Visa to France

Russian citizens need to obtain visas to travel to France. Single, double or multiple entry visa can be issued depending on the Consulate's decision. Now the most countries of the Schengen Agreement issue single-entry visas for Russian citizens for the duration of the trip. France is almost the only country that still issues multiple-entry visas for Russian citizens valid for up to 6 months with a permitted stay in the Schengen area of up to 90 days.

To apply for a visa to France you need to select the purpose of your trip. There are two main purposes, namely business and tourist which differ somewhat in terms of list of documents and in general procedure for applying and obtaining a visa

If the purpose of your trip is business and assumes visiting a French company, then you need to contact the inviting company in order for an invitation to be sent to you. Copy of this invitation is enough to apply for visa type C. The Consulate can request air tickets and accommodation reservation.  

If the purpose of your trip is tourism, then you need to apply for a tourist visa to France. To do this, you need to book air tickets and make a hotel reservation. The procedure of tourist visa obtainment will be described below.

The application for a visa to France is made by appointment. The visa processing time takes from two weeks to several months depending on the season and type of visa. Submission and receipt of documents is carried out without the personal presence of the applicant except in cases where the applicant has not submitted fingerprints in the last 59 months. In this case, the submission of documents for visa processing is carried out through the Visa Application Center with mandatory fingerprinting procedure. Confidence Group could accompany the applicant to this procedure.  

Place of the documents submission is the France Visa Service Center in Moscow regardless of the applicant's place of registration. The France Visa Service Center is located at the address: 64, Prospekt Mira, Moscow, the 3rd floor.

In September 2024 France is still accepting documents for a tourist visa for citizens of the Russian Federation, however, it’s impossible to arrange the standard submission of these documents due to the lack of slots.

However, Confidence Group has the capabilities to apply for a tourist visa to France, including providing a minimum package of documents from your side

The cost of this visa will be significantly different but in the most cases you will get a multiple-entry visa with a validity period of up to 6 months with a permitted stay in the Schengen area of up to 90 days. Considering that many consulates currently do not issue visas to citizens of the Russian Federation or issue visas for the duration of the trip, the above-described tourist visa to France issued with the help of our company is a very attractive option for those who constantly travel to the Schengen area.

However, we remind you that the most correct way to enter the Schengen area through the country whose consulate issued the visa. If the country of the first entry is different, you may be required to provide documents confirming your trip to the destination country.

Please note that the recent trend towards stricter entry requirements for Russian citizens is obvious. We strongly recommend that you have the documents based of which the visa issued when crossing the border. Entry into the Schengen area may be refused even if visa is issued, in case of request for these documents by the border officers and in case of absence of these documents.

You must comply with the permitted periods of stay in the Schengen area if you travel to the Schengen area frequently. We remind you that current rules for counting days of stay in the Schengen area came into force on October 18, 2013. According to these rules, the period of stay in the territory of the Schengen countries should not exceed 90 days in each period of 180 days. You can calculate the remaining allowed number of days of stay in the Schengen countries on the European Union's official website ( http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/border-crossing/schengen_calculator_en.html?lang=ru ). This website is also available in Russian. You can find more details on our website.

Below you can find details with the types of visas, the terms of obtainment, the cost of consular and service fees, as well as the specifics of obtaining a visa to France for citizens of the Russian Federation:

* For citizens of other countries the cost of the consular and visa fees is different. Check the actual cost with the consultants of Confidence Group.

Documents required for obtaining a visa to France for Russian citizens depending on the type of visa.  

Business visa:

1)  original or copy of invitation from inviting company on letterhead with signature and company's seal including:

     ·  personal details of invited person (surname, name, date of birth, passport number and period of validity);

     ·  purpose of trip, duration of stay, number of days of stay, number of entries;

     ·  place of stay / hotel, hotel address and phone;

     ·  guarantees that invited person will return to Russian Federation and guarantees that inviting company will cover all expenses related to stay of invited person in France;

2)  if the place of stay / hotel name is not specified in invitation letter you must provide hotel confirmation which should be valid during the whole period of visa application consideration;

3)  round-trip flights reservation which should be valid during the whole period of visa application consideration.

Tourist visa:

1)  round-trip flights reservation which should be valid during the whole period of visa application consideration;

2)  hotel confirmation which should be valid during the whole period of visa application consideration.

List of documents required from applicant to apply for any type of visa to France:

1)  Certificate from employer in English on company's letterhead addressed to the Consular Section of the Embassy of France in Russia with specified surname and name in line with passport, job title, date of employment, salary. Certificate should be no older than 1 month on the date of submission.

2)  Medical insurance policy covered period of stay in France and Schengen area. Insurance policy can be issued by Russian insurance company (there are some restrictions) or by one of the insurance company in European Union.  

3)  Passport with holder's signature valid not less than 3 month after date of visa expiration + copy of page with photo.

4)  Previous (old) passports with Schengen visas for the last 3 years.

5)  Copies of all pages of internal passport with information / stamps.

6)  Two photos: not older than 6 month, not appeared in previous visas, colored, on white background, matte, size 35х45 mm, without ellipses and corners. Face should take place at least 70-80 % of the image.

7)  Application form with applicant's signature.

8)  Printed out checklist (registration confirmation), uploading when application form completed.

9)  Banking confirmation/statement of the funds availability on the applicant's credit card or account at the rate at least of 80 EUROS per day of stay with banking operations over the last 3 months (for business visa is desirable).

10) Consent to the processing of personal data.

11) Two powers of attorney: to submit documents and receipt passport.

The Consulate also has the right:

• to request additional documents / information;
• to refuse visa without reasons explanation;
• to reduce the requested validity period of the visa and number of entries.

 Confidence Group Additional Services to apply for visa to France for Russian citizens:

* the cost includes 2 hours of accompanying, the cost of each additional hour is 1500 rubles;

** the cost of medical insurance policy for applicants over 60 years old will be confirmed additionally.

The consultants of Confidence Group will advise you on the specifics of visa processing, help you collect the necessary documents, complete an application form and arrange free delivery of documents from/to the Customer.

The procedure for obtaining a visa to France through Confidence Group is as follows

1)  sending a request for visa;

2)  receiving necessary information from our consultant;

3)  payment for services*;

4)  filling out of application form and making an appointment to submit documents by our consultant;

5)  receiving set of documents for applying for a visa, delivery is possible via courier of Confidence Group;

6)  submitting documents for a visa, payment of consular and service fees;

7)  informing regarding the submission and estimated date of visa issuance;

8)  getting a visa;

9)  delivery of passport with visa.

*Payment can be made in any way:

• to the company's current account in one of the Russian banks or in the People's Bank of Kazakhstan;
• in cash;
• QR code;
• banking card.

If you have questions, please contact our consultants.