VISITORS’ VISA FOR FRANCE

Applying for a visa for France allows a foreigner to enter French territory regularly.
A distinction must be made between “short stay” visas and “long stay” visas.

“Short stay” visas

European Union law governs the conditions for issuing “short stay” visas. These visas allow, on the one hand, the entry of a person into Schengen area for a period not exceeding three months. On the other hand, these visas also allow several stays, the total duration of which does not exceed three months, during a period of six months.

Cases of exemption from the obligation to hold a “short-stay” visa for France

Not all foreigners are required to hold a visa to enter the Schengen area.

There is a common Schengen list which exempts several nationals of countries from the obligation to hold this type of visa.

Nationals of the European Union, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are not required to hold this type of visa.

Finally, foreigners holding a valid residence permit issued by a State in the Schengen area are not required to hold this type of visa.

How to obtain a “short stay” visa?

The French consulate in your place of residence is competent to collect your visa application.

In the majority of cases, it is advisable to connect to the website of the consulate which explains the procedures to be carried out.

In general, service providers are responsible for making appointments and submitting the file.

You must submit your visa application no earlier than 3 months before the desired date of entry into France.

Do I need a visa to travel to the overseas departments or regions?

In general, the overseas departments or regions (Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Réunion and Mayotte) are not part of the European territory of France.

In this case, the Schengen agreements therefore do not apply in these territories.

A Schengen-type “short-stay” visa does not allow its holder to enter the aforementioned territories.

Likewise, a foreigner holding a visa allowing entry into the aforementioned territories does not grant him access to the Schengen area.

What recourse in the event of refusal to issue a “short stay” visa?

Time limit for processing a visa application

From the date of filing your visa application, the consulate has two months to study your request.

Two solutions are possible:

First, the consulate notifies you of a refusal decision.

Second, the consulate does not respond to your request. In this case, an implicit rejection decision is issued at the end of the two-month period from the date of submission of your file.

Appeal against visa refusal

In the event that your visa application is refused, you must apply to the Appeals Committee against decisions to refuse a visa to enter France.

In this area, the Commission must be informed within two months of the refusal decision or the implicit rejection decision.

If the Commission rejects your appeal or does not respond within two months, you can file an annulment appeal before the Administrative Court of Nantes, which has exclusive jurisdiction in the matter.

You are strongly advised to consult a lawyer if your visa application is refused.