Guide to France Visa Application and Residency Info with Video

France is a country that has captivated countless visitors with its beautiful landscapes, rich cultural and culinary traditions, and a savoire vivre which places good food, excellent wine, and the enjoyment of friends and family as a top priority. Many who have traveled to this beguiling corner of Europe have decided to call la belle France home. If you plan to work, live, or retire in this haven, you’ll need to secure a visa that can put you on the road to permanent residency or citizenship. Although a bit of a paperwork headache, the steps for obtaining the right to reside in France are not difficult, and many applicants successfully complete the process every year.

In this article, we’ll discuss visiting France for stays up to three months, how to secure a visa for extended stays up to 12 months and beyond, permanent residency requirements, citizenship options, and different visa paths if you want to work or open a business in France.

Temporary Visas

North Americans may visit France for up to 90 days at a time with a passport valid for a year. In addition, the United States and France have a reciprocal treaty that allows their citizens to remain in their respective countries for an additional 90 days. This is not very well known, however, and it's important to confirm with French immigration authorities that you are eligible for this.

Long-Term Visas

France doesn’t have designated retirement visas, golden visas, or digital nomad visas. The Long-Stay Visa (visa de long séjour) is the standard visa to apply for if you want to live or retire in France. In the French system, this specific nature of your permission to still be in the country is specified in the visa itself.

You must apply for the Long Stay Visa in your country of residence, i.e., the United States or Canada. In addition, you can’t apply for a visa more than three months before your departure date to move to France.

You are not allowed to work in France on the Long-Stay Visa and must submit a written statement saying that you will not seek employment in France.

The visa category most suited to retirees and digital nomads is the Visa de Long Séjour Visiteur. This allows you to remain in France for one year and is renewable. It requires proof of sufficient financial means, health insurance, and proof of a place to stay. Both passive and active income are acceptable, although active income must come solely through work for non-French employers or clients.

Permanent Residency

Once you arrive in France with your long-stay visa, you must validate it online. You will also have to complete a medical exam at a local immigration office known as the OFII.

After your first year on a long-stay visa, you will need to renew it three months before its expiry. Once you do this, you will be issued a residence card, known as a Carte de Sejour. When you submit your application, you’ll receive a Confirmation du Depot that the renewal is being processed, and you have the right to stay legally in France. You can currently renew your visa online at the Ministry of the Interior website.

Once you have a Carte de Sejure, the renewal process continues every year for four years, for a total of five years At the five-year mark, you’re eligible to apply for a 10-year residency card or French citizenship.

It’s important to note that if you reside outside of France for a total of 10 months or more during those first five years, you risk being denied long-term residency or citizenship.

The benefits of long-term, 10-year residency include not having to complete paperwork and file every year to extend your stay. You can also seek work as a salaried employee or open a business in France. Under special circumstances, like family ties to France, you may be able to apply for a 10-year resident card after your first year of living in France on a Long Stay Visa.

Citizenship

Following the process of ensuring your right to reside in France by renewing your residency card every year for four years allows you to apply for French citizenship. The first step is to submit an application online or with your local prefecture (government administrative headquarters for your county). You will need to provide the following documentation:

• Two signed copies of the application form in French.

• Two recent passport photographs – available at local kiosks or photo centers in France.

• A valid passport.

• Proof of address - this can be a recent gas, phone, or electric bill.

• Copy of your Carte de Sejour.

• French language skills certificate to show that you have an intermediate level in the language (level B1).

• Proof of marital status.

• Criminal record check if you’ve lived in France for less than ten years.

• All documents need to be translated into French.

Requirements and Documentation

The following are required for applications for a long-stay visa.

• Two passport-sized photos

• A passport must be valid for at least three months from the date of return, with at least two blank pages.

• Proof of health insurance that covers France and the entire Schengen area, with €30,000 of coverage for the entire 12 months. This is special, visa-specific health insurance that you can cancel after 12 months, as you will be on the French healthcare system by this point.

• Provide proof of accommodation, for three months minimum, upon arrival in France. This does not need to be a deed on a house or even a long-term rental reservation, although those are acceptable. You can also show proof of a three-month stay at a hotel, an Airbnb, or a short-term rental.

• You’ll need to write a brief statement saying you will not seek employment.

• Proof of financial means, equivalent to the French minimum wage. This can be three months of bank statements, any financial statement, proof of Social Security benefits, a pension, or similar financial documentation proving you have sufficient funds to support yourself in France. If you’re under 65 and moving as a single person, you need to show earnings of at least $696 per month. If you’re over 65 and single, this amount is $1073 per month. If you’re moving as a couple and under 65, you need to show financial means equivalent to $1036 a month. If you are moving as a couple and over 65, you must provide documentation of $1666 a month.

• You must write a cover letter stating the purpose of seeking the visa. Explain why you would like to move to France and include the details of your long-term plans and where you will stay upon arrival.

Once you have gathered all this documentation and are within the three-month window to apply before your leave for France, you will fill out the application form on the France-Visas website (https://france-visas.gouv.fr/web/france-visas/), the official French government visa site. The application itself and the process are detailed in English, and you can save your work as you go.

Once you have clicked the submit button, you can download and print your application, and you will be directed to make an appointment at a visa processing center called VFS Global. Although the French consulate makes the final decision on your visa, the processing is now handled by a third party, which has processing centers in the major U.S. and Canadian cities – including Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. You will have to attend an in-person appointment at the nearest processing center. You can find the VFS processing center nearest you and make your visa appointment on the VFS website: www.vfsglobal.com.

On the day of your appointment, you will take your printed application, and all the documents listed for the Long Stay Visa. You will be required to leave your passport at the VFS center so that they can forward it along with your documents to the consulate. Your passport will be mailed back to you with the French visa inside.

Processing Time

The processing time for a Long-Stay Visa is 2-3 weeks from your appointment at VFS. The French consulate makes the final decision, and you’ll be notified by email following your VFS appointment if any additional documentation is needed.

The timing of the application for the Carte de Sejour (visa renewal completed in France) varies from administrative district to administrative district and also from person to person. You can expect anything from a few weeks to several months to receive notification of approval. As stated previously, as long as you have the confirmation (Confirmation du Depot) that you’ve submitted your application, you can legally remain in the country.

The processing time for French citizenship through naturalization is around 18 months.

Cost

The current fee to submit an application for a Long Stay Visa or Talent Visa is €99. Since the process has been streamlined by the third-party processing center, VFS, many feel comfortable completing the application process without outside assistance. However, you can seek counsel from an immigration specialist. VFS charges a processing fee of €31.50, and you will also have to pay a courier fee to have your passport mailed back to your home address.

The Carte de Sejour residence card costs €269). To apply for French citizenship, the application fee is currently €55.

Contacts

• 4101 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007

• Tel. (202) 944-6000

• Web: https://franceintheus.org/

• For all visa inquiries, call +1 (212) 784-6157 or +1 (347) 252-3055.

Video: Visa and Residency in France