Residents » Documents » Entry Visa

If you don’t have an EU passport or a contract to work in France and are arriving from North America or Japan you may stay, but not work, in France for 90 days without a visa. If you’re arriving from any other country a tourist visa is compulsory. For these visas you must be able to convince the embassy that you have the appropriate funds to support your trip and that you are travelling for the purposes of tourism, business or a family visit. If you’d like to stay longer you must first obtain the appropriate visa from the French consulate in your home country. This inevitably requires documentation, some of which may need to be translated into French by a certified translator and then notarised. Visas usually take approximately three weeks to process but may take three months, or in some cases, even longer. Regardless of why you want to live in France, unless you’re planning on staying for less than three months, you must begin the process in your home country. Do not make the mistake of arriving in France without proper documentation; legally, you will not be able to stay and you will not be able to work.

If you have the means to stay in France without working you may apply for a long-term visa (visa de long séjour) which will allow you to stay in France without working.