How to Obtain a French Visa

You must apply for a visa to visit France.

Considered the top tourist destination in the world by the World Tourism Organization, France attracts many tourists from around the world every year. If you plan to visit this popular destination, you must apply for a French visa. The French Consulate General in Washington, D.C. strongly recommends that you apply for your visa as early as possible. Depending on the season, visa processing times can be quite long. Therefore, do not make any solid travel arrangements until you have received your visa.

Things You'll Need

• Passport
• Self-addressed, prepaid envelope with tracking

Instructions

1. Determine the type of French visa you would like to apply for, such as a short-stay visa for business, tourism, or airport transit, a long-stay visa or a short-stay visa under the Schengen visa program. A Schengen visa allows an individual to travel to all countries within the Schengen visa program without needing to apply for a visa for each individual country. The countries in this program include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

2. Download and print an application form for your visa type. To download the form, go to the homepage of the Consulate General of France in Washington, DC.

3. Complete the application form by hand, answering every question on the form. If a question does not pertain to your situation, write "N/A."

4. Pay your visa fee in cash if you are applying for your visa at the French embassy in person. As of 2010, the fee is $86.00 for a Short stay/Schengen (C) visa and $141.00 for a long stay (D) visa. You must pay this fee by credit card if you are mailing in your application. To pay by credit card, download and complete the Credit Card Payment Authorization Form from the consulate general's website.

5. Gather supporting documents for your visa application, including a three-month history of bank statements demonstrating sufficient financial resources to cover your trip, proof of health insurance, proof of travel arrangements--such as airplane tickets--and a letter of invitation from a contact in France, such as an employer or a friend.

6. Get a color passport photo of yourself. The photo must be 1.4 inches by 1.7 inches, taken against a plain background and no more than six months old.

7. Make notarized copies of your legal status in the United States, if you are not a U.S. citizen. For example, if you are permanent resident, make a notarized copy of your green card.

8. Mail your completed application form, passport photo, passport and all supporting documents via certified mail to the French Consulate General that has jurisdiction over your state of residence. If you live in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware and District of Columbia, you must send your application materials to:

   The French Consulate General
   4101 Reservoir Road NW
   Washington DC 20007.

   If you live in another state, send an email listing your state of residence to [e-mail] to obtain the address of the consulate office that has jurisdiction over your area.

9. Wait up to four weeks to receive your French visa.

Tips & Warnings

• When submitting your supporting documents, you must include a letter from your health insurance company stating that you will be covered during your stay in France. You must also mail a self-addressed, prepaid envelope with tracking when submitting your application.

• If you would like to locate the different French embassies within the United States, go to http://france.visahq.com/embassy/United-States

References

• The Consulate General of France in Washington, DC: Visas for France

Resources

• The Consulate General of France in Washington, DC: Application Forms and Other Documents
• The Consulate General of France in Washington, DC: Credit Card Payment Authoritization Form
• Visa HQ: French Embassies, United States