Reading your visa sticker

A sticker the French consulate puts in your passport, allowing you to enter and stay for a set period. A long-stay visa (type D) covers a stay of more than 3 months, up to a year.

Read the sticker before doing anything else: a VLS-TS stands in for a residence permit once validated, while a visa marked "carte de séjour à solliciter" means you apply at the prefecture instead.

A VLS-TS is validated within 3 months of arriving. A visa marked "carte de séjour à solliciter" says so on its face, within 2 months of arriving.

The visa is issued by the French consulate before you travel. What follows happens in France, online or at the prefecture.

A visa fee is charged when the visa is issued. Validating a VLS-TS in France adds a further tax on top of it.

• A VLS-TS is valid from 4 to 12 months and, once validated, serves as your residence document for that period.
• A long-stay visa requiring a residence card is valid from more than 3 months to a maximum of 12 months, and is replaced by a permit issued in France.

A long-stay visa is not renewed in France. Before it runs out you apply for a residence permit.