To settle in France for a period of more than 3 months, citizens of a Third State to the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland should apply for a long-stay visa.
Exemptions:
- Third country nationals holding a short-stay visa marked “Famille de Français” (“Family of a French national”).
- Nationals of the principalities of Monaco and Andorra, of San Marino and the Holy See.
- Foreign nationals and their families who have acquired long-term resident status* or “blue card” residence permit*, in another European Union Member State.
- Students who have attended school in France without interruption from the age of 16 and are continuing their studies in the country*.
- Foreign nationals resident in an EU Member State who are posted to France*.
*Even if the foreign citizen is exempted from a long-stay visa, he/she is required to apply for a residence permit.
The type of visa required depends both on the duration and purpose of your stay in France : tourism, professional purposes, studies, family purposes.
Click on each word to see what type of visa you need.
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).
Steps
- The application is initiated online via the official website France-Visas.
- By clicking on “Do I need a visa?” you can check if your current status requires a visa in France.
- If this is the case, you can then apply for a visa via a personal account and then find out how to submit your file, often with the service provider from the Consulate or Embassy.
- Before starting your application, be sure you have: Your passport; Original and photocopy of your supporting documents; 2 photos in ISO/IEC format.
- You can follow the progress of your application directly online. Processing timescales for long-stay visas can vary from one embassy or consulate to another.
To know if you need a visa, visit the website https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en/web/france-visas/visa-wizard