France Tourist Visa (Short Stay Visa)

The general eligibility requirement for a Tourist Visa is that your stay must not exceed 90 days in any 180-day period. You can either remain in the country for the entire 90 days or make several trips. However, you must not go over 3 months in any 180-day period. After 90 days you must leave France.

The documents needed for a Tourist Visa are as follows:

• Valid passport issued within the last 10 years, containing at least two blank pages
• Recent standardised photograph
• Residence permit from your country of residence if you are not a national of that country
• Proof of purpose of visit
• Evidence of a return ticket
• Three latest bank statements as evidence of funds to support you during your stay
• Proof of accommodation or sufficient financial resources to cover accommodation expenses
• Travel health insurance covering medical and hospital expenses with a minimum of €30,000 cover

You must have sufficient financial resources to pay for your accommodation and other expenditures while in France. If you are staying with a private individual you will need €32.50 per day. With a hotel reservation, you need €65 per day while without proof of a hotel booking, you need €120 per day.

The authorised length of stay for a Tourist Visa is 90 days in a 180-day period. This can take the form of one visit of 90 days or several shorter visits over 180 days which must not exceed 90 days in total.

The exact length of stay allowed on your Tourist Visa will be indicated on the visa sticker under ‘duration of visit’.

If you believe that your stay in France will exceed the 90-day allowance you should apply for a Long Stay Visitor Visa. This will allow you to remain in the country for longer than 3 months but not exceeding one year. During this time you are not allowed to engage in any professional activity.

A temporary Long Stay Visa may be appropriate when your stay exceeds 90 days but a year-long visa is not necessary.

In the first instance, you will need to establish if your nationality requires a visa to visit France. If you do then you will have to complete the application for a Short Stay Visa.

Applications are done via the France-visas.gouv.fr website which will indicate the required supporting documentation. These documents will depend on your nationality, country of residence and the reason for your stay.

You should complete the Tourist Visa application no earlier than 3 months before your intended visit to France. Applications must be submitted no later than 2 weeks before your planned visit or you risk your visa not being approved in time for your travel.

If you are having trouble filling in the visa application form or are unsure of which documents you need to provide contact Total Law on +44 (0)333 305 9375 or via our online form. We will offer professional, expert advice on the application process so you get your visa on time.

When you have completed the application form you must make an appointment at the French consulate or embassy in your home country. You may be directed to a visa application centre. These centres support the consulates in some countries with the administrative procedures relating to visas.

At your visa application appointment, you will have your biometric data taken. This consists of scanned images of your photo and fingerprints.

Once your Tourist Visa application has been submitted it typically takes around 15 days for a decision to be taken on whether to grant the visa. However, in some instances, the decision may take up to 45 days depending on the circumstances.

The cost of a Tourist Visa for a visitor to France is €80 but will be chargeable in the currency specified by the consulate or embassy of your home country. The amount payable in local currency is subject to change according to exchange rate fluctuations.

As part of the Short Stay Visa application process, you need to provide proof of your financial situation. This ensures that you will have enough funds to support yourself while in France including paying for accommodation and that you will have sufficient resources to travel back to your home country.

You will also require travel health insurance as part of your visa application so you will need to factor this into your budget.

There are several reasons why you may be refused a visa or why a Tourist Visa may be revoked after it has been issued.

• You stop meeting the conditions for the visa
• You engage in work without the proper work authorisation
• You disturb the public order of the country
• Your actions indicate that you intend to stay in France

The prefecture where you are staying or where your visa is checked will decide if your visa is to be refused or revoked. You will be informed in writing of the reasons for refusing your Tourist Visa. It is your right to have recourse to an appeal through the prefecture or to the French Ministry of the Interior.

It is also possible to file a petition for an appeal with the Deputy Director of Visas. This must be done before you can appeal for annulment of the decision with the administrative judge for the region.

If your Tourist Visa application is refused, you will not receive a refund of your application fee. The fee is to cover the administrative cost of examining the visa application and is not based on the decision of whether it is to be granted.

You can apply again for a Short Stay Visa for France but you must take note of the reasons given for the initial refusal and make the necessary amendments to your new application.

If you have heard nothing about your visa application within two months of submission this is considered an implicit decision of refusal. Short Stay Visa refusal decisions can be appealed in the first instance before the Deputy Director of Visas before appealing to an administrative judge.

A Tourist Visa can only be extended in very exceptional circumstances. When requesting an extension to your visa you must show proof of the serious personal or situational circumstances that prevent you from leaving the country. The Covid pandemic is an example of when Short Stay Visas were extended.

As a rule, the Tourist Visa you hold must not have expired at the time you request an extension and you must have been in France for less than 90 days.