If you seek to visit your family in France you might need a French Family Visa which is a long-stay visa that allows foreigners to visit their family members, such as their spouses, children or parents in France for more than three months and up to a year. If you need to apply for a French Family Visa, read this article.
Apart from the supporting documentation, the major qualifying criteria for people who desire to join a family member who is permanently or temporarily residing in France are that this relative must be:
- a French citizen.
- a European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) national
- a foreign national residing legally in France.
If you enter France on a long-stay visa, you must register with the French authorities and get a residence permit once you arrive in France.
Types of French Family Visas
If a member of your family lives in France, either as a French citizen or as an EU citizen, and you discover you’ll need a visa to visit them, all you need to know is that the visa procedures will be comparable based on your status, which will differ at some point. As a result, before determining which family visa category to apply for, it’s a good idea to figure out which category your case belongs to.
For a family member of a French citizen
If a French national is married to a non-French national or has a non-French child or parent, they can apply for a long-stay family visa to join them in France for up to a year. Both the French national and the applicant must meet certain eligibility requirements.
A family member of a French national is considered:
- A spouse
- Child under the age of 21-year-olds
- An older relative
- Spouse’s older relative or spouse’s
- French national’s parent or grandparent.
The French marriage certificate (called “Copie Intégrale de l’Acte de Mariage”), children’s birth certificates, and information on the French citizen are among the primary requirements that the foreign national must provide while applying for the French Family Visa. If the marriage took place three years before the visa application date, the spouse of a French citizen is entitled for a 10-year resident card.
For non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals relatives (foreigner residing in France)
You can still apply for a family long-stay visa to France if you have a family member living in France who is not a French, EU, or EEA national. In this scenario, the family member in France must demonstrate that they have the financial means to support their relative who is visiting France, or the applicant must demonstrate that they have the financial means to support themselves.
For a family member of an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen
This is more of a French residence permit because EU residents’ spouses and children under the age of 21 who wish to visit their parent or spouse in France for more than 90 days must do so under the Schengen short-stay visa regulation. After that, they must apply for the Carte de Séjour immediately at the Prefecture when they arrive in France.
Evidence of the family link between the EU citizen and their family member should be supplied. The following are considered family members of EU/EEA/Swiss citizens:
- The partner.
- A direct descendant or dependent under the age of 21.
- The older relative who is directly dependent on you.
- The spouse’s direct dependent elder relative or descendant.
For family members of a ‘talent passport’ holder
If a foreigner is in France on a ‘talent passport’ or a French EU Blue Card, his or her family members will automatically be awarded a ‘private and family life’ residence permit. The family members are not only allowed to stay in France but also to work under this authorization.
Adoption visa in France
This is a visa for French or foreign parents who intend to adopt a kid from another country and bring him or her to France. The international Intercountry Adoption Mission is in charge of deciding whether or not a long-stay visa for adoption should be issued. The case will be considered as a family reunion of a French overseas minor with their parents if the child is adopted while the French resident or citizen is abroad.
French Family Visa Application Process
The application process for a long-stay family visa in France is similar to that of other France visas. The only variation is in the paperwork that must be submitted. To properly finish your France family visa application, follow the procedures below:
- Check if you need to apply depending on your country.
- Fill out the application for a long-term visa in France – the application form can be found online or requested through email from the French embassy or consulate in your country.
- Gather the supporting documentation.
- Book and attend an appointment.
- Pay the fees.
The cost of applying for a long-stay visa in France is 99€. However, the application price for a long-stay visa in France and on other French territories for a foreign child officially adopted by French residents is 15€. Family members of French nationals, as well as family members of citizens of another EU/EEA member state and Switzerland, are not required to pay a visa fee.
French Family Visa Required Documents
When applying for a France Family visa, you must gather certain documents, which you must present on the day of your consular interview with a consular official at the French embassy or consulate in your home country.
You must submit the following documents to apply for a French Family Visa:
- Completed application for a national visa in France.
- A passport that is valid and has two blank pages. Check the validity and date of issuance of your passport before applying.
- Two French passport photos no more than three months old.
- Copies of older visas you have ever held for any nation in the world.
- Certificate of the candidate’s home country’s criminal record – demonstrating that the candidate is not involved in any open criminal cases.
- Proof of payment of the visa fee.
You might be asked to provide some additional documentation, depending on the kind of family member you are. For example, if you are French citizen’s spouse you might need to provide some extra documents, like a marriage certificate on the French civil registry known as a “Livret de Famille” or if you are an EU citizen’s overseas kid or spouse: passports of both biological parents, evidence of a relationship – between the child/spouse and the French citizen, etc.
How to book a French Family Visa Appointment?
Booking an appointment is required in order to attend the mandatory interview for all applicants aged 11 and older. You can do this online using the website of the French embassy in your country, or you can go to the embassy to book the interview if that option is not available.
On the day of your appointment, make sure you arrive at the French embassy or consulate on time. Arriving late may result in the cancellation of your appointment, forcing you to arrange another appointment and wait for your turn.
Wear something that you’ll be comfortable in but also looks a little more formal. Prepare your documents and try not to be frightened before meeting with the consulate official. This interview usually lasts less than ten minutes. The interviewer will inquire about your vacation to France, the objective of your trip, and so on.
