France Long-Stay Visa

France’s long-stay visa or visa de long séjour, is the main route for non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals who want to stay in France for more than 90 days. It’s a national type D visa, not a short-stay Schengen visa, so it gives you residence rights for a longer period instead of just a 90-day visit window.

Most initial long-stay visas are issued for 4 to 12 months. They’re used for study, work, family reunion and extended private stays and France also groups some other categories under the same umbrella, including visitor, working holiday and certain short-course or artistic stays.

How it differs from a tourist stay

A tourist trip to France, whether visa-free or on a short-stay Schengen visa, is limited to 90 days in any 180-day period. That doesn't give you residence rights. A long-stay visa does and in many cases it lets you stay in France legally from the moment you arrive, then validate your status online or apply for a residence card after entry.

Long-stay visa holders can usually move around the Schengen area for up to 90 days during the visa’s validity. That’s handy, but it doesn’t change the fact that France is still your base and the visa rules are stricter than a normal tourist entry.

Main formats

• VLS-TS: A long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit. It’s valid for 4 to 12 months and is common for students, many employees, spouses of French citizens and several family or talent categories.
• Visa with residence card required after arrival: You enter France on the visa, then apply at the prefecture for a residence permit within 2 months.
• Temporary long-stay visa or VLS-T: Usually 4 to 6 months. It’s temporary, doesn’t lead to a residence card and you leave when it expires.
• Working holiday visa: Available only under bilateral agreements with selected countries, with age limits and stay length that vary by nationality.

Basic application setup

You apply through French consular authorities in the country where you live, no earlier than 3 months before departure. Your passport must have been issued within the last 10 years, have at least 2 blank pages and stay valid for at least 3 months after the visa end date.

• Biometrics: Fingerprints and a facial image are collected for applicants aged 12 and over.
• Documents: The exact list depends on your category, but it usually includes proof of purpose, accommodation, financial means and suitable health insurance.
• Fees: These vary by country and category and some applicants are exempt. The official portal doesn’t list one single worldwide fee.
• After arrival: VLS-TS holders must validate online within 3 months. If your visa says "residence card to be requested within 2 months of arrival," you have to file at the prefecture.

France’s long-stay visitor route is for non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals who want to live in France for more than 3 months without working there. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens don’t need it and Service Public says they can’t get the visitor residence card in this form anyway.

The main financial test is pretty clear, if not especially generous. A single applicant must show 1,443.11 euros net per month or 17,317.39 euros per year. Proof can come from bank statements, pension payments, income from a family member or a guarantee from a solvent sponsor. The French authorities want to see that you can cover yourself without taking a job in France.

That last part matters. The visitor status is for inactive residents, so you’re not supposed to work in France as an employee, trader, self-employed person, craftsperson or liberal professional. The official pages I found don’t clearly spell out how they treat remote work for this status, so don’t assume it’s fine just because your clients are abroad. If your case depends on remote work, get written confirmation from the consulate handling your file.

Some people also fit the visitor category for narrower reasons, including a dependent parent of children legally resident in France, a PACS partner with less than 1 year of cohabitation or a religious worker assigned to France. Algerian nationals are handled under a separate 1-year visitor certificate, not the standard card.

There isn’t a single published decision time for every long-stay visa and the consulate’s timeline can vary by visa type and office. The official visitor residence path is renewable, though the card itself is valid for 1 year maximum.

• Visa status: non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals only
• Income threshold: 1,443.11 euros net per month or 17,317.39 euros per year
• Work rule: no work in France
• Special cases: dependent parent, PACS partner with less than 1 year of cohabitation, religious worker
• Validity: 1 year maximum, renewable

France can also refuse or later refuse renewal if there are fraudulent documents, serious offenses, violence against officials or failure to comply with an OQTF. Wrong visa category can sink the application too, so don’t guess your way into the process.

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France’s long-stay visa or type D visa, doesn’t come with one universal checklist. The official France-Visas portal builds the document list around your nationality, where you live and why you’re going, so the exact paperwork can change from one applicant to the next.

There are still some basics that almost everyone needs. Your passport has to be valid for at least 3 months beyond the end of the visa, it must have been issued within the last 10 years and it needs at least 2 blank pages. You’ll also give biometrics, meaning a photo and fingerprints, unless you’re under 12.

• Long-stay visa application form: completed and signed.
• Valid passport: meeting the 3-month, 10-year and blank-page rules.
• Passport photos: in the required consular format.
• Proof of your purpose: for example, a visitor declaration, school acceptance letter, work contract or family relationship documents.
• Proof of accommodation: a lease, property deed, hotel booking or host letter with the host’s ID and address proof.
• Proof of funds: bank statements, pension records, salary proof or savings evidence.
• Health insurance: especially for visitor cases.
• Visa fee: usually €99 for most long-stay visas.

For financially independent visitors, France’s clearest published benchmark is the visitor residence permit threshold, which is €1,443.11 a month or about €17,317 a year, for one person. That’s the number many consulates and prefectures use as a reference, but France doesn’t publish one fixed income figure for every long-stay category and family cases can be judged more strictly.

Health insurance is another non-negotiable. The visa rules expect private coverage for the whole stay, especially for the visitor route, before you can rely on French state health coverage later, if you become eligible for it.

One annoying part of the process is that France-Visas won’t hand you a static master list. You answer the online questionnaire, then the portal spits out your exact checklist. That means a student, employee and visitor won’t be asked for the same documents and civil-status papers or translations can show up depending on the case.

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France doesn’t hide the price tag, but it does split the bill. The core fee for a long-stay visa is €99 for the visa itself and that’s the number the official portal points to for the application stage.

The annoying part is what happens after you land. Some long-stay visa holders, especially on the visitor route, also have to deal with an in-France validation or residence-tax payment. Service-Public lists a separate €350 residence-card tax plus stamp duty for the visitor residence path, but France doesn’t publish one single post-arrival fee that covers every long-stay category.

• Visa application fee: €99
• Post-arrival fee: varies by category, the visitor residence path shows €350 plus stamp duty
• Visa-centre fee: not fixed nationwide, because it depends on the provider and location

That last point matters. France uses visa centres for many applications, but the official pages don’t give one universal service charge. The fee you pay there depends on the outsourced provider and where you file. The France-Visas wizard is the place that shows the relevant fee for your exact case.

Budget for more than just government charges. Official guidance says you may also need proof of health insurance, accommodation and supporting documents, but it doesn’t publish a standard cost for insurance, translation, legal help or dependents on the general long-stay pages.

Financial proof is a separate hurdle and the visitor route has a clear number. Service-Public says you need €1,443.11 net per month over one year or €17,317.39 annually, for that status. There isn’t a single income threshold that applies to every French long-stay visa, because the rules change by purpose.

Timing is just as messy. France doesn’t publish one fixed processing time for all long-stay visas and waiting times can change with nationality and season. So yes, the paperwork is predictable enough, but the calendar isn’t.

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How to apply

France’s long-stay visa process starts online, then finishes in person. You fill out the application on the France-Visas portal, book an appointment at a French consulate or outsourced visa center in your country of residence, then give your biometrics and supporting documents there.

If your visa is a VLS-TS, you’ll usually validate it online after you arrive in France. Some long-stay visas also require you to apply for a residence card at the prefecture within 2 months of arrival. The exact route depends on why you’re going, so don’t assume every long-stay visa works the same way.

• Step 1: Use the France-Visas portal to check the visa type tied to your purpose, such as visitor, worker, student, family or talent.
• Step 2: Complete the online form and gather the documents listed for your category.
• Step 3: Book your in-person appointment, then submit your passport, biometrics and file at the consulate or visa center.
• Step 4: Wait for the decision. The official portal doesn’t guarantee a fixed processing time, so apply as early as you can, usually up to 3 months before travel.
• Step 5: After approval, enter France and either validate the visa online or apply for a residence card if your visa requires it.

Fees vary by visa type, but the common long-stay visa application charge is now widely cited at €225 ($243), plus any service fee charged by the visa center. If you’re on a VLS-TS, the tax for validating it in France is €300 ($324). Renewal of a residence permit costs €250 ($270).

Money requirements are also case by case. For visitor-style applications, French authorities usually look for enough resources to live without working, often using SMIC as a benchmark, but there isn’t one fixed national income figure for every applicant. For some talent routes, the threshold is set in the law, such as the Talent, Qualified Employee route, which requires a gross annual salary of €39,582 ($42,749).

Have your passport, accommodation proof, insurance and financial documents ready before the appointment. France won't do this at the border and missing paperwork can slow the whole thing down fast.

France’s long-stay visas don’t all behave the same way and that’s where people get tripped up. A type D visa can last from 4 months to 1 year, depending on the category and what happens next depends on which sub-type you were granted.

The most common route is the VLS-TS or visa long séjour valant titre de séjour. It’s valid for 4 to 12 months and acts as both visa and residence permit during that period. You still have to validate it online within 3 months of arrival, but you don’t go straight to the prefecture just to “renew” the visa itself. If you want to stay longer, you apply for the next residence permit before it expires.

• VLS-TS: Usually 4 to 12 months, then you move onto a residence permit if you qualify.
• VLS-T: Temporary, valid for 4 to 6 months and you’re expected to leave France at the end.
• Working-holiday visas: Usually 12 months and generally non-renewable in France.
• Long-stay visa with “carte de séjour à solliciter”: You must apply for the residence permit within 2 months of arrival.

The key deadline is simple, even if the paperwork isn’t. If you want to remain in France beyond your visa’s validity, you normally need to file for a carte de séjour in the last 2 months before expiry. For many permits, that renewal now runs through the online ANEF system, though the exact process depends on your prefecture and visa category.

Some visas are a dead end by design. Long-stay temporary visas and most working-holiday visas don’t lead to a normal residence permit from within France, so you can’t just keep extending them indefinitely. Other routes are built for the long haul, especially student, employee, family and talent categories, which can lead to multi-year residence cards if you keep meeting the conditions.

That long-term path is the real prize. After several years of legal and continuous residence, you may become eligible for long-term residency and later, possibly citizenship. The exact timeline depends on your permit type and personal situation, so there isn’t one neat rule that fits everyone. France likes paperwork and it likes category-specific rules even more.

France’s long-stay visa doesn't give you a special tax status by itself. Immigration rules and tax rules are separate, so the real question is whether you become a French tax resident under domestic law or a tax treaty says otherwise.

If you do become tax resident, France generally taxes your worldwide income, subject to treaty relief. There isn't a generic tax break just because you hold a long-stay visa and the visitor visa route doesn't create one either.

When France treats you as tax resident

Under French law, your tax home or “domicile fiscal,” is in France if at least one of these applies:

• Your household is in France: your family lives there habitually.
• Your main place of stay is in France: you spend at least 183 days there in the year.
• Your main work is in France: this is where you devote most of your time or earn most of your income.
• Your economic interests are in France: this is where you manage your assets and finances.

A tax treaty can override those domestic rules, so your home country still matters. If the treaty points you back to the other country, France won't treat you the same way it would a resident.

What gets taxed

French tax residents are taxed on income from French and foreign sources, with the treaty deciding who gets primary taxing rights. That can include salary, self-employment income, pensions, investments and rental income.

Non-residents are taxed only on French-source income, such as French property income, work performed in France, certain capital gains and pensions paid from France. Non-resident income can be taxed at a minimum rate of 20% up to €29,579 and 30% above that for income received in 2025, unless you elect the average rate based on your worldwide income if that's better for you.

Remote work and special regimes

Working remotely for a foreign employer on a long-stay visitor visa doesn't automatically make you a French taxpayer. The visa rule is about not carrying out professional activity in France, not about banning every dollar that comes from abroad.

There is also a separate impatriate regime for some employees and managers hired or assigned to work in France. It can give qualifying workers exemptions on parts of their pay and some investment income, but it applies because of the job and residency history, not because of the visa label.