General information
Depending on your nationality, a visa is required when intending to travel to France. All visas must be applied for prior to departure at the nearest French Embassy or French Consulate in the applicant’s country of residence.
The type of visa required depends both on the duration and purpose of your stay in France : tourism, professional purposes, studies, family purposes.
For stays equal to, or shorter than 90 days
- You will need to apply for a short-stay visa.
Regulations and types of visas vary according to the French territory you intend to visit :
- For European territory (mainland France), France complies with Schengen regulations related to the Schengen area, and issues a short-stay Uniform Schengen visa;
- For non-European territories (French overseas territories), France issues a short-stay national visa;
- If you intend to transit through a French airport without exiting the “international zone”, please check whether you need to apply for an "A" airport transit Schengen visa.
For stays longer than 90 days
- You will need to apply for a long-stay national visa.
- Regulations and types of visas vary according to both the duration and purpose of stay in France's European or non-European territories.
- Regulations applicable to long-stay visas may be checked in the code governing the entry and stay of foreign nationals and right to asylum (in French only).