The visa application process

5 steps to complete your application

STEP 1

Gather information on my situation

Check if a visa is required for your project. This portal gathers all the essential information to prepare and submit your visa application.

Identify the necessary supporting documents to be provided with your application, as well as the applicable fees. If you have stayed in the Schengen area in the last 6 months, an online calculator allows you to calculate the maximum remaining length of stay.

Identify the appropriate authority to process the application. Dedicated pages for each country supplement this general information. They help you determine where and from whom to apply for a visa.

Check if you need a visa

STEP 2

Set up my online application

Please ensure that you have the following :

  • A travel document (original + copy) :
    • In good condition
    • Issued less than 10 years ago
    • Containing at least two blank pages
    • With a validity period :
      • At least 3 months older than the expected date of your departure from the Schengen Area
      • Or, in the case of a long stay, at least 3 months longer than the expiry date of the visa applied for. A derogation from the latter criterion may be granted in duly justified cases of urgency.
  • Two recent ID photos in ICAO format (PDF)
  • The supporting documents (original + copies) adapted to your personal situation and the reason for your trip

Attention : Documents written in languages other than English or French may be requested translated into French.

Applying for a visa

STEP 3

Book my appointment

You must allow time to obtain an appointment and to process your application in relation to the expected start date of your trip.

In most cases, consular services rely on service providers for the reception of visa applicants and the filing of applications. In all cases, consular services retain full responsibility for the processing of applications and decisions.

You will find the information for scheduling appointments on the page associated with your country of filing

Make an appointment

STEP 4

Submit my application

You come to the appointment with your complete file (CERFA and receipt).The service provider (or consulate) receives you, checks your file, collects the amount of the fee, collects your biometrics (photo and fingerprints) and keeps your passport and supporting documents (copies) for transmission to the consulate.

All visas issued by France are biometric visas. Any visa applicant "over 12 years of age" is required to present himself in person at the time of filing his first application. The following biometric identifiers are collected on this occasion: one photograph, scanned or taken at the time of the request, and 10 fingerprints, collected flat and digitized. However, it is possible to recover your biometric data, if a previous biometric Schengen visa was issued less than 59 months ago.

Advantages of biometrics : Biometrics protects you and comparing biometric data makes it easier to identify you. In the event of loss or theft of travel documents, it protects you against the theft of your identity and the fraudulent use of your passport.

You may be exempted from personal appearance for the filing of your application if your fingerprints were collected as part of a previous visa application less than fifty-nine months before your current application.

STEP 5

Track my application and get my visa back

The follow-up of your application is ensured by the visa centre in which you have submitted your application.

You receive a notification inviting you to show up to pick up your passport at the centre where you filed it.The decision-making time on visa applications is usually 15 days. This period may be extended up to 45 days in special cases if the examination of the application warrants it.

In some countries, the passport may be sent to you by post.

Track my application

You can stay in France

Among the most frequently asked questions

The amount of the fee for filing a visa application consists of two parts :

  • The application fee charged by the French administration to process the visa application. The amount collected is kept by the administration, even in case of visa refusal (refer to the table of application fees per visa (pdf)).
  • In cases where the receipt of the files is ensured by an outsourced service provider, the service fee shall be collected by that service provider. The amount of the service fee is different in each country, but can not exceed 45 euros per visa application file. Outsourced service providers are also authorised by the administration to offer optional paid services.

I am in France and I wish to renew or extend my visa, I must contact the prefecture of my place of residence. If I am in my country of residence, I contact the consular services or the competent service provider

In accordance with the provisions of French law and European law, decisions to refuse a visa to enter France must be justifiable.

The applicant against whom a refusal decision has been issued may challenge it within 30 days by filing an appeal by post :

  • Before the Commission for Appeals against Visa Refusal Decisions in the case of a long-stay visa (CRRV – BP 83609 – 44036 NANTES CEDEX 1). This prior appeal, which must be justifiable, written in French and signed, is mandatory before any appeal to the administrative judge.
  • Before the Deputy Director of Visas in the case of a short-stay visa refused from 1 January 2023 (BP 83609 44036 Nantes Cedex 01). This prior appeal, which must be justifiable, written in French and signed, is mandatory before any appeal to the administrative judge.

If no decision has been transmitted to the applicant within two months after the date of submission, the application is deemed to be an implicit decision of refusal and may be appealed before the CRRV or the Deputy Director of Visas, depending on the nature of the visa applied for.