Country Reference

France

Visa news and reference for France — Schengen short-stay (Type C) visas administered for stays up to 90 days within any 180-day period and national long-stay (Type D) visas including the long-stay visa equivalent to a residence permit (VLS-TS) for stays between three and twelve months. The Talent Passport (Passeport Talent) family consolidates high-skilled-migration pathways across multiple categories including the EU Blue Card (Carte bleue européenne) under Directive (EU) 2021/1883, qualified employee, company founder, innovative economic project, investor, corporate executive, artistic and cultural profession, international reputation, and researcher. Standard work-authorisation channels include the salarié (employed worker), travailleur temporaire (temporary worker), and intra-company transferee (ICT) categories under Directive 2014/66/EU. France administers visa policy through the Ministère de l'Intérieur via the Direction générale des étrangers en France (DGEF) for domestic immigration and residence-permit operations, the Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères (MEAE) for consular visa issuance through the France-Visas portal launched in 2016, and the Office français de l'immigration et de l'intégration (OFII) for post-arrival validation and integration procedures. The primary immigration code is the Code de l'entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d'asile (CESEDA), codified in 2004 and amended by successive legislation including LOI n° 2024-42 du 26 janvier 2024 pour contrôler l'immigration, améliorer l'intégration and LOI n° 2025-391 du 30 avril 2025 on EU adaptation. France joined the Schengen Area on 26 March 1995 and is a founding member of the European Union under the 1957 Treaty of Rome.