How to Get a Long Term Stay Visitor Visa (VFS and Covid-19 edition)

Those in our Facebook group know that for some time I have been seeking an updated version of my 2013 article on how I got my original visitor visa.  While that article was one of the cornerstones of this site and while certain principles of it still apply, since the advent of VFS taking over not just France’s, but other countries’ visa processes, and with Covid-19 limiting in-person meetings, I wanted an updated article from one of my visa clients who went through the process very recently, knowing that this would become an article that would be referenced for years to come.  Luke Middleton was kind enough to do just that for me and I enclose his very detailed story below.  For my video course that breaks down some of these steps in even more detail, click here.  If you’d like to read more of his writing you can do so here.

I also note that Luke got his visa while explicitly stating that he would be working his US job remotely, which once again undermines the misinformation peddled by Allison Lounes, that you cannot have a remote job on a visitor visa.  I stated as much when I applied (and renewed) such a visa almost a decade ago, long before remote work was something everyone knew about, and Luke has just done the same last month.  Alas, that means you don’t have to accept her narrative and drop $2000-$4000 using her services to get a Prof Lib visa, but I don’t suspect you’ll be upset about that.  -SH

How to Apply for a Long Stay Visitor Visa

After a long period of disruption due to Covid-19 the French authorities in the United States resumed processing all categories of visa applications in June 2021, including the visiteur category that Stephen has discussed so many times on this blog. 

The application process has changed from the one he encountered in 2013. Probably the biggest difference is that the French have now partnered with a third-party service provider which handles a portion of the application. While this arrangement may have streamlined things on the backend, some initial amount of confusion may result from having to interact with two completely different websites that have no evident connection to each other. And neither of these websites happens to be the website for a French consulate, which is where you might have started your Google search. In fact, there are nine consulates (and one embassy) in the US and each has its own page, presenting information in a slightly different way. All the information you need is ultimately out there but it certainly wasn’t as plainly presented as any might like. 

Let’s start with the two websites I mentioned earlier: 

The first is france-visas.gouv.fr (I will call it France-Visas going forward). This is where you will fill out and submit your visa application form. 

The second is VFS Global. (I will simply call it VFS after this).  This is the third-party provider with whom you will make an appointment to hand in your application form, passport, and other documents. Note that VFS handles visa applications to and from a wide variety of countries, not just for Americans going to France. So when you are on their website, make sure you are looking at the correct information. 

Here is the recommended order of steps as described by France-Visas: 

  1. Create an account at France-Visas.
  2. Fill out the online visa application form. Until you have “submitted” this form it can be saved and you are free to go back and edit it (well, you can edit some of it). You can even download a PDF version which will have a large “DRAFT” watermark on it. Once it has been submitted the DRAFT watermark will be removed and importantly at this point you are unable to edit, delete or recall the form. You are supposed to submit the form before proceeding to the next step, but I recommend you wait and will explain why shortly. 
  3. Next we need to go to the VFS website and book an appointment at one of the 9 VFS visa application centers. Here again they will ask in ALL CAPS if you have already submitted your form on France-Visas. I recommend you proceed with scheduling the appointment and only afterwards go back and submit your application at France-Visas.  
  4. Attend your VFS appointment where you will hand in your application form, various supporting documents as well as your passport, and have your biometrics taken. 
  5. After your appointment VFS will mail your documents and passport to the consulate in Washington DC (the only time the French authorities get involved). At this point your application is either approved or denied and your passport is mailed back to you. 

That is the recommended order and the one I followed but here is a potential problem: when you fill out the visa application form on the France-Visas website, you must specify which VFS application center you will be going to. I live in Kansas so I chose the center in Chicago since various internet searches told me that Chicago is the “consulate for my region” (in fact that is true, but it doesn’t matter as we will see).  Having completed the form on France-Visas I submitted it and only then went over to VFS to book my appointment. That is when I discovered to my dismay that the Chicago office had no openings available for as far forward as it would let me look. But once the application form on France-Visas has been submitted it can no longer be edited, and I had already told them I was going to Chicago! Also I wasn’t sure if I was even allowed to go to a different office. 

In the olden days, including when Stephen applied, you had to book an appointment at the French consulate for your region — you couldn’t just choose any one you felt like. But today we are not booking an appointment at the consulate, we are booking an appointment at a VFS Global Visa Application Center. These application centers just so happen to be located in the same cities as the French consulates (with the exception of New Orleans), but they are not the same thing! For example in Chicago the VFS center is about seven blocks away from the French consulate. 

With this change it no longer matters what VFS center you go to, you are free to choose whichever one you prefer. There are nine located in the following cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.

Since you have to tell France-Visas which VFS center you are visiting, and you won’t know which ones have availability until you book an appointment, I recommend the following:

  1. Go ahead and fill out the application form on France-Visas so you are sure you are able to answer all the questions, but don’t submit it yet — just “save” it instead.
  2. Now go to the VFS site and book an appointment. 
  3. Then return to France-Visas and “submit” your form. If you had to select a different location, you will actually need to fill out a new form on France-Visas since it will not permit you to edit the location field. At least you will already know the answers to all the questions, and after you submit the correct form you can delete your earlier draft. 

This is not the recommended order but you will avoid what happened to me: since I couldn’t change my submitted application for Chicago, VFS instructed me to create and submit a second application. I managed to reserve an appointment in Houston and prayed I hadn’t hopelessly confused their computer system (it all worked out in the end). 

I am told that VFS posts new appointment availabilities on their website once a week, and they don’t open appointments more than a couple of months in advance. So if you really must go to a specific city you can also just keep checking back each week. 

Now let’s look at each step in more detail. 

Step 1: Begin the France-Visas Application Form

Create an account at France-Visas and start a new application. Most of the form is self-explanatory but I will highlight some important items here: 

  • Place of submission of application: for many TAIP readers, this is going to be the United States of America
  • City of submission of application: this is where you select one of the nine VFS cities, make sure you can get an appointment there first! 
  • Visa type requested: we are applying for Long-stay (1 Year+)
  • Your plans: this is actually where the visa type is specified. We want to select Visitor
  • Main purpose of stay: there are two options, Visitor (adult) or Visitor (minor). Most of us are presumably going to be adults, unless you are bringing your children with you in which case you will be creating a group application that includes forms for each person. 
  • Planned date of arrival in French territory: remember that you can not submit your application more than 3 months prior to your planned arrival date.  You don’t have to arrive in France on the day your visa begins, you simply can’t arrive before that day.

Further into the application you will be asked to give your Host person or organization. Since we are visiteurs, I selected the option to provide the Name of hotel or place of accommodation. And since my place of accommodation is an apartment I just typed in Appartement for the name, and then provided the address. If you don’t have a residence lined up yet enter the name of the hotel or other lodging you plan to stay at. 

Another section is titled Funding of travel costs. Once again we see various options that make more sense for visa types other than the one we are applying for, here are the ones most relevant for our purposes: 

  • Credit card
  • Cash
  • Other

I checked Credit Card, Cash, and for Other I put USA Employment Income since I am keeping my US job while living in France. There is also an option to give them the name of a French guarantor, which I suspect most of us will not have. 

Note: in several places you will need to provide a US address (for your current residence; where you were born; the address of your American employer if you have one, etc). Of course this form having been designed by the French you will only be given a City field, but not a State field. Type both the city and state in the City field. 

Another note: pay attention as well to date fields and remember that the French put the day first and then the month. I found that the VFS website also used this French convention. 

Ok, we’ve made it through the application form, but as discussed above let’s just “save” it and hold off on “submitting to the visa center” until we complete the next step. 

Step 2: Book an Appointment at a VFS Global Center

Next, create an account at VFS Global and schedule an appointment. Hopefully you created the account from the correct section of the site in which case you will be relieved to see that it knows you are an American applying for France, and not something else. During this process you will select which VFS city you want to go to. It will also ask you for your Appointment Category which in our case will be Long Stay Visitor

In general I found the VFS website to be unrefined and buggy. When it asked for my US location it forced me to select a city from a predetermined list which strangely did not include my actual city, the largest in the state. The list did however include several obscure towns out in the boonies that no one has ever been to (I just selected one at random, it doesn’t seem to have mattered in the end). Multiple times the site croaked, showed errors, or just directed me to blank pages (maybe this was to prepare me for French life?), and I had to fortify myself with whiskey before I could log back in. But persevere and eventually you should be able to make an appointment. 

Note: at the conclusion of this process VFS will provide you with an appointment receipt or “appointment letter” which will also be emailed to you. This letter will indicate the time and date of your appointment as well as the address of the VFS office. You need to print this letter and bring it with you to your appointment.

Step 3: Go Back and Submit Your France-Visas Application

Now that you know where you are going for your appointment, return to France-Visas and “submit” your application form for real. If you have to change your appointment city from what you originally specified, you will need to create an entirely new form. Save a PDF copy of your first draft so you have your prior answers, delete that application, use the draft to help you fill in the new one, and when done, submit it. 

Download the PDF of the final, submitted form and print it out (it should have no “DRAFT” watermark). This PDF will include three things — the completed application form, an application receipt, and a list of required documents to bring to the VFS appointment.

Note: depending on how you answered certain questions when filling out the application, there may be additional required documents not listed on the receipt, but which will be described nonchalantly in a wall of text on the confirmation page after you submit the application. So read that page well, because once you leave that screen you will never see it again.

If you, like me, answered “yes” to the question “Have you previously resided for more than three months in a row in France?” bring a copy of that previous visa.

Step 4: Show Up to Your VFS Appointment

Now you need to present yourself to the VFS office at the appointed hour, bringing with you all the supporting documents required. Don’t worry, this meeting will be in English and your documents can be in English as well.  As Stephen often reminds us, the visa interview is in the language of the country you are applying from.  They don’t assume you already speak French.

As already mentioned the required documents are listed in the same PDF as your France-Visas application form, but let’s go through them one by one: 

VFS Appointment Letter
This is not actually on the list, but I am repeating it here because you need to bring it.

Signed and dated application form
This is your France-Visas application. In my case the VFS person I dealt with already had a copy of this form on her computer and she preferred to use it instead of mine. All the same, bring your own copy since that’s what they tell you to do.

Receipt France-Visas
This is included in the same PDF file as your France-Visas application form, so you should already have printed it out. 

A travel document
The exact wording follows: “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 any other inscription.” is included in the same PDF file as your France-Visas application form, so you should already have printed it out.” 

Clearly you need to bring your physical passport, which you will hand over to VFS and which will be returned to you later by mail. The language about transmit and scan I believe refers to the option to submit some documents electronically.

Although it is not explicitly stated, I remembered that Stephen was asked to bring a photocopy of his passport in addition to the original. Just to be safe I did the same thing (making copies of the title pages as well as all other pages with entries). The VFS lady took my copies without seeming to think that was unusual, so I would recommend you do the same. 

ID photograph
They are referring here to a passport photo. In my area of the country the usual place to get these are pharmacies. Your mileage may vary, but I went to two Walgreens stores and got terrible pictures both times (low resolution), but the ones from CVS were sharp and clear. White backgrounds are common so do not wear a white shirt or they may decline to take your picture as your head will appear to be floating in space.

As it turns out VFS will also be taking your photo as part of the biometric collection (in addition to your fingerprints). The photo that ended up on my visa is the one VFS took, not the one I provided. However it is listed as a requirement and they did ask me to hand it over, so whether they want to use it or not, bring one (I brought two but they only asked for one).

Letter from the employer or proof of business ownership/business license (if self-employed). If retired, pension certificate.
I am employed by an American company and I got my boss to sign a letter that made the following points:

  • so and so is indeed an employee at our company
  • we are aware that he is seeking French residency
  • he has our approval to do so
  • his relocation to France will not cause any change to his employment status since he is free to work remotely
  • his salary is $X which at the current exchange rate equals Y€ per month.

I had my boss sign multiple copies of these letters in case I need them for something else later, and gave VFS an original. I am less able to speak about the other cases, though presumably the student category should not apply to those of us applying for a visitor visa. What ramifications self-employment might have for the next item probably depends on what you do; if you need advice I would suggest posting your questions on the TAIP Facebook group.

Promise not to exercise any professional activity in France
I provided a signed letter declaring on my honor (as the French like to do) that I would “not exercise any paid professional activity in France.”  The fact that this follows directly after “letter from employer” means that the French do not consider your remote work “paid professional activity” for purposes of this visa.

Travel health insurance certificate
The text continues: “issued by the insurance company (covering any possible costs for medical repatriation, and emergency and/or hospital treatment, for a minimum amount of 30,000 €, valid in France for the whole stay. A copy of your American health insurance card is not acceptable proof of adequate coverage).”

For this requirement I chose to purchase an International Health Insurance plan from Cigna Global as Stephen did so many years ago.  This is a process in itself, but I will try to restrict my comments to the basics. They offer three levels of coverage which they call Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Even the lowest Silver level offers 800,000 € coverage for inpatient and emergency care, which is 30X above the French requirement. Gold and Platinum have increasingly higher coverage levels and also include maternity care. In addition to selecting the three coverage levels you also specify your desired deductible ($0-$10,000), percentage of cost share (0%-30%), and out-of-pocket maximums ($0-$5,000). Higher levels of these selections will reduce the price of your premium but will of course increase the sticker shock if you ever actually ever use the insurance. You can also choose to pay monthly, quarterly, or annually, with the latter two options offering a slight discount. Even without the discount it makes sense to buy a one-year policy since you need to show coverage for the full period of your visa.

After these selections you will be presented with various optional add-ons such as outpatient coverage, vision, and dental, etc. but don’t glaze over this section because you will absolutely need to purchase the “International Evacuation & Crisis Assistance Plus” add-on to meet the French requirement for medical repatriation coverage.

While the cost may vary based on your age, gender, and other factors, as a point of reference I chose the absolute cheapest Silver plan, maxed-out deductible, cost sharing, and out-of-pocket levels, with no other add-on except the international evacuation feature, and earned the discount for paying for an entire year upfront. My total came to $900. 

Several minor frustrations are encountered during this process. At the beginning of the insurance application they ask what country you will be living in, which is obviously France. Later you have to provide your mailing address and at this point the form will only accept a French address. Even if you know this address in advance (and some won’t), by definition we are not living in France yet and we may not want mail going there. However they do provide the option to receive communication electronically which solves the mail problem. If you don’t yet know your future French address you can just put down the address of your hotel.

A second frustration is that Cigna will not allow you to schedule your coverage start date more than 45 days into the future, but it is entirely possible you will need to buy it more than 45 days prior to your departure. This means your one-year policy period may not overlap exactly with your one-year visa; in my case it was off by about one month.  But ultimately that’s no big deal.  You may, like Stephen, end up ditching Cigna immediately and buying a much cheaper private French policy.

Finally after having forked over your money and waited several days for your Cigna account to populate, you will be able to download a one-page certificate of insurance. What concerned me is that this certificate does not explicitly describe the coverage levels: it showed that I had purchased the “Cigna Global Silver” plan, but who knows what “Silver” represents? I wrote several emails to Cigna asking if they could give me a more detailed cover letter, and never got a response. Afraid this would be a problem I printed off the entire 40-page Cigna Customer Guide and brought it to the appointment. I discussed the issue with the VFS representative and she thought the basic cover letter “should probably be enough.” My visa was approved so apparently it was. 

Proof of accommodation in France
The text continues: “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.

By various undeserved miracles I was fortunate enough to have an apartment lined up in advance and was therefore quite pleased with myself to be able to hand over a copy of my French contrat de location (rental contract). But my self-congratulation immediately ended with the next question: “Do you have a copy of your landlord’s identification?”

Uhm no, I did not. To my relief the lady once again said, “That’s ok, I think the contract will be sufficient.” And it was, but if this applies to you and you are able to obtain a copy of your landlord’s ID and electricity bill, it definitely won’t hurt.

If you don’t yet have housing arrangements made you will want to write a small letter explaining your plans to do so. 

Proof of enough resources to cover all expenses during trip
The requirement says bank statements and that is what I was asked for, so bring them whether they prove anything or not. Thankfully having now met the literal requirement I was permitted to provide other documentation as well; I gave them pay stubs from my employer and my savings account statement.  If you’re a pensioner that statement will come in handy.

If, like me, you decide you need to move funds around to present the best possible financial picture, make sure to plan ahead for the time it will take to make those transfers as well as for the statement to be produced from whatever account you move them to, since all of that will need to be done prior to your appointment.

After requesting each of these items in turn, my interviewer finished by asking “Do you have anything else you want to give me?” I did not. You don’t have to volunteer anything that is not requested, but by all means if there is something you think will help your case then provide it.  As Stephen often notes, have more documentation than you are asked for with you, but don’t hand it over unless they ask for it.  More does not necessarily equal better.

All that remains at this point is to pay for three things which will be combined into a single charge to your credit card (cash and checks not accepted): the visa application fee, a service fee to VFS, and the cost of overnight FedEx service to return your passport. Unlike in Stephen’s day you do not need to bring a pre-paid envelope with you, you will purchase it at the appointment. For me the total cost came to roughly $200 but no doubt this will fluctuate. 

Step 5: Wait for Your Passport to be Returned

At this point VFS will forward your application, passport, and documents to the French embassy in Washington DC where your case will be approved or denied. The VFS agent informed me at the time that they were currently very busy processing student visas (my appointment was in August) and she could neither guarantee nor estimate how long it would take to receive a response. She did say the consulate typically strives for a turnaround of two weeks. 

She also said that if the French authorities needed any more information they would contact me directly and if I didn’t want my application to end up in a forgotten pile somewhere I should respond as quickly as possible. 

In the end the French never asked for anything else and my approved visa was in my hands a mere seven days later. 

The visa appears as a large sticker on one of the pages of your passport. It will have a start date which in my case was two weeks earlier than the planned departure date I put down on my application.

Included in the envelope with my passport/visa were two miniscule slips of paper: 

  • The first informed me that upon arrival in France I would need to go online and register and validate my visa. This will be the subject of a future blog post
  • The second referred to current Covid travel regulations. Since these seem to change from week to week there is no point discussing them here, just check before you go and hope for the best. 

Whew! If you’ve made it this far and your visa was approved, congratulations — you’re going to France!

Final Thoughts

Start preparing early and try to think ahead as much as you can. Since you can’t submit the application more than three months prior to departure, and the recommendation is to schedule your VFS appointment at least 1 month prior to leaving, it can start to feel like a lot of activity is getting crammed into a very short period of time. Needless to say, these last few months are already going to be hectic with moving preparations. But there is nothing stopping you from starting to gather documents prior to the application process, and you will thank yourself for any groundwork you were able to do in advance. Bonne chance!

The process may be different now but the sticker in your passport will still look substantially similar to the featured photo above.

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51 thoughts on “How to Get a Long Term Stay Visitor Visa (VFS and Covid-19 edition)

  1. Hello,
    In the application that I filled out back in July I put two pieces of information that have now changed as I am going in for my VISA appointment on Sept 24:

    1) The intended date of entry into France as 25.09.2021
    2) The address in France during my stay.

    Does this mean that I have to re-do cancel the appointment and change the application?

    Thank you for this great blog entry. I was a victim of Allison Lounges and she has not been very forthright with information that I needed.

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  3. I am in the process of applying for a long stay visa, I will continue to work remotely (I am self employed). What manner of documentation should I present?
    Thank you,

    Kyle Smith

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  5. Hi. Thanks for the great post. I’m currently in France with my 90 days set to expire the end of January. I’d like to apply for a long-stay visa but I don’t want to travel back to the US for an interview, if I can avoid it. Is there any way to complete the application process while actually in France before my 90 days is up? Thanks! –Ben

  6. Hi Ben –

    I’ve applied for a long stay visitors visa on January 11th and will be arriving in France on April 25th. I made my appointment with VFS for Jan. 31st. (I’d mistakenly thought that “submitting the application” was different than “submitting the form” and assumed the actual application would be submitted by VFS on the 31st.)

    Just to confirm, I need to submit a second application after the 25th and then delete first?

    Thanks so much – sharing your experience is so valuable!
    Regina

    • Hi Regina, just to recap you submitted the form/application on France-Visas on January 11th and the issue is that since you don’t plan to leave until April 25th that would be a bit more than the three months in advance in which you are supposed to submit the application.

      To answer your question, yes I would submit a new form on or after January 25th, and delete the original. However before deleting it I would also print out the original and bring it with you to VFS in addition to the new one, just in the off chance the question comes up and you need to explain why did two. It probably won’t but this way you will be prepared. Good luck! I think you’ll be fine.

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  9. Hi Ben!

    A little late to this post, but I had a question regarding the letter from the employer. My job is 100% remote with flexible hours, but I would rather not tell them I am moving to France. Is it possible to show the job offer letter for that requirement rather than asking my boss to sign a letter saying they know that I am moving?

    Also, my new job starts in a month so I don’t have pay stubs from that employer. However, I have about 70% of the income needed in cash ($1250/mo x 8), a tax return from last year that shows I made more than enough from my last job, and obviously my job offer letter that shows my future salary. Would that be acceptable or should I wait until I have my first pay stub?

    Thanks,
    Kim

    • Hi Kim, there are several issues here. Straight away it raises a red flag that you are hesitant to tell your employer of your move. The issue goes far beyond whether they write you a letter, but rather, to the grave risk you are taking relying on them for your livelihood if your relocation is not something they would support. I don’t know the specifics of your situation, but I would think about this very carefully.

      As for your financial situation, I think you would be well served to wait. From the French perspective the offer letter is a future probability, not a certainty. A paystub is tangible, and working a few months gives you the opportunity to grow your savings account as well. You are already close, but it’s better to present a strong position than appear marginal and end up with a denied application. Good luck!

  10. Hi there,

    Thank you for this post!

    We’ve applied for the VLS-TS and are developing and working on independent projects but don’t have a business license. We have more than enough assets to show proof of enough resources to cover all expenses during our trip, however. What do we supply instead of a letter from an employer or business license?

  11. Hi there! My husband and I are preparing to apply for a VLS in a year or so and your story is giving me hope! I work remotely like you and this is the first time I’ve heard that remote work for a U.S. employer is sanctioned for this type of visa – you haven’t had anyone tell you that this places your employer at risk of having to register in the country or adhere to French labor laws? Do you now pay French social charges/other taxes on your income from the U.S.? And lastly – my husband won’t be working but we were thinking of renting out part of our property sort of as a gite – I assume this would be precluded since it’s a “professional activity.” Do you think he should instead apply for a profession liberal visa? Thanks so much!

  12. Hi Anna, for the purposes of the visitor visa there is no connection created between the foreign employer and the French system. French labor laws don’t apply to a foreign company that has no relation to France other than one of its employees just decided to live there. If your employer was doing business in France it would be a different matter, but then you would also be applying for a different visa.

    As for taxes, as a resident of France you will have to declare your foreign income to the French government (we would say “file” in the US), but you will neither owe nor pay French income taxes. If you did owe or pay, that would imply doing business in France, which would violate the terms of your visitor visa. Of course you will also still need to file (and pay) federal income taxes in the US. As an American with foreign residency you will likely be able to take advantage of the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) in the US tax code, which is something you should read about.

    The full extent of tax ramifications can be complicated and vary from person to person, it is worth seeking out professional advice on both sides of the Atlantic.

    I would advise you join the TAIP Facebook group to pose your question about wanting to rent your French property.

    • I think you will be fine with proof of only 6 months. As the instructions indicate, you are free to provide a short letter on this topic if you want to explain your situation and you think you have something additional to say that would bolster your case.

      But otherwise I think simply the proof of 6 months will be sufficient, it shows that you have a start, and it is understood that not everyone can have permanent long term arrangements made in advance.

  13. Thank you so much for this article! I am very interested in pursuing this long term visitor visa and I believe I have a good chance that my boss will let me work remotely in France, but I do have one question. I’m guessing the answer is that there won’t be a problem, but I wanted to see if you have any more insight: is there any possibility for my American employer to face consequences of me working remotely? Like having to pay taxes in France, or have any penalty from the US government, or anything? I guess I want to be able to let my boss know that there is no risk for her to allow me to work remotely in France. I will of course still pay taxes in the state she has her business in.

    Thank you for any help!

    • Hi Erica, there are certainly considerations to take into account but no necessary punitive consequences of the type you describe. You can find all kinds of discussions online about such considerations that employers of foreign remote workers should take into account; the topic has obviously become very germane in recent years. A Google search will quickly give you a good idea, though very little in the way of concrete pronouncements since every case is different.

      But practically and realistically speaking (as opposed to the list of theoretical legal possibilities), and particularly under the provisions of the Visiteur visa, there is nothing your employer needs to be concerned about other than your ability to do your job.

      You mentioned that you would continue to pay state income taxes in the state where your employer is located – this will almost certainly not be necessary. Consult an accountant, but if you are no longer a resident of a state the usual outcome is that you no longer owe state income taxes to that state either. Eventually you will even want to ask your employer to quit withholding state income tax contributions from your paycheck, in order that you don’t have to file a state return to get that money back.

  14. Hi there,

    Thank you so much for all of this detailed information! I’m helping my mom through this process, but we are totally stumped because the online application does not offer the visitor option.

    Do you have any insight or experience into this?

        • Hi Jourdie, you’re at the right website. The question may be couched as “what are your plans” or “I request a visa for the following purpose” but either way there will be a list of options to choose from, one of which will be “Private stay/visitor.” (If you are trying to do it in French, it will be something like “Etablissement privé/Visiteur”). Other options will be things like employment, studies, training, marriage, etc…

          The way it’s phrased doesn’t make it sound that important, but indeed that is where your Visitor visa type is determined.

          When I filled it out, there was also a question about “Visa Type Requested,” which is where you’d think you’d see the Visitor option, but this one is asking about length of stay (you want to select the option for more than one year to get the long stay visa).

          If you want to see what the paper form looks like at the end, there are copies on this page, under Long séjour – Long-stay visa:
          https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en/web/france-visas/forms

          Box 23 is where the visitor status is shown. You should still go through the online process, it will generate the paper form for you, but I mention it so you can see it really is there.

          • This is quite intriguing. I found the paper form as well, but it does not match the options proposed by the online application for her. Only “business, family or private settlement, family or private settlement (minor), other” are offered, all of which require supporting documentation that she does not have (ofii reunification form, volunteer contract, etc). Well, your reply at least confirms that this is something of any anomaly, so that’s a start! Thank you.

          • Hi Jourdie, I created an account to see if I could replicate what you’re seeing. On the first page of the application, I see four sections in this order: Your Situation, Your Stay, Your Travel Document, and Your Plans. Under this last, the question is asked “Why are you making this trip?” with a drop-down of choices. The first four are as you have described, but note that you if you *scroll down* within that option list, you will see further options after “other” – or anyway, I see a further half dozen options, and the very last one is “Visitor.” Let us know if that works for you!

          • Hello again,

            Sadly, my mom is not that tech un-savvy after all. The four options I listed are the only ones available to her. It may be related to the fact that she received a visitor’s visa last year, but was unable to renew it due to having to be in the States during the window for that. The consulate said she could apply for a new visa, but perhaps the options for what type are limited after if you don’t turn a visitor visa into a titre de sejour.

            Thanks for the effort though!

          • That is indeed confusing. I should think it would always be possible to apply once more for a new visa, from the very beginning. Maybe you will need to create a new account with france-visas.gouv rather than trying to log in with your old one. It is also possible to delete your account first within france-visas, as I did this with my test account. At any rate this is not a situation I am knowledgeable about, but please keep trying, and if you discover the solution, it would be of interest to others if you post it here. Bon courage!

          • Strange indeed. She did create a new account, but there again strange problems arose. She cannot log in with the new account, for reasons unknown, only the old one. I will suggest she delete both and try starting fresh. I’ll let you know what we uncover; thanks for the support!

  15. Oh boy, I will die laughing and also of shame if this is the answer. I’ve been helping her with this over Zoom from a distance, which is not very hands on. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you have found the solution. Will keep you posted. *silent facepalm*

  16. Hey there,
    I have a question in regards to Proof of enough resources to cover all expenses during trip. How do I know what the minimum requirements are ? Also do the minimum requirements in the back account need to be a solid amount untouched or can it be monthly pay stubs covering the total amount over the year? Thank you.

    • Hi Erik, you should be able to show an income at least equal to the French minimum wage, which in 2024 is about 21,000 euros. You are not required to have this in savings, proof of income is accepted. I can’t remember exactly but I believe I was asked to provide something like the last 9 months of paystubs. Of course if you have any savings, it won’t hurt anything to show that as well.

  17. Hello Luke and other readers,

    I just wanted to leave a comment thanking you for this resource! My long-stay visitor visa was approved for France. I followed the steps from this guide and also read another article on this website, “Can I (Legally) Work Remotely in France?”

    I work remotely and I submitted a letter from my employer with my visa application that stated my move to France for the remainder of 2024 would not change my employment status with my company. I also submitted a letter declaring that I wouldn’t search for a job while in France.

    Make sure to have all the documents listed for your VFS appointment, and you should be good to go! Excited to be in France soon! 😀

    • Hi Zack, thanks for the comment, it’s great to hear another success story. You did exactly as I and many others have done, and have confirmed once again the validity of this approach. Welcome (soon) to France!

  18. Hi Luke!
    You are a true wealth of information on the VLS-TS.

    I have a couple of quick questions if you don’t mind:

    I see the health insurance requirement for the VLS-TS is like $30,00 of coverage with no deductible. Would a normal travel insurance policy like Allianz work? It has a very high insurance amount along with repatriation if needed. If not do you know of anyone that will write a policy that’s France specific (that meets the visa requirements) that I can cancel after three months and move to the French healthcare system?

    Second question is about accommodations. My wife and I would ideally like to travel all over France looking for the right place for us to live so we will likely be AirBNBing for several months and will not have a permanent address with a 12 month lease that I can provide. Would they accept a letter explaining that? Any other ideas about making something like that work?

    Thanks for all the help you have provided the community!

    • Hi Jeff, so far as I can see the Allianz Care Global Health Insurance plan with the optional repatration add-on meets the requirements and should work fine. You will want to get a plan for 12 months since you need to show coverage for the entire length of your stay, which under the visitor visa is one year at a time.

      As for travelling around without a fixed address, this is a question that comes up from time to time and the answer is that a nomadic lifestyle is not compatible with the demands or even conecpt of a residency visa. Although you can get the visa without having your final address nailed down, you do need to nail one down fairly quickly after arrival. You will find administrative tasks impossible to manage without a fixed mailing address and your ability to prove that you live there.

      The best way to do exploration before hand, which is not at all a bad idea, is simply to come to France with your passport, with which you can remain for 90 days (I assume you are from the US). No visa or anything else required, just get on a plane. You will have to return to the US afterwards to apply for the visa, but by then you may at least have an idea of what town you want to live in.

      But once you come here with your visitor residency visa, you need to have a town picked out, get an apartment there as soon as you can after arrival if you weren’t able to rent one in advance, and basically tell yourself that you’ll be there a year. Of course you are not a prisoner, you can move if you have to, and certainly you can travel as much as you want from your home base. But you have to think of yourself as a resident, and live as one.

  19. Hi Luke,

    Thanks for the wealth of information!

    Is the visitor visa no longer available to apply for online, on the France-visas website, or are we not seeing how to do it?

    When trying to apply for the visa online, we only see 4 options for “Votre projet” :

    Autre
    Études
    Installation familiale ou privée (majeur)
    Installation familiale ou privée (mineur)

    When selecting “Autre” the only available options After that for thé “Motif principal du séjour” are :

    Ancien combattant
    Jeune au pair
    Volontariat

    In addition to that, must one have proof of current employment, or is applying with plenty of savings and/or familial support+savings acceptable for the visitor visa?

    Also curious what you think of the new “visa assistance” option VFS offers for 44 USD and whether you’ve heard anything good/bad about that–we submitted a request around 2-3 weeks ago and haven’t heard back from that service at all.

    Thanks!!!

    • Hi Kara, the Visiteur option is still available, but you seem to have encountered the same hiccup that Jourdie did a bit higher up in these comments. When I create an account, I can see the four options you describe in the Votre Projet drop-down, but scrolling down *within* that drop-down box even more are revealed, including at the very end “Visiteur.” This drop-down is only populated after you have filled out all the other information on that page first (Votre situation, Votre séjour, Votre document de voyage). But frankly I believe the site is just a little buggy and it would seem that you are not the first to have a problem with that drop-down box. Perhaps you can try refreshing the page, or try using a different browser (for whatever it’s worth I’m using Chrome). And I would certainly do this on a computer rather than a phone. Please let us know whether you are able to figure this out, as I never heard from Jourdie what her outcome was.

      You do not have to have proof of employment, only proof of sufficient funds to support yourself. Indeed this visa status is often used by retirees who are no longer working, but support themselves with their retirement savings/pensions. The 2024 “SMIC” (French minimum wage level) is roughly 1400 EUR per month net, that equates to approximately $19,000. You will want to show at least that much, preferrably in savings. It won’t hurt to list familial support, but I can’t say how much weight that will have with the French administration, as they are just taking your word for it. Note that you will once again need to provide proof of a similar amount each year that you choose to renew your visa, if you decide to stay in France for multiple years.

      I have not heard about the VFS assistance program before, but at only $44 I’d say it would be well worth it if any assistance is indeed given – though your experience so far does not sound very promising. If they are not going to reply to your request I would not wait around for them before proceeding with your application. But if you do get anything from them, we’d be interested to hear your thoughts about the experience.

  20. Hi Luke, thank you so much for the quick reply!!

    ” And I would certainly do this on a computer rather than a phone. Please let us know whether you are able to figure this out, as I never heard from Jourdie what her outcome was.”

    Ahh, I re-tried fro:m a computer — I had indeed been trying from a phone– and I see the many other options now, thank you:!!!

    “You do not have to have proof of employment, only proof of sufficient funds to support yourself. Indeed this visa status is often used by retirees who are no longer working, but support themselves with their retirement savings/pensions. The 2024 “SMIC” (French minimum wage level) is roughly 1400 EUR per month net, that equates to approximately $19,000. You will want to show at least that much, preferrably in savings. It won’t hurt to list familial support, but I can’t say how much weight that will have with the French administration, as they are just taking your word for it. Note that you will once again need to provide proof of a similar amount each year that you choose to renew your visa, if you decide to stay in France for multiple years.”

    Oh, I see, wasn’t expecting that for direct family members — so if the majority of savings to finance the stay is in the name of family (direct ascendants), it would be better to add the name of the person travelling to the saving’s account/make it joint, for example?

    Would it still help even if adding the traveller’s name to the savings account is done within a few weeks of the visa application?

    And is there a risk of visa denial if it’s not done (if there isn’t enough in one’s personal savings, for example for someone younger wanting to take a gap year to visit) and the family are just listed as garants in this section?

    Financement des frais de voyage

    Par moi-même
    Cochez cette case et remplissez ce bloc si vous financez une partie ou la totalité de vos frais de séjour.

    Moyens de subsistance *
    Cochez vos moyens de subsistance propres.
    Hébergement prépayé
    Transport prépayé
    Chèques de voyage
    Carte de crédit
    Numéraire
    Autre

    Par un autre garant
    Cochez cette case et remplissez ce bloc si un autre garant finance une partie ou la totalité de vos frais de séjour.

    Précisez lequel *
    Saisissez les noms et prénoms du garant.

    Moyens de subsistance *
    Cochez les moyens de subsistance fournis par le garant.

    Tous frais financés pendant le séjour
    Hébergement fourni
    Transport payé
    Numéraire
    Autre

    Thanks so much for the advice!!

    And I’ll definitely let you know how it goes if I do hear back from the visa asssitance services!

    • Hi Kara, thanks for reporting back about the computer working where the phone did not. I hope that helps others that might have this same problem.

      With regards to familial support, I will admit I don’t have personal experience with that approach so take my words with a grain of salt. But fundamentally, if the visiteur has sufficient funds to pay for a year in France, be these funds of their own or of their parent’s, and if they can satisfactorily prove the existence and availability of these funds, I don’t think you will have a problem with the application. My comment about how much weight the administration would place on familial support was ill-worded, but what I was trying to convey is that it’s not sufficient for you to know that such support exists, it needs to be convincingly demonstrated to them.

      It’s up to you if you want to add the traveller’s name to the relative’s savings account, and no, I don’t think it will matter that this was done shortly before the application. Otherwise then as you say list the relevant family member as “garants.”

      Either way, have the applicant bring the relevant bank statements to the interview to show proof of funds. If these statements are in the parent’s name, still bring them, and in that case I would also bring a short, signed letter from the parents indicating their commitment to support the applicant financially. Note that during this whole VFS process it is completely fine to write letters, provide documents, and communicate in English.

      I hope that helps, but let me know if you have more questions.

      • Hi Luke,

        Thanks so much, that makes sense and helps very much!!

        Should the signed letter be an original, or if the parents live in a different location, would you suppose it would be ok to have the letter notarised by a notary and to bring a scanned copy?

        Thanks again so much!

        • Hi Kara, notarization in this case seems to me a little overkill, but I guess it won’t hurt anything. I’d think an original signed letter would be sufficient, couldn’t they mail it to the applicant so they had the original?

          • Hi Luke,

            Sorry for the late reply and thank you for the reply! Yes, that’s possible but was a question juste in case mailing it would end up being complicated!

            And for the ID photos which need to be taken, what are the size and general requirements?

            If we are in France, would it be possible to have them taken for the application whilst still in France or would the photo norms not match?

            Thanks so much!

          • Hi Kara, the photo requirements are fairly universal and of the kind expected for passport photos in most places. Here is a link to a French site with more information:
            https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F10619

            You certainly can have the photos taken in France, and conveniently you will find “photomatons” for this purpose at most commercial centers, train stations, and other similar public places. You can access a search tool at the link above to find one near you. If you take the photos back in America, just go anywhere that will give you passport photos, Walgreens and other pharmacies are the usual places, and I think Kinkos/FedEx stores also offer them.

  21. Hi guys,

    Sorry for the absence of reply. The outcome for this year was no visa for my mom. I believe she deleted both accounts, created a new one and tried again to no avail.

    Hope you have better luck.

    • Sorry to hear that Jourdie. If she tries again maybe the tip about PC vs. phone will be of use. I know it is possible to complete the process, but I understand technical troubles can be a bear to figure out.

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