The Code of Entry and Residence of Foreigners and Right of Asylum (code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile - CESEDA) establishes that for the purposes of applying for this type of visa, financial resources must not be lower than the current French minimum wage (€1269,03 per month net as at 1 January 2022).

However, it should be noted that even if you prove you have sufficient financial resources, the French consulate or prefecture in France has no obligation to issue the corresponding visa or residence permit – they have the right to issue a visa or permit, or to refuse issuance. The final decision will depend on the general impression made by your dossier and your reasons for moving to France.

If you need assistance we offer for you to book a 30-minutes verbal consultation in which we'll examine your situation, answer your questions and come up with an action plan.

The cost of the consultation is 150 euros TVA inclusive.

If you are interested please fill the questionnaire. After receiving your request we'll send you an invoice to pay using your chosen method of payment. We'll propose time slots for the consultation once payment is received.

We provide consultations by phone, Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet.

• After the consultation you will know:
• major requirements to ensure a positive decision in your situation
• how we can help you
• action plan for your situation
• estimated processing time of you case
• our fees and other expenses for the entire procedure

Depending on whether you have an existing Type D long-stay visa or French residence permit, there are three potential ways to obtain or renew "visiteur" status:

1) Applying to the French consulate in the country of citizenship or permanent residence for a Type D long-stay visa

2) Applying to your local prefecture in France for a residence permit

3) Extending a "visiteur" residence permit in France

According to the rules established by the European Union and French law, if you intend to live in France for more than 90 days out of a 180-day period, you must first apply to the French consulate in your country of citizenship or permanent residence. The applicant must confirm this with documents when applying for a long-stay national Type D visa.

There are exceptions to the obligation to obtain a Type D visa from the consulate for spouses and close relatives of citizens of France and the European Union, who can, in theory, request a French resident permit without first obtaining a Type D visa. However this procedure may have a long time duration and is unpredictable – returning to your country of permanent residence and obtaining a Type D entry visa may be significantly faster and cheaper. If this question does come up, we can analyse your situation and advise you on the best course of action for your specific circumstances.

In the event of a positive decision, the consulate will issue you a "visiteur" visa for the term you requested. By law, the visa may be issued for a term of 3 to 12 months, but in most cases the application is for the maximum 12-month term.

The visa must be validated within three months of entering France. This requires completing an online declaration and paying an official fee of €200. If this procedure is not followed, the visa will be considered invalid and a new visa from the consulate will be needed to continue to reside in France.

Based on the online application made when validating the visa, adults will be invited for a medical exam, which is mandatory. Without the results of the exam you will not be able to extend your residence and receive a two-year residence permit.

In the first year in France, you will have a visa inserted in your passport. The D "visiteur" visa is in the VLS-TS (visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour) category and is equivalent to a residence permit card for the first year of residence in France. If you extend your stay in France with 'visiteur' status, a plastic residence permit card (carte de séjour) will be issued to you for the second and the later years. For 'visiteur' status, this card is issued for 12 months and can be extended annually.

If you are already permanently resident in France by some other status (for example, student status) and have either a Type D long-stay visa or a residence permit, then you need to apply to the prefecture of the department in which you are residing in France for your residence permit.

However, you should note that certain types of Type D long-stay visas (e.g., long séjour temporaire, student visas valid for less than 12 months, and vacances-travail visas in many cases) do not allow a change of status while in France, and in this case you will need to return to your country of citizenship or permanent residence and apply to the French consulate for a Type D long-stay visa from that country.

In the event of a positive decision, you will be issued with a residence permit card (carte de séjour) "visiteur" for a 12-month term. A processing fee of €225 is charged for issuance of the card.

Extending a residence permit card at the prefecture in France does not typically have minimum requirements for residence in France during the year or French tax residence. This is an advantage of the French "visiteur" visa over similar programs in Italy or Spain, for instance, which do have such requirements.

An application for extension of the visa (receipt of a residence permit card) can be filed during the last two months of the previous visa's validity.

French prefectures currently have different procedures for filing this application:

• more and more prefectures accept documents online
• in some prefectures, the documents must be filed by post
• some prefectures accept the documents in person, which requires booking an appointment in advance (often several months ahead of the appointment, we recommend checking the requirements of your local prefecture well beforehand).

Resident permit card processing takes several months, so we advise applying to the prefecture as early as possible to avoid situations in which your current visa or residence permit card has expired and a new one has yet to be issued. For citizens of countries who require a visa in France, this may prevent you leaving France, as you would be able to leave, but returning to France would mean applying to the consulate for a new visa.

First, sign up for the initial 30-minute consultation, during which we will analyse your situation, provide our advice, and answer your questions.

After receiving your request for a consultation, we will send you an invoice, and after receiving payment we will set the time and date via preferred means of communication.

The consultation can be conducted via telephone, Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet. We request you fill out a questionnaire on your situation and plans for France before the consultation.