French Schengen Visa: How to Obtain It Yourself
Recently, many French-speaking citizens have been issued long-term tourist visas valid for three to five years. In the future, it will be possible to say that a Schengen visa has reached its fifth year of validity. Generally, if you travel frequently, obtaining one is not too difficult.
Visa to France through a Visa Application Center
Begin the application process by reviewing the list of required documents. There are no significant differences from the documents required for an Italian visa. You can check whether you need a visa on the Visa Application Center website (a new website, which, for some reason, isn’t working very well) at https://france-visas. gouv. fr/web/france-visas (Russian citizens need one, while Schengen countries do not). Citizens of Ukraine can stay in the Schengen area visa-free for 90 days. You can also submit an application through the website and download the list of documents – the list can be downloaded on this page.
Applications can be completed manually, on a computer, or online. Below are the methods for completing the application online. We were convinced that a document record was required. To do this, you must submit your application electronically. In fact, it makes more sense to complete the application online, as no records are created at the Yekaterinburg Visa Application Center.
Visa applications can be submitted three months before your planned trip.
After submitting your documents to the visa center, pay all fees at the ticket office, provide fingerprints if necessary, and have your photo taken (this photo will appear on your visa).
Required documents for a French visa
The download link above provides a brief list of the documents required (visas for children or if you are a sole proprietor are not considered).
- Application French visa application form ;
- 2 photographs, 3. 5 x 4. 5 cm, on a light background (photo center, Schengen, France);
- A valid passport (valid for at least three months from the end of your trip, with at least two blank pages)
- A photocopy of the first page of your passport
- A second valid passport (I was advised to attach the original rather than a copy to avoid delays). If you have a Schengen visa in your old (invalid) passport, we recommend affixing it;
- Internal passport (general civil): a photocopy of all completed pages. Originals are also required when visiting visa centers;
- Travel insurance (minimum insured coverage of EUR 30, 000). Create an affordable insurance policy;
- Hotel booking, unpaid reservation is suitable (how to book hotels);
- Reservation of an air ticket/ticket or other transport documentation (bus/train/car). Issue a ticket for 200 rubles through a travel agency and submit an application;
- Financial guarantee. This may include a certificate from work/2NDFL and/or a certificate-statement from a bank account. There may also be a sponsorship letter from the husband/wife, grandmother/grandfather/great-grandmother/grandfather/children (documents confirming relationship, a copy of the first page of the passport, proof of the sponsor’s income are attached). Please note that the bank certificate must indicate the bank’s address and telephone number! I didn’t have this information in one statement, but the girl said she would do it anyway, it’s at the discretion of the consulate. I asked her to write another sponsorship letter from her husband, which I did and she did, but I could not get the sponsorship letter from the consulate;
- Marriage certificate.
Logging into the site is very easy. It looks like this and does not allow you to enter anything additional. First create and verify your account. You can choose from the following languages: French, English and Spanish. Select English and enter everything in order.
Fingerprints for a France visa
Since 2015, fingerprinting has been mandatory when obtaining a Schengen visa. If you have already made a donation, you don’t have to do so again. I had a printout of my Italian visa, but the visa center advised me to get it again. Remember this.
How much does a visa to France cost?
The cost of a visa to France for a citizen of the Russian Federation is 35 euros. If you apply through a visa application center, you will also have to pay a service fee and travel costs. In general, in rubles, a visa to France (regardless of the validity period – determined by the consulate) costs 5, 000 rubles.
France visa processing time
Processing time is currently (as of March 2018) 48 hours. Additionally, lead times should be taken into account when applying locally. In fact (the status was monitored daily), the passport was at the consulate for only one day. The total registration time in Yekaterinburg was seven days.
Obtaining a visa at the visa center
You can obtain the visa yourself or ask someone you trust to do it for you. When submitting documents, you must fill out a power of attorney.
If it took approximately 1. 5 hours to submit documents, then receiving them takes only 10 minutes.
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