HOW TO: Apply for a long-stay visitor visa (VLS-TS) as an American planning to move to France
03.05.2023
This is a guide to the Visa application process, from preparing the paperwork and making the appointment, to receiving the coveted sticker inside your American passport. Follow this and you’ll be France-bound in no time.
Every person’s Visa application experience is different because our situations, type of Visa, origins, and place of travel are unique. Here is my experience!
Before the appointment:
Think about your desired moving date. You can’t begin applying for the Visa more than 90 days before this moving date, and it is recommended that you visit your closest VFS Global application center around 4-6 weeks before your move. Appointments for the VFS open about a month in advance, so you can realistically start 2-3 months before your move. You must do this entire process while living in the United States.
Make sure your passport will not expire within three months after your anticipated Visa period is over and that you have at least two blank pages.
Register with France-Visas online. Keep your registration confirmation email and your receipt.
Register with VFS Global. This is the third-party company that gathers your Visa application materials during an in-person “interview” and sends the documents to the embassy for processing. The appointment fee is $72.40. There are six VFS locations in the US, so select the closest one to your current home (I lived in Seattle, so I chose the San Francisco office). The VFS center will keep your passport and send it to the DC embassy for approval/denial, so you cannot leave the country during your application processing period.
Know where you are going to live in France. If you have a partner or someone who is willing to host you, this is the easiest way. This person will write a letter stating that they will host you for the entirety of your visit, including cost details. If not, you will need to secure a living situation, which sometimes requires a French homeowner to write you a sponsor letter. You can also choose to rent a long-term Airbnb and submit your proof of booking.
WATCH YOUR MONEY because you must have a specific amount saved in order prove that you will not be an economic burden on the French system. The minimum financial resources comes to €120 per person per day. If you prove that you have already paid for your accommodation, the amount reduces to €65 per person per day. A “visitor” Visa means that you are NOT allowed to take up employment while in France—you are just visiting! There is an unspecified loophole where you can use your American income from an American company as your source of income. I was applying for a 12-month Visa, which meant that I was expected to have €23,725 saved in advance. I had nowhere near this, but that was okay because I had proof of income via my employment letter.
Gather the approved documents (see below). France-Visas gives you a checklist to download before your appointment, but after I read one thousand blogs and watched many Youtube videos of other peoples’ experiences, I realized that the consensus was: be overly prepared. Some people were asked for additional documents that were not on the checklist (ex: additional proof of funds, federal and state criminal reports, COVID vaccination records, receipts for plane tickets). Below, I cover what I was asked to submit during the interview.
The documents from the France-Visas checklist:
The following is in France-Visa’s words. BRING ORIGINALS AND COPIES OF:
Signed and dated France-Visas application form
France-Visas receipt
A travel document, issued less than 10 years ago, containing at least two blank pages, with a period of validity at least 3 months longer than the date on which you intend to leave the Schengen Area or, in the case of a long-stay, at least three months longer than the expiry date of the visa requested. Be sure to transmit (scan) ALL PAGES of your travel document containing Visas, entry and exit stamps, or ant other inscription.
ID photograph
If you are not a US citizen, please provide proof of your legal status (green card, visa, and I94 or endorsed I20 or F1 visa holders or endorsed DS2019 for J1 visa holders. The “travel endorsement” signature is valid for one year and must not expire before the date of return to the USA).
If you have an official travel document, a note verbal is required.
Letter from the employer or proof of business ownership/business license (if self-employed). If retired, pension certificate. If student, certificate of enrollment.
Promise to not exercise any professional activity in France, if applicable accompanied by a letter explaining your project.
Proof of enough resources to cover all expenses during trip (pension certificate of last 3 bank statements).
Proof of accommodation in France: property title deed, tenancy agreement, or any other supporting document. Or proof that accommodation will be provided by a person residing in France, or if not, a document explaining the accommodation arrangements planned for France.
Travel health insurance certificate issued by the insurance company (covering any possible costs for medial repatriation, and emergency and/or hospital treatment, for a minimum amount of 30,000 euro, valid in France for the whole stay. A copy of your American health insurance card is not an acceptable proof of adequate coverage.
The appointment (at the San Francisco VFS Global office):
You are asked to arrive no more than 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time. When arriving, I took the elevator up to the 5th floor and waited in line to be checked in by the security guard. I needed to show my appointment letter and my ID.
I was asked to wait (with my phone turned off) in the communal room. This can feel overwhelming because in the same area where you wait, the Visas are being processed at multiple counters for about 3-8 people at a time. People are sitting with their paperwork looking nervous (me included), and just a few feet away are people being questioned by the VFS employees. My advice is to stay calm, professional, and provide all documents that they ask for. Online, I read many stories about these employees being tough and “against you” but in reality, they are trying to make sure you prepare the best application possible for the embassy. If your application gets rejected at the embassy, it’s expensive, difficult, and time consuming to try again. Instead, all of the strict questions are asked (in English!) in the VFS office. If you don’t have a document they ask for, you can pay to use their computers to print something, but then you have to get back in line. Otherwise, you forfeit your appointment and have to register for a new date in the future. If you don’t live in the same city as the VFS center, this can become expensive. I saw about 5 or so people ahead of me be brutally questioned because they forgot their marriage license, didn’t have travel health insurance, or didn’t have proof of income. Don’t be this person! Be prepared for the Visa situation you are applying for.
The professional and no-funny-business VFS Global employee who processed my application asked me for each document from the France-Visas checklist, one at a time. There were no surprises. He asked where I am traveling, the duration, who I know in France, and why I am hoping to make the trip. A few times, I asked for clarification “would it help if I gave you my 401k statements to prove that I have extra funds?” He laughed lightly and said I was over-prepared.
He gave me my Fedex tracking number, processed my payment ($96 by credit card), and told me to wait again in one of the seats. Someone would call my name for further processing.
About 10 minutes later, a woman brought me into the biometrics room where she took two sets of fingerprints. If one set of prints failed the requirements, she didn’t want me to have to travel to San Francisco again to redo them (here is proof that these employees truly want to help you succeed). She asked a few questions that were similar to the other employee’s questions. Then I was sent on my way to enjoy San Francisco for the weekend, feeling great about the accomplishment and hoping for the best outcome! Overall, I spent about 45 minutes in the office.
The items I was asked for during my interview:
VFS appointment letter
France-Visas application form, signed and dated
France-Visas registration receipt
My American passport, plus color copies of the following pages: photograph page, all pages including stamps, signature, and last page with passport number
Two Visa ID photographs, set to the standards that France requires (You can get this done at the VFS center, but it’s chaotic and in front of everyone in the waiting room. I did mine at Fedex a week prior.)
Letter from my employer stating that I will be continuing my employment for the duration of my Visa and will be welcomed back to work in the US after the Visa expires, the amount of money I make each paycheck (dollars and euro conversion), and how frequently I am paid, in English
Statement of purpose, in English
No professional activity letter, in English
Paystubs for the last three months
Proof of financial resources (checking and savings account statements for the last three months)
A letter from my French partner in English saying that he will host me for the duration of my Visa, his passport, proof that he owns his home (deed), his home tax information sheet, one utility bill
Proof of foreigner’s travel insurance including an itemized list from the insurance provider about my plan’s offerings. Make sure to follow the France-Visa’s requirements exactly i.e. medical repatriation, the minimum coverage amount, and coving for your whole stay. I chose Mutuaide’s Universal plan and also purchased an additional French private healthcare plan with Cigna.
I brought one copy of everything translated into French just in case, but all documents I handed over were in English (except my partner’s home and utility documents).
After the appointment:
The VFS Global center will give you an application tracking number for their website and the Fedex tracking number to follow your passport. The VFS site is not perfect and the tracking information is minimal. The expected processing time is anywhere from 4 days to 4 weeks, but there is a chance it could take longer. As soon as you receive notification that Fedex has the package, you will have your passport the next day. If you are approved, you will see a Visa sticker fixed to one of your blank passport pages. Congratulations! Felicitations ! If not, you have been denied, and must contact VFS and France Visas to appeal your application. There will be no information as to why you didn’t receive the Visa.
If you did receive your Visa, you will receive a small note alongside your passport that outlines what to do after you arrive in France. You will have up to three months to validate your Visa online and visit the OFII for a medical exam in order to receive a residence permit card.
My passport arrived 8 days after my appointment in a sealed envelope from Fedex. The Visa was inside as a sticker on a blank page. Another thing that was not blank: my mind! I was moving to France!!