Visas and residency cards: an overview

Visas and residency cards are required for everyone coming to France for more than a short-term visit or holiday who does not have an EU, EEA, or Swiss nationality.

A short stay in France is defined as a period of up to three months.

When entering and leaving France, compliance is also checked with the wider Schengen area’s rule of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

Note that this will be monitored digitally by the new Entry/Exit System, and not via passport stamps, once EES is fully operational from April 10, 2026. The first six-month after launch is a phase-in time.

For simplicity, this guide may refer to ‘non-EU citizens’, but for residency issues, nationals of the wider European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and Switzerland, have similar rights to EU citizens due to wide-ranging treaties between these countries and the EU.

As of 2021, due to Brexit, visa and card requirements apply also to UK nationals.

EU citizens may stay in France with no formalities. They should be able to support themselves and have healthcare cover (EHICs are often used initially while carrying out formalities to join the French system), although this is rarely enforced.

What is the Schengen area? 

The Schengen area covers 29 countries with no border controls between them. The name comes from a town in Luxembourg where an agreement was signed in the 1980s. It originally started as an intergovernmental initiative but is now incorporated into EU law and new EU members are expected to join. 

It includes: 

EU countries apart from Cyprus and Ireland (Cyprus is seeking to join). Romania and Bulgaria joined in 2024, initially only for their air and sea borders 

Non-EU states Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein 

There are usually no checks at borders inside the area but checks are made on travellers entering or leaving the zone (note: states are allowed to introduce temporary internal checks if particular security or immigration concerns are deemed to require it and this was in place with six of France’s neighbours as of summer 2025). 

For EU citizens checks are minimal, to verify identity and nationality.

Non-EU citizens are checked for visa/residency cards or, if short-term visitors, may in theory be asked by border police to show enough financial means for their stay, a return ticket or means to buy one and evidence of where they are staying such as a hotel booking or a host’s invitation (read more about the EES later on in this chapter). 

France also reserves the right to ask to see health insurance. For visiting Britons a Ghic/Ehic provides essential cover to the same level as French state cover (this does not cover 100% of all costs). 

In theory, they should also have a travel insurance policy with extra medical elements, death cover and medical repatriation but we have not heard of this being checked. 

An attestation d’accueil from the host’s mairie is not essential for people visiting a member of the public if the visitor does not need a short-term visitor visa, but they could be asked for proof of more financial means for the stay if they do not have one. Non-EU visitors’ passports are also checked to see they are valid for at least three months after the intended date of departure from the area.

Passport stamps are checked to see the person has not overstayed their 90-day entitlement. The passport must also have been issued less than 10 years ago on entry to the area. Extra months added to a UK passport due to early renewal are not counted (the UK no longer does this).

Short holidays and an overview of the visa process 

For most Connexion readers, short stays (three months maximum) are possible without the need for a visa and are treated as equivalent to a holiday. This is on the understanding that the visit is for personal or family reasons and not to work. You can stay in France and the wider Schengen area for no more than 90 days in every 180-day period.

This right depends on whether your country has a ‘visa waiver’ agreement for Schengen area visits. Most western democracies do. Countries that do not have such an agreement include, for example, South Africa, India, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Morocco, Pakistan, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Senegal and Somalia.

Visas are required when moving to France and/or coming to work. A ‘temporary long-stay’ visa – often valid for six months – exists and can be used by, for example, British or American second-home owners who wish to stay for up to half the year.

A visa is a right to enter and stay in France freely between specified start and end dates. It is usually confirmed by a sticker in your passport, which outlines the rights granted.

Time in France during the visa validity period is not counted for purposes of the Schengen area’s 90/180 days rule.

You apply for the visa before coming to France, in most cases online at france-visas.gouv.fr and your application is processed by French consular authorities in your home country. You must supply documents showing, for example, ability to support yourself for the stay, health cover and the nature of the visit ie. whether you want to work or are a state pensioner or early-retiree.

Once in France on a visa (unless it is only ‘temporary’) you can extend your stay by applying for a residency card, often online at the Interior Ministry’s ‘Anef’ website. Depending on the type of card, additional conditions may apply, such as passing a French language test.

France has announced plans to make all residency card applications online-only. However, a court ruling has stated that alternative options must be kept for those who cannot do this.

Working in France for short periods - is it possible? 

Non-EU visitors using their 90/180-day visa-free entitlement are generally not allowed to work while in France. Typically, working in France requires a visa and authorisation to work. However, there are exceptions for stays of less than three months.

According to the rules, the following activities can be carried out without a visa or work permit: taking part in sports, cultural or scientific events; working as an employee offering services in someone’s home; trade shows, seminars and talks; artists and technicians in cinema and other audio-visual productions or broadcasts; modelling; people coming as posted salaried workers to carry out checks or expert tasks in areas including IT, finance, insurance, architecture, engineering and management.

Performing artists visiting to work are always legally presumed to be employed. An organisation called Mobi Culture can advise artists and performers on working in France.

In other fields of employment, a visa may not be required, but the employer must obtain a work permit (autorisation de travail) before the work begins.

The question of whether a non-resident can carry out self-employed work in France by coming over as a foreign tradesperson, for example, or by setting up a French small business, is complex. While a non-resident can technically set up a French business, whether they can legally perform work for it without the appropriate visa is unclear.

This type of activity does not fall under the listed exemptions, and usually a visa with a business plan is required for self-employed work.

One immigration consultant for France, Ilya Zlokazov of Zlokazov & Company, said it is generally best to assume that if work activity is carried out in France it is only allowed for a non-EU foreign national if rules explicitly permit it.