Family Visa: Guide To Obtaining France Family Visa

The France Family visa is a French long-stay visa that allows foreigners to visit their family members, spouse, kid, or parent, in France for more than three months and up to a year.

Aside from the supporting documentation, the basic eligibility conditions for people who seek to join a family member who is permanently or temporarily living in France are that this relative resident in France must be:

• A national of the European Union or the European Economic Area
• A French National
• A foreign national legally residing in France.

If you enter France through a long-stay visa, then you will have to register and obtain a residence permit at the French authorities, upon your arrival in France.

What Are the Categories of the French Family Visas?

If one of your family members lives in France, either as a French citizen or an EU citizen, and you’ve realized you’ll need a visa to visit them, you should know that you’ll have to follow similar visa procedures depending on your situation, which will still differ at some point. As a result, before determining which family visa category to apply for, it is best to determine which category your case belongs under.

France Family Visa for a family member of a French citizen

If a French national is married to a foreign national or has a non-French child or parent, they can apply to join them in France through a long-stay family visa for up to a year. The French national, as well as the applicant, must fulfill some eligibility criteria.

Firstly, a family member of a French national is considered:

• Spouse.
• Children under the age of 21.
• An older relative or the older relative of the spouse.
• Parent or grandparent of a French national or of the spouse.
• Among the main requirements that the foreign national has to submit in this case is the French marriage certificate called “Copie
• Intégrale de l’Acte de Mariage”, children’s birth certificates, as well as information on the French citizen.

The spouse of a French citizen is eligible to obtain a 10-year residency card if the marriage took place three years before the visa application date.

France Family Visa for a family member of an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen

This is more of a French residency permit because EU residents’ spouses and children under 21 who wish to join their parent or spouse in France for more than 90 days must enter France under the Schengen short-stay visa regulation. They will then have to apply for the Carte de Séjour immediately at the Prefecture upon arrival in France.

Evidence proving the family link between the EU citizen and their family member must be supplied. The following are considered family members of EU/EEA/Swiss citizens:

• The spouse.
• The direct descendant or dependent under the age of 21.
• The direct dependent older relative.
• The direct dependent older relative or descendant of the spouse.
• You will not have to pay any fee when applying for this type of visa.

France Family Visa for a relative of non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals (foreigner residing in France)

If you have a family member residing in France, that is not a French, EU or EEA national, you are still eligible to apply for a family long-stay visa to France. On this case, the family member residing in France should prove they have the financial means to support their relative coming to France, or the applicant shall show they have to financial means to support themselves.

France Family Visa for Family members of a ‘talent passport’ holder

If a foreigner residing in France, is there under a ‘talent passport’ or a French EU Blue Card, then his or her family members will automatically be granted with a residence permit known as a ‘private and family life’. Under this permit, the family members are not only allowed to remain in France but also to work.

France Adoption visa

This is a visa for French or international parents living in France who want to adopt a kid from another country and bring him or her to France. The international Intercountry Adoption Mission has the authority to award a long-stay visa for adoption.

If the child is adopted while the French resident or citizen is overseas, the case will be processed as part of a French foreign minor’s family reunion with their parent.

How to Apply for a France Family Visa?

The application process for a France long-stay family visa does not differ much from the other France visas. The sole difference lays in the required documents. Follow the steps given below in order to successfully complete your France family visa application:

Check if you need to apply for a France Family visa

It is entirely dependent on your country and the region of France you plan to visit if you require a French long-stay Family visa. Some categories of foreign nationals who intend to enter France and stay for more than three months do not need to obtain a long stay visa in order to stay.

Even individuals who are exempt from France’s long-stay visa rules must seek a residence permit as soon as they arrive in the country if they want to stay for more than 6 months.

Fill the France long stay visa application form

You can find the application form online or require it through email from the French embassy or consulate in your country.

Collect the required documents

When applying for a France Family visa, you will have to collect some specific documents which you will have to submit on the day of your interview with a consular officer at the French embassy or consulate in your home country.

To apply for a French Family visa you should submit the following documents:

• Completed France National Visa Application Form. You should complete the French national visa application form for a family visa.
• Two passport style photographs. You should submit two photos alongside with the other documents. They must be no older than three months.
• A valid passport with two blank pages. Before you apply, check your passport for its validity and date of issuance.
• Copies of older visas. If you have ever held any visa to any country in the world, submit copies of those visas.
• Certificate of criminal record of the home country– showing that candidate has no open crime case involvement
• Proof of paid visa fee.
• Additional documents for the spouse of a French citizen
• Proof of nationality of the spouse living in France, which can be a passport or identity card.
• “Livret de Famille” – which is a marriage certificate upon the French civil registry.

Additional documents for the foreign child /spouse of an EU citizen

• Both biological parents’ passport
• Authorization by a parent – if the child is traveling with only one parent.
• Court decision – if only one parent, has the sole custody of the child.
• Valid passport of the European citizen of the EU / EEA / Swiss National.
• A sworn statement – from the EU family member, which states that the visa applicant is their dependent.
• Proof of relationship – between the child/spouse and the citizen residing in France.

Additional documents for the foreign parent of a French child

• Proof of the family ties between the applicant and the French child, full birth certificate.
• Proof of the child’s French nationality, valid passport or CNIS.
• Proof that you travel along or join the French national in France.

Book an appointment

Booking an appointment is a must in order to attend the interview that is mandatory for all applicants over 11. You can usually do that online through the website of the French embassy in your country, or if that option is not available for you then you will have to go at the embassy to book the interview.

Arrive at the interview

On the day of your appointment, make sure you arrive at the French embassy or consulate on time. If you arrive late, your appointment may be canceled, and you will have to arrange another appointment and wait your turn.

Wear something that allows you to be comfortable while also looking professional. Avoid being apprehensive and prepare your paperwork before meeting with the consulate officer. This interview should last no more than 10 minutes. The interviewer will inquire about your vacation to France, its aim, and so forth.

France Family Visa Fee

Every long-stay visa application in France costs 99€. However, the application fee for a long-stay visa for France and other French territories for a foreign child officially adopted by French residents is 15€.

Family members of French nationals, as well as family members of other EU/EEA members and Swiss citizens, are free from the visa fee requirement.