official visa fee sheet to check costs; nothing to submit.
Official sources
The sources are official France-Visas and diplomatic pages and cover the short-stay and long-stay framework, border checks and appeals with many citations, but they are fragmentary and contain a lot of navigation and boilerplate text.
Numbers match the markers in the text above; click a marker to jump here. Groups are collapsed by domain - click a heading to expand. A source cited more than once keeps a single number.
france-visas.gouv.fr4 URLs · cited 37 times
cn.diplomatie.gouv.fr1 URL · cited 9 times
Popularity rank #10 (score 41.4). This page was written by an AI from the official material listed above and adds no facts from outside it; visa rules change, so always confirm on the official portal before you apply.
Passports with entry data for France · 195 passports · corridor pages being published
● Visa not required · Visa not required · 90-day
● Visa not required · Visa not required
● Visa not required · Visa not required · 90-day
● Visa not required · Visa not required · 90-day
● Visa not required · Visa not required · 90-day
● Visa not required · Visa not required · 90-day
● Visa not required · Visa not required
● Visa not required · Visa not required
● Visa not required · Visa not required
● Visa not required · Visa not required · 90-day
● Visa not required · Visa not required · 90-day
● Visa not required · Visa not required · 90-day
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