Belarus
Get information, make an appointment, and submit your application
Apply for a visa for France
Visa applications submitted in Belarus are examined by appointment by the consular section of the French Embassy in Minsk, only authorised to make decisions regarding visas.
- For short-stay visa applications, please submit your application at least 8 days before your scheduled departure date ;
- For long-stay visa applications, please allow one to 3 weeks between submitting your application and your planned departure date.
It is recommended to make an appointment sufficiently early in relation to your scheduled departure date in order to avoid any disappointment.
Whom should I contact?
Besides particular situations, visa applicants residing in Belarus must make an appointment with the consular section of the French Embassy in Minsk to have their visa application processed.
What are the application fees?
Payment of the visa fees (pdf) must be made in euros exclusively and in cash to the visa office when submitting your visa application.
Euro bills in bad condition are not accepted. A receipt will immediately be given to you for the entire amount paid.
This fee collected by the administration is non-reimbursable, even if your visa application is rejected.
Book an appointment
The usual time to obtain an appointment varies according to the number of visitors and the seasons.
Also, is noticed an influx of visa applications at the summer and the winter school holidays approach.
Obtaining an appointment may then exceed a reasonable time, whereas in any other period it is limited to a few days.
It is recommended that you make an appointment sufficiently early in relation to your scheduled departure date in order to avoid any disappointment.
Applications can not be made more than 3 months before your planned departure.
Ambassade de France à Minsk
(by appointment)
| Monday | 9:00 a.m. - 12:43 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 9:00 a.m. - 12:43 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 9:00 a.m. - 12:43 p.m. |
| Thursday | 9:00 a.m. - 12:43 p.m. |
| Friday | 9:00 a.m. - 12:43 p.m. |
(without appointment)
| Monday to Friday | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM |
Pratical information
Closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
Public holidays in 2026 :
- Thursday, January 1st: New Year's Day
- Friday, January 2nd: New Year's Day (public holiday in Belarus)
- Wednesday, January 7th: Christmas (Orthodox Christmas)
- Monday, April 6th: Easter Monday
- Tuesday, April 21st: Radounitsa
- Friday, May 1st: Labor Day
- Friday, May 8th: Victory Day 1945
- Thursday, May 14th: Ascension Day
- Monday, June 25th: Whit Monday
- Wednesday, November 11th: Armistice Day 1918
- Friday, December 25th: Christmas
Security information
During your visit to the French consular services, you must not hold neither weapon nor dangerous product.
Security checks are made prior to admission to the Embassy.
Practical information on the appointment and visa application
Personal appearance : Visa applicants must submit their visa application in person.
Remember to bring the following
- Your passport, with at least two blank pages. Your passport’s expiry date must be at least three months after the expiry date of the requested visa;
- A print out of your appointment confirmation letter bearing the same number as your passport;
- A printed, dated and signed copy of the application form;
- The file containing all the required documents presented in the same order as on the list of required documents;
- Payment to cover the visa fees.
If your visa application is incomplete (i.e. missing documents), you may choose not to submit your application until you have all the required documents and come back to the Centre at a later date after making a new appointment. You will not have to pay any processing fees if you decide not to submit your application at this time.
Submitting a complete application does not guarantee that the consular authorities will issue you with a visa.
Biometrics
All visas issued by France are biometric visas.
Any visa applicant age 12 or older is required to file their first request in person. The following biometric data will be required: a photograph, scanned or taken at the time of application filing, and 10 fingerprints, taken flat and digitised.
However, it is also possible to have your previous biometric data re-used if you were issued a Schengen visa within at least the previous 59 months.
Children under 12 years of age are not required to provide the biometric data; the application must be submitted by the child’s parent/legal guardian. The photograph in the ISO/IEC format (pdf) of the child will be scanned.
Tracking your application and collecting your passport
The retreat of your passport can be made only by yourself or by a person duly appointed.
Travelling to Spain and Iceland
In Belarus, France issues short-stay visas on behalf of two Schengen member states:
- Iceland;
- Spain, exclusively for the issuance of emergency visas for special cases (not applicable to visas issued for tourist purposes).
Official passports
Visas issued to official passport holders as part of their duties are free of charge.
If you have any problems with your visa application, please contact the consular section of the French Embassy in Minsk for assistance:
- By email